Pre-race at home
Was good about getting five hours of sleep. I had gotten plenty of sleep on Thursday, though, so that was good, and that's what you aim to do in a triathlon, you get the most sleep two nights before the event. BRILLIANT idea to take Thursday off of work (work nights, off Friday and Saturday nights). Will do that from now on. Can't imagine how it may have turned out without that extra day.
Midnight - woke up, had two Greek yogurt.
~2a - woke up, had cereal
~4a - up for real, had two eggs
~6a - bowl of oatmeal, at race location
~7:30a - right before swim, had half a protein bar
Ate, loaded up the car, got dressed. Had left myself plenty of time for all, and used it all.
Pre-race at race
Left at 4:30a on the dot - perfect! Got there at 5:30a when transition opened, Picked a spot at the end of the assigned rack, and right away two USAT (the national triathlon group) were on my bike. I was missing BOTH bar ends. I completely forgot to check. The handles on a road bike curve and the end is towards you and without a bar end if you crash the hole in the middle will create nice donut holes in your internal organs. You can't race without them. One official had one that fit and Specialized (maker of bikes) had a boot and they had a replacement for the other one. But first, I was not going to freak out. I got body marked first to get it out of the way and avoid lines. Then handled the bar ends. I was feeling soooo good. It was funny because when I was loading up the car I randomly thought, I'd love to go for a run right now, caught myself, and laughed. It was that kind of day.
Set up my transition area, ate the oatmeal, checked and rechecked everything, got into the wetsuit, ate half the protein bar, no good to say what goes here but you can imagine, and went down to the lake. 2 hours 55 minutes to get ready, used them all up. Got there just in time.
THE SWIM
The lake temperature was freaking perfect, not freezing at all, didn't get that pins and needles PAIN I got when I went lake swimming twice earlier this year. I wanted to stay inside that lake forever. It was that nice. Let water into the wetsuit, dunked face in, within 15 minutes we were off (they were late). We had different caps based on distance and age group. My cap was yellow. I was in the next to last wave. The last wave had red/pinkish caps. My plan was to wait until I saw a bunch of yellow caps take off then follow them. We started off in a triangle shape around buoys. My goggles FOGGED up big time to the point it was hard to even make out people in front of me. So I spent the whole time stroke stroke stroke breathe right stroke stroke stroke look up. A couple of times people turned and I kept going straight (not too far, few feet or so) then as soon as I looked up I would notice, find them, and turn, and I spent the whole swim doing that (anyone that knows me knows how bad I am with directions, I get lost inside city parks lol). I think a huge achievement for me in triathlons is NOT getting lost and actually finding the finish line lol Per my watch I took about 44 minutes in the swim (will update when I have the official results), which is about 3 minutes per 100 meters or what I normally swim so I was kind of disappointed I swam at what I normally do and not something better.
Because of two lake swims I did for practice I knew my ears hurt when I swam in the lake (not in the pool) so I bought ear plugs - perfect, NO pain, with the added bonus that I didn't get any dizziness when coming out of the water, a normal after-effect of prolonged lake swimming. Best three bucks ever spent.
I need Goggles that don't fog.
Swim to bike transition
Got out of the lake, stripped off top of wetsuit, I passed my bike but before the triathlon started I knew I was three racks away from the Olympic sign so I only went over a few feet and then quickly found it. Someone started talking to me and I talked back, just chatting about the triathlon, but I was getting ready while I talked, sat down wetsuit off (have not mastered the foot pull standing up), socks and bike shoes on, glasses, gloves, helmet, everything? Yep, oh wait race belt, bike. Then when I got on the bike I noticed the shoe tongue on the right foot was a bit smudged up, for lack of a better explanation. Didn't bother me too much during the bike, though. I wonder if I hadn't been talking if I had noticed. I don't think I went slower because of the talking, but next time I am definitely just giving a yeah and keeping quite, being rude be damned. I'm racing, lady! lol Make sure helmet's on and strapped, THEN touch bike. Grab bike, run to mount line, mount.
Bike
I had one bottle of Perpetuem, an electrolytes replacement drink with calories, and one bottle of water with Fizz, extra electrolytes. Finished both bottles, perfect combination. Won't work for the Half, but it will for the Olympic (for Sprints, two bottles of Fizz). My two brands of choice, and I had tried them both before with success. The USAT officials visited me twice to remind me to stay within the bike lane and I was surprised to see I had no time penalties at the end. I guess they understood the wobbling a bit outside of the bike wasn't because I -wanted- to but because I was exerting myself lol Watch has me at 12.2 MPH (will update when results are up) and at 2:00:XX for the leg, which is what I did in training. I will have to improve the bike a lot, I need 14 MPH to meet the cutoff for the half, and I'm still doing about 12 MPH which is what I was doing in January (albeit on easier terrain).
Run
The transition was so uneventful it doesn't even warrant a paragraph. Bike off, helmet shoes off, run shoes and hat on, flip number on race belt to front, go. I had Gu gels on the belt and planned to take Gatorade at each stop, two cups at every mile, and a gel mid-way. I was running. I did GREAT time on the run (yep, will update this also), and I ran the whole way, the last two years when I did the Sprint (half of everything) I would walk during the run portion. First aid station, two Gatorade, no water. Second aid station, two Gatorades, no water (no water at all during the run). Started feeling a little bloated. Station 3, 4, and 5, one Gatorade, worked like a charm. One gel halfway. Won't work for a Half, but I got my Olympic pre and during (and post-) nutrition dialed down perfectly! I'm lucky in that my stomach will accept just about anything. On the bike, that warm coffee Perpetuem was delicious (other triathletes are grimacing right about now).
It was warm causing many people to walk. I personally do well with heat, I had a complete blast.
Post-race
16 ounces of water, then 16 oz of water with Recoverite, a post-workout drink (first time trying it, I think it works, almost no soreness!!), half a banana, one small bagel, some pasta and chicken. Perfect. Two yogurt when I got back home. Will finish it off with some chicken and rice and eggs for the day.
Final comments
Had a total blast. Did two Sprints (half the distance) and the whole time it was this is horrible when does it end I'm never doing this again, let this end already, how long til it ends, etc. Then the triathlon bug would bit again. This time I trained since the beginning of the year and I enjoyed every second of it, felt great, had fun, finished. Now to continue training to better my times and get up to being able to finish a Half Ironman on October 20th (double the distances).
I wouldn't change a thing, today was abo-freaking-lutely perfect.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
There's a lot more to triathlons than Swim, Bike, Run.
You know, triathlons are not just about swim, bike, and run. Let's take nutrition. Lower the fiber and increase the carbs in the week of the race. Taper down your exercise. Off your feet the day before. Increase water and electrolyte consumption (I prefer Powerade Zero).
Then there's the packet pickup. Getting the stuff ready to go. Packing it, making it sure it gets in the car. Make sure you go to bed early enough to wake up at 3a refreshed. Stopping caffeine the week of so that your caffeine gels will provide a kick the day of. Love that picture of everything to go, helps me to go over it and make sure I haven't forgotten anything lol
Bike: Helmet, clipless shoes, sunglasses. Run: Hat, shoes, sunglasses. Swim: Wetsuit, Goggles, Swim cap. Race number already on bike, another one for race belt. Race belt and HR monitor strap. Body Glide, sunscreen, Butt Butter (Google it, not going there), and vaseline (put inside your shoes where your heels and toes touch to diminish chance of blisters, thanks, Jackie!), nutrition - 2 water bottles for the bike, one for water + fizz (Electrolytes, favorite electrolyte supplement for me), Perpetuem (calorie replenishment powder that mixes with water for the other bottle), Recoverite for after, 4 gels on belt, 2 for bike 2 for run if needed, probably the Perpetuem + 1-2 gels will be enough.
Feel ready for tomorrow, now all that's left is to execute :)
Then there's the packet pickup. Getting the stuff ready to go. Packing it, making it sure it gets in the car. Make sure you go to bed early enough to wake up at 3a refreshed. Stopping caffeine the week of so that your caffeine gels will provide a kick the day of. Love that picture of everything to go, helps me to go over it and make sure I haven't forgotten anything lol
Bike: Helmet, clipless shoes, sunglasses. Run: Hat, shoes, sunglasses. Swim: Wetsuit, Goggles, Swim cap. Race number already on bike, another one for race belt. Race belt and HR monitor strap. Body Glide, sunscreen, Butt Butter (Google it, not going there), and vaseline (put inside your shoes where your heels and toes touch to diminish chance of blisters, thanks, Jackie!), nutrition - 2 water bottles for the bike, one for water + fizz (Electrolytes, favorite electrolyte supplement for me), Perpetuem (calorie replenishment powder that mixes with water for the other bottle), Recoverite for after, 4 gels on belt, 2 for bike 2 for run if needed, probably the Perpetuem + 1-2 gels will be enough.
Feel ready for tomorrow, now all that's left is to execute :)
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Becoming a "triathlete."
I joke a lot that I'm slow (well, I am, but still). On the run, on the swim, on the bike. Everywhere. I'm usually aaaaall the way at the back of results. Which is pretty demoralizing in the middle of a race. I'm happy just to be there so as long as I can train myself to meet the cutoffs and be able to finish all the lenghts up to Ironman, I'd be satisfied, but I want to eventually get faster.
But is there a connection between what you think you are and what you are? At what point do you start thinking of yourself as an "athlete" ? I call myself someone who trains for triathlons, I don't call myself a triathlete (and I don't think I would even if I were faster). I don't know, I guess for me athlete is someone who competes in the Olympics or something like that, not a "regular" person who just competes in events. But I have found myself now and then out training and talking to myself about how strong and fast I am and I don't know if it helps to actually BE faster or stronger but I sure start feeling that way :) When do we embrace a self-image of ourselves that is strong and fast, and does this ultimately help us become strong and fast?
I still consider myself a "newbie." And I've asked myself what has to happen for me to consider myself "seasoned." An Ironman finish wouldn't necessarily make me feel any less of a newbie. I guess I'll consider myself seasoned once I have a few years (or "seasons" ... get it? ha) under my belt. So I guess for me experience is more a matter or just time rather than knowledge. There is so much to learn about this sport besides the actual physical running, biking, and swimming. Someone accurately asked someone else how they did in the four disciplines. Mastering transitions is definitely a huge part.
I've started thinking about all the training I've done and I think there's a fifth discipline: Executing it. Getting your nerves under control and just doing out there what you've been doing in training. There's a very wise saying that don't expect something to happen in race day that didn't happen in training. But if you've trained enough, just sit back, relax, and let your body take over. Let it happen out there on the course. I've biked the course. Irongirl is too close but for the Pumpkinman half I will definitely both bike and run the course. Each time do it better, do something extra. There's a huge amount of things to learn about the sport and practice and improve on. And I think as you progress you become more sure of yourself.
I ride in wind now. I ride downhill at 30 miles per hour now. I've ridden The Loop. So many things that would have scared the hell out of me less than four months ago. I ride clipless. I put up better with the cold now. So many changes in really a relatively short amount of time.
So many times I wanted to quit. Honestly with that first bike ride and those first couple of weeks, a huge reason why I didn't quit is because I had told a spin instructor that I was training for an Ironman and I didn't want to go back with my head hung in shame. That in and of itself got me back training. Slowly I began to love the training and now I enjoy swimming, biking, and running in and of themselves so that races are not the endpoint, just a bonus. Even if I never raced I still enjoy the training itself. That was a huge shift for me. That's why if I go to a particular race and I blow it, I can go back to the warm cocoon of training and just try again. There's a boatload of races to choose from. There's always a next chance. There's always a next race. And it's probably a month from now. So I started race/end-focused and very much became training/journey focused just based on the fact that SBR bring me pleasure.
But it's funny that I suck so much at something that I love so much. What do you do in that situation? Sure, I'll keep doing it for a few years, but I hate that feeling of being last in the field. It's not going to stop me from training and racing, but I really do wish that it somehow all comes together somehow and I start seeing improvement. With the running I HAVE gone from 12 minute miles to solid 10's for 6 miles but now and then I still pull a 12 which is discouraging and I haven't moved into the 8's and the 9's. For biking I seem stuck in 12 miles per hour or so. For swimming I'm right around 2:45 per hundred. So it moves a bit, then moves right back. I wonder what the numbers will look like next year. The Oly is no problem, I can meet the cutoff. For the Half I will have to train hard. I need to get that course under four hours to be confident I can meet the cutoffs (the bike's the harder for me to meet the cutoff for the Half), and I need to raise that 11-12 MPH to a solid 14-15 MPH before October 20th. I'm willing to put in the time and the effort and the knee grease (ha). I enjoy the whole journey, the progress, the training, the executing, the number crunching. One of my favorite things to do now is estimate triathlon times based on discipline times. But that's a blog entry for another day.
But is there a connection between what you think you are and what you are? At what point do you start thinking of yourself as an "athlete" ? I call myself someone who trains for triathlons, I don't call myself a triathlete (and I don't think I would even if I were faster). I don't know, I guess for me athlete is someone who competes in the Olympics or something like that, not a "regular" person who just competes in events. But I have found myself now and then out training and talking to myself about how strong and fast I am and I don't know if it helps to actually BE faster or stronger but I sure start feeling that way :) When do we embrace a self-image of ourselves that is strong and fast, and does this ultimately help us become strong and fast?
I still consider myself a "newbie." And I've asked myself what has to happen for me to consider myself "seasoned." An Ironman finish wouldn't necessarily make me feel any less of a newbie. I guess I'll consider myself seasoned once I have a few years (or "seasons" ... get it? ha) under my belt. So I guess for me experience is more a matter or just time rather than knowledge. There is so much to learn about this sport besides the actual physical running, biking, and swimming. Someone accurately asked someone else how they did in the four disciplines. Mastering transitions is definitely a huge part.
I've started thinking about all the training I've done and I think there's a fifth discipline: Executing it. Getting your nerves under control and just doing out there what you've been doing in training. There's a very wise saying that don't expect something to happen in race day that didn't happen in training. But if you've trained enough, just sit back, relax, and let your body take over. Let it happen out there on the course. I've biked the course. Irongirl is too close but for the Pumpkinman half I will definitely both bike and run the course. Each time do it better, do something extra. There's a huge amount of things to learn about the sport and practice and improve on. And I think as you progress you become more sure of yourself.
I ride in wind now. I ride downhill at 30 miles per hour now. I've ridden The Loop. So many things that would have scared the hell out of me less than four months ago. I ride clipless. I put up better with the cold now. So many changes in really a relatively short amount of time.
So many times I wanted to quit. Honestly with that first bike ride and those first couple of weeks, a huge reason why I didn't quit is because I had told a spin instructor that I was training for an Ironman and I didn't want to go back with my head hung in shame. That in and of itself got me back training. Slowly I began to love the training and now I enjoy swimming, biking, and running in and of themselves so that races are not the endpoint, just a bonus. Even if I never raced I still enjoy the training itself. That was a huge shift for me. That's why if I go to a particular race and I blow it, I can go back to the warm cocoon of training and just try again. There's a boatload of races to choose from. There's always a next chance. There's always a next race. And it's probably a month from now. So I started race/end-focused and very much became training/journey focused just based on the fact that SBR bring me pleasure.
But it's funny that I suck so much at something that I love so much. What do you do in that situation? Sure, I'll keep doing it for a few years, but I hate that feeling of being last in the field. It's not going to stop me from training and racing, but I really do wish that it somehow all comes together somehow and I start seeing improvement. With the running I HAVE gone from 12 minute miles to solid 10's for 6 miles but now and then I still pull a 12 which is discouraging and I haven't moved into the 8's and the 9's. For biking I seem stuck in 12 miles per hour or so. For swimming I'm right around 2:45 per hundred. So it moves a bit, then moves right back. I wonder what the numbers will look like next year. The Oly is no problem, I can meet the cutoff. For the Half I will have to train hard. I need to get that course under four hours to be confident I can meet the cutoffs (the bike's the harder for me to meet the cutoff for the Half), and I need to raise that 11-12 MPH to a solid 14-15 MPH before October 20th. I'm willing to put in the time and the effort and the knee grease (ha). I enjoy the whole journey, the progress, the training, the executing, the number crunching. One of my favorite things to do now is estimate triathlon times based on discipline times. But that's a blog entry for another day.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Coffee out, electrolytes in.
Stopped drinking coffee Monday night, priming my body to get an extra caffeine kick on Saturday, and I hate it lol Also started drinking Powerade Zero along with water to start getting electrolytes in. My diet consists mostly of chicken, yams, rice, vegetables, and oatmeal. And I like it!!
I'm going to try to go all out on today's bike workout. I think that I'm afraid of blowing up (tri lingo to running out of power completely to the point that you have to stop exercising and rest from a couple of minutes to even longer) and I don't go all out, but I will use this session in particular to be panting at the end.
At the Xterra 10K I noticed how heavily people passing me were breathing, they were going all out and not afraid of not reaching the finish line.
Still can't do 2 miles on the treadmill at 6 MPH but I can do 3 at 5 MPH. Treadmill running is harder for me than running on road/track/trail/etc.
I'm going to try to go all out on today's bike workout. I think that I'm afraid of blowing up (tri lingo to running out of power completely to the point that you have to stop exercising and rest from a couple of minutes to even longer) and I don't go all out, but I will use this session in particular to be panting at the end.
At the Xterra 10K I noticed how heavily people passing me were breathing, they were going all out and not afraid of not reaching the finish line.
Still can't do 2 miles on the treadmill at 6 MPH but I can do 3 at 5 MPH. Treadmill running is harder for me than running on road/track/trail/etc.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Seriously, if you had told me the stuff I would be doing.... and I'm not talking about distances....
This is a how a conversation with my triathlon coach will go like:
Me: Can you change this and this training for me?
Coach: Why?
Me: Because of life-long fear or apprehension that has me doing/not doing something a certain way my whole entire life
Coach: Deal with it
Me: Ok
A bit paraphrased, but you get the gist of it. Had to step outside my comfort zone today in a huge way. If you had told me the things I would be doing I'd have told you you were nuts. And in all instances so far, once I dealt with it, it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it was going to be, and I'm actually better off because of having done it :) This Ironman training is turning out into a life-changing experience already!! It's funny that when it comes to the Ironman training I'll be told, go deal with that lifelong fear, and I'm like ok, done. Seriously, going downhill at 30+ miles per hour on the bike, for example, when 17 used to scare the hell out of me three months ago.
Me: Can you change this and this training for me?
Coach: Why?
Me: Because of life-long fear or apprehension that has me doing/not doing something a certain way my whole entire life
Coach: Deal with it
Me: Ok
A bit paraphrased, but you get the gist of it. Had to step outside my comfort zone today in a huge way. If you had told me the things I would be doing I'd have told you you were nuts. And in all instances so far, once I dealt with it, it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it was going to be, and I'm actually better off because of having done it :) This Ironman training is turning out into a life-changing experience already!! It's funny that when it comes to the Ironman training I'll be told, go deal with that lifelong fear, and I'm like ok, done. Seriously, going downhill at 30+ miles per hour on the bike, for example, when 17 used to scare the hell out of me three months ago.
Monday, April 16, 2012
DJ said I needed a picture.....
Hells to the yeah!!! How perfect is this?!?!?! :) And i don't think they were even thinking of triathlons when they made that image, it was just supposed to be about strength lol
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Race coming up, food musings.
Rest day today, and taper week this week. Then a semi-week, then another taper week for Irongirl, so I'm not really going to have a hard week until after the sixth of May. Then it's on like Donkey Kong for October's Half Ironman. I'm sooooooo looking forward to the longer training sessions. Three weeks, though. At least I get two hard races.
The goal is to hit it hard for RAGE even if it hurts Irongirl but 2 weeks should be enough to recover and then hit it hard for Irongirl, then 23 weeks until PM (Pumpkinman, Half Ironman, 10/20/12). I can do the Oly distances for RAGE, so I'm just gonna go and hit it hard.
So a little diatribe on food. I crossed over into the dark side today. If it goes into my mouth, it helps my training. That means my diet consists of chicken, fish, eggs, brown rice, yams, yogurt, vegetables, and apples, mostly. I really want that Ironman.
I was talking to some about food and it came up that people thought that was depriving myself. But food used to be a source of fuel, we as a society made it into reward and punishment. Easy to see how it is a reward, but how is it a punishment? Behave or you get no candy/McDonal's/etc. You cannot leave the table until you finish everything (how about trying out different foods with the same nutrients or different ways to prepare it? I didn't eat vegetables until I was 33. If *I* can figure out a way, *anyone* can figure out a way. I love the microwave steamable bags, throw into microwave, six minutes later have delicious steamed vegetables with NO preparation. I regularly eat broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans).
I don't view it as depriving myself of sweets or pizza or whatever, or denying myself, I view it as giving myself something else. Because nothing can taste as good as "Debbie Eidelman, YOU are an Ironman" is going to feel.
So I did a trail 10K yesterday in over 2 hours. Other than a bit of a bruised ego, I'm fine. I had only ran in trail once before recently (and it was flat, this one was HEEEEEEL-LY) and had only worn those shoes once before (on flat terrain). The shoes were a bad fit and I could feel them pinching my feet in so I walked after 2.6 miles or so because NOTHING is going to stand between me and Saturday. That triathlon is MINE. Lessons learned - wear race shoes a lot before the race, train for the race, don't do new things a week before your A race. But I did this on the spur of the moment, I wasn't really invested in it. I can see myself getting into it in the future and properly training for it, but no more off-road races for now, although I would love to use trail running (REAL trail running, with hills) as part of my training, with good shoes.
The goal is to hit it hard for RAGE even if it hurts Irongirl but 2 weeks should be enough to recover and then hit it hard for Irongirl, then 23 weeks until PM (Pumpkinman, Half Ironman, 10/20/12). I can do the Oly distances for RAGE, so I'm just gonna go and hit it hard.
So a little diatribe on food. I crossed over into the dark side today. If it goes into my mouth, it helps my training. That means my diet consists of chicken, fish, eggs, brown rice, yams, yogurt, vegetables, and apples, mostly. I really want that Ironman.
I was talking to some about food and it came up that people thought that was depriving myself. But food used to be a source of fuel, we as a society made it into reward and punishment. Easy to see how it is a reward, but how is it a punishment? Behave or you get no candy/McDonal's/etc. You cannot leave the table until you finish everything (how about trying out different foods with the same nutrients or different ways to prepare it? I didn't eat vegetables until I was 33. If *I* can figure out a way, *anyone* can figure out a way. I love the microwave steamable bags, throw into microwave, six minutes later have delicious steamed vegetables with NO preparation. I regularly eat broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans).
I don't view it as depriving myself of sweets or pizza or whatever, or denying myself, I view it as giving myself something else. Because nothing can taste as good as "Debbie Eidelman, YOU are an Ironman" is going to feel.
So I did a trail 10K yesterday in over 2 hours. Other than a bit of a bruised ego, I'm fine. I had only ran in trail once before recently (and it was flat, this one was HEEEEEEL-LY) and had only worn those shoes once before (on flat terrain). The shoes were a bad fit and I could feel them pinching my feet in so I walked after 2.6 miles or so because NOTHING is going to stand between me and Saturday. That triathlon is MINE. Lessons learned - wear race shoes a lot before the race, train for the race, don't do new things a week before your A race. But I did this on the spur of the moment, I wasn't really invested in it. I can see myself getting into it in the future and properly training for it, but no more off-road races for now, although I would love to use trail running (REAL trail running, with hills) as part of my training, with good shoes.
So I guess I'll catch up in spurts....
I do want the whole Ironman journey recorded and I did have a blog kind of dialogue going on my TrainingPeaks (online triathlon logging website) but since starting a new coach I'm keeping that for straight workout related comments so I'm moving the extra commentary here. I actually like that quite a bit, separating the information. So what I'll do is that I'll slowly over the following year move over the past comments but I'll keep blogging moving forward.
So had a very disappointing trainer ride on Saturday, the kind that makes me want to quit and forget all this Ironman nonsense and go back to Zumba. 10.5 miles per hour. (a trainer is a device that lets you ride your bike inside). I'm like, really? Train for 3.5 months and this is all I have to show for it, my worst ride yet? Never mind improving, I'm DEproving. When that happens I allow myself half an hour of wallowing (if it lasts that much) and then move on to the next day. I'm actually surprised at the level of commitment I have towards this. But even at the worst rate I've posted all year, I can STILL meet the cutoff on Saturday and have fifteen minutes left for the first transition. And I haven't ridden that slow on the course. They even say you do on the road 1.5 the distance you do on the trainer. So maybe it will all click together Saturday.
Race day coming up in six days. Getting really nervous. Which I always do before every race. I have, since the first of the year through 4/15/12, ran a total of 139.14 miles, biked a total of 718.26 miles, and swam a total of 12.83 miles (20648 meters, or about 826 lengths of the pool or about 413 out and back laps), and trained a total of 107 hours, 46 minutes, and 23 seconds over 105 days, so about an hour a day or an average of 7 hours a week for an Olympic, and this includes base building which starts up slowly. Yes I'm trying to make myself feel better over what I see as a paltry number of hours, but once I start training for the Half Ironman after 5/6 and the Full Ironman after 10/20 that will amp up quite a bit.
I've done the bike course twice, viewed YouTube videos on transitions, practiced transition, had a practice triathlon, practiced things I plan to do on race day, took a look at the course online. I've prepared a lot more for this than for any other triathlon, so I guess now it's just to execute. Easy week coming up, taper week. Any training that was going to make a difference has already been done.
Pumpkinman is going to be a challenge. I need to get that course in 4 hours to be comfortable with the cutoffs, or around 14 MPH. So I have 23 weeks to practice it. Hopefully it's enough time. The swim and the run are not worrying me, that bike is. But now I know what I'm facing and what I need to meet and improve :)
So had a very disappointing trainer ride on Saturday, the kind that makes me want to quit and forget all this Ironman nonsense and go back to Zumba. 10.5 miles per hour. (a trainer is a device that lets you ride your bike inside). I'm like, really? Train for 3.5 months and this is all I have to show for it, my worst ride yet? Never mind improving, I'm DEproving. When that happens I allow myself half an hour of wallowing (if it lasts that much) and then move on to the next day. I'm actually surprised at the level of commitment I have towards this. But even at the worst rate I've posted all year, I can STILL meet the cutoff on Saturday and have fifteen minutes left for the first transition. And I haven't ridden that slow on the course. They even say you do on the road 1.5 the distance you do on the trainer. So maybe it will all click together Saturday.
Race day coming up in six days. Getting really nervous. Which I always do before every race. I have, since the first of the year through 4/15/12, ran a total of 139.14 miles, biked a total of 718.26 miles, and swam a total of 12.83 miles (20648 meters, or about 826 lengths of the pool or about 413 out and back laps), and trained a total of 107 hours, 46 minutes, and 23 seconds over 105 days, so about an hour a day or an average of 7 hours a week for an Olympic, and this includes base building which starts up slowly. Yes I'm trying to make myself feel better over what I see as a paltry number of hours, but once I start training for the Half Ironman after 5/6 and the Full Ironman after 10/20 that will amp up quite a bit.
I've done the bike course twice, viewed YouTube videos on transitions, practiced transition, had a practice triathlon, practiced things I plan to do on race day, took a look at the course online. I've prepared a lot more for this than for any other triathlon, so I guess now it's just to execute. Easy week coming up, taper week. Any training that was going to make a difference has already been done.
Pumpkinman is going to be a challenge. I need to get that course in 4 hours to be comfortable with the cutoffs, or around 14 MPH. So I have 23 weeks to practice it. Hopefully it's enough time. The swim and the run are not worrying me, that bike is. But now I know what I'm facing and what I need to meet and improve :)
Friday, April 6, 2012
Equipment
So let's do a little post on equipment. I'm a big believer that you should start out with what you have. Don't wait until have it all to start. I did my first tri in a swimsuit (in one of the best swim days ever, temperature-wise), and my first two tris in cotton and long sweat pants. No clipless pedals.
Clothing - I now have a one piece trisuit but I'm ditching it for a two piece. When I have to go potty I have to undo the whole thing and the built-in bra takes minutes to get back on. Not happening. Live and learn. At least I got to use it once and I guess I can still use it for training sessions. I got so frustrated when I used it on the tri club tri when I had to go before the run that I just zipped it back up with the bra part still open (it has a separate zipper) and found that even without the built in bra closed it holds it all packed in, but why have that extra cloth in there if I'm not going to use it?
Training watch - upgraded from the 305 that I got in 2010 to the 910XT and other than it froze three times, I like it when it works. It froze after the swim portion of the tri club tri and I would have been majorly pissed if that had been an A race. Someone got it working for me as I stripped the wetsuit off. I'm looking into firmware upgrades before RAGE. Froze twice during brick workouts. It only freezes during bricks. Have the heart rate monitor, foot pod for running, and cadence and speed sensors for the bike.
Clipless - if I can do clipless, ANYONE can do clipless. I have a dual-sided platform (regular-looking pedals) with clipless (mountain bike cleats) and it works wells for me, and I'm getting good and unclipping and reclipping. I want speed play pedals in a few months, definitely by Pumpkinman Half in October.
Bike - got a riser for the neck for my short torso, replaced the 25 cassette with a 28, the standard crank with a compact, and finally replaced the stock seat.
Running - I LOVE my Headsweats cap and I hate hats. Best. Cap. Ever. I love my Sketchers GoRuns and I'm on my second pair of the same model of Reeboks, I've moved on from Asiks for now, I want to try Newtons and Nike Free 3.0 next.
Swimming - it turns out I had a diving wetsuit, not a tri wetsuit. Got an Xterra full sleeve, get to try it out this weekend.
Got all of that gradually. And finally replaced the Cyclops Fluid one trainer with the Cyclops Fluid 2 so that I can get power data from Trainer Road. I'm going to have trainer workouts so I will run a Trainer Road workout and ignore the workout it gives me and just use it for data recording while I do my own workout and see how it all pans out the first time.
Clothing - I now have a one piece trisuit but I'm ditching it for a two piece. When I have to go potty I have to undo the whole thing and the built-in bra takes minutes to get back on. Not happening. Live and learn. At least I got to use it once and I guess I can still use it for training sessions. I got so frustrated when I used it on the tri club tri when I had to go before the run that I just zipped it back up with the bra part still open (it has a separate zipper) and found that even without the built in bra closed it holds it all packed in, but why have that extra cloth in there if I'm not going to use it?
Training watch - upgraded from the 305 that I got in 2010 to the 910XT and other than it froze three times, I like it when it works. It froze after the swim portion of the tri club tri and I would have been majorly pissed if that had been an A race. Someone got it working for me as I stripped the wetsuit off. I'm looking into firmware upgrades before RAGE. Froze twice during brick workouts. It only freezes during bricks. Have the heart rate monitor, foot pod for running, and cadence and speed sensors for the bike.
Clipless - if I can do clipless, ANYONE can do clipless. I have a dual-sided platform (regular-looking pedals) with clipless (mountain bike cleats) and it works wells for me, and I'm getting good and unclipping and reclipping. I want speed play pedals in a few months, definitely by Pumpkinman Half in October.
Bike - got a riser for the neck for my short torso, replaced the 25 cassette with a 28, the standard crank with a compact, and finally replaced the stock seat.
Running - I LOVE my Headsweats cap and I hate hats. Best. Cap. Ever. I love my Sketchers GoRuns and I'm on my second pair of the same model of Reeboks, I've moved on from Asiks for now, I want to try Newtons and Nike Free 3.0 next.
Swimming - it turns out I had a diving wetsuit, not a tri wetsuit. Got an Xterra full sleeve, get to try it out this weekend.
Got all of that gradually. And finally replaced the Cyclops Fluid one trainer with the Cyclops Fluid 2 so that I can get power data from Trainer Road. I'm going to have trainer workouts so I will run a Trainer Road workout and ignore the workout it gives me and just use it for data recording while I do my own workout and see how it all pans out the first time.
Updates ... Ok, let's get this blog going!
Ok, let's go for it and let's do the blog. I've been heavily using TrainingPeaks' comments section but I got the fire to blog again, so we'll see how it goes.
Busy three months. So I DID start training for an Ironman. And those first few sessions sucked big time. My first one hour bike ride I spent the whole hour wanting to quit and go back to Zumba, and that's what I did the whole hour, ok, I'll get to that corner and then quit and go back to Zumba, and then I'll go to that corner and then quit and go back to Zumba. The first few times I ran sucked too because I started at one and two miles and the endorphins would kick in as soon as I got to the car. And I'd be like REALLY??? NOW??? Where were you when I needed you twenty minutes ago?
Now I love biking, especially with the clipless. There's soooo many things to talk about that I'll take a couple of weeks to catch up on everything as opposed to feeling I need to cover everything in this one post. Now when I run, I get the rush of endorphins even before I started running!! I'm up to six miles now. The swimming is coming along.
Just starting with a new triathlon coach on Mondays. There's a few things I like about having a coach. First, I don't need a coach for motivation. I need a coach to keep me from overworking myself lol I'll drive myself to the ground with workouts. Second, IMTX (Ironman Texas '13) is happening. It HAS to happen. It WILL happen. If this was just you know, it'll happen when it'll happen, sure, I'd wing it, I'm sure with enough reading and websites and plans I can come up with a plan, but maybe it'd need a couple of seasons of tweaking. I can't take that chance. I have a limited timeframe. And it just makes me feel better to have someone behind the wheel that already knows what will work and what won't. No messing around, just straight to results. And I also enjoy just doing. Don't me wrong, I enjoy coming up with it also, but sometimes it's just nice to pull up and do. Less planning more doing. And if something doesn't work, more of a chance that the person knows how to fix it.
And the questions. Oh, do I have questions. My nutrition during races needs an overhaul. 200 calories during a Sprint, including pre-, is just not going to cut it. And there's something wrong in the "execution" of my races also, what, I don't know. But I don't think it's just the engine (i.e. my body), I think it's those two things also, and hopefully a coach helps with that. Then there's also technique work. So while there's a whole debate of whether triathlon coaches are needed for "regular" non-pro people, I guess it's just like personal trianers. You don't NEED one, but they make the whole experience a whole more fun.
I have become so hooked on training it's not even funny. Long way from that first bike ride. Now I crave workouts. Specially since I was following a temporary plan as part of a group that I joined before joining up with a regular coach. I think having workouts makes them that much more appetizing to me. I.e. today I don't get to run, so by tomorrow I'll be all hungry for running. I think with the kind of person I am that had a huge impact in shifting me from dreading to craving.
So what happens if I don't meet the swim cutoff or the bike cutoff in IMTX 13? I try again (no, I won't do stuff like "tri again" ha). I'm not one to get devastated by failures. It just makes me go, oh, you're saying I can't have that or do that? I'll show you! Yeah, a bit passive aggressive, and I enjoy the hell out of my passive aggressiveness. But what are my chances of meeting the cutoffs if I go? If I don't go? Starting with that marathon in 2010 and continuing, I'm still of the mindset that I'd rather show up and fail than not show up at all. The best learning experiences sometimes come from failure. Having said all that, IMTX13 is my ***** :) It's on like Donkey Kong. It's happening. I really shouldn't write these things while amped up on coffee.
I decided either last week or the week before the shirt I'm wearing for IMTX13. Who knows, maybe depending on the cost I'll look on a custom tri top. It's a once in a lifetime thing, I'm willing to spend a buck or two (up to a point... let's say $50-$150 for a custom tri top). On the front I want there to be a picture of my dad with the caption "Dad's Name 11/12/1939-6/3/2009" and on the back there will be my before and current pictures with the caption "Debbie 07/03/09-IMTX13 Date" (or "present," haven't decided that part yet). I think that'd be fitting. And that'd be the end of "the journey" I started in '09, I think, and then I can move on with my life onto the next craziness.
I don't know if I have years of 20 hour weeks, but I know I have a year. I love triathlons and I can see taking a few years to do some, but I can see myself moving on to other competition stuff, or maybe not. I do want to do that Badwater 135-miler run with the 500-mile bike ride for that special medal, 2 Ragnars down and I still have to do the rest so I can hit every runner position and location, I have to do that Disney Full/Half Marathon combo, Boston, Kona, an Expedition Man, Western States, etc. It's a far-reaching dream of mine to do a Ragnar in an ultra team of .... one. But you need like ten minute miles for 200 miles to meet the cutoff, so that's like ok if it happens, ok if not, that's a dream I just thought up but haven't looked into the feasibility, everything else is doable.
I noticed something today. For a long time whenever I met somebody knew I wanted them to know about "Fat Debbie" as soon as possible because there'd be no way they could ever understand me without knowing about Fat Debbie. I wanted to whip out the before picture as soon as possible, not because I was fishing for compliments, but because I wanted them to see what was still inside of me. Today, met someone new, didn't feel like telling them. Hi, this is me, this is the present, what's up. Let's move on from there. No need to get into this whole past thing. This is me. I've been noticing a gradual shift towards this. Like I'm finally coming into this body. I use to describe myself as "Debbie, Thinner" as opposed to "Thin Debbie" and I think those two statements are worlds apart. Now I'm settling into just Debbie whatever the body is.
As I come upon my third anniversary of working out, I was going into this really low calorie diet that really wasn't very nutritious at all. Two days ago I finally said screw it, I'm goig healthy. Third day of eating healthy. Yesterday I went 800 calories over but I think in time with all the training I do and how it increases I won't gain weight and I'll even tone. Tons of veggies and protein and healthy fats. And I think, and I was even expecting, that in the first couple of days my body would go FFFFFFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDD and have a party and then normalize over the next couple of weeks, so I'm not worried (I went as low as 400 calories one day to make up for the 1600 I had the previous two days because I wanted to maintain a 1200 a day average). So yeah, I stopped fighting my body. I figure if I eat vegetables, chicken, fish, yogurt, eggs, etc., eventually that won't make me gain weight and my body will eventually trust that the windfall is not temporary and will settle into a good calorie level that it needs to function well and thrive.
My lifestyle is so different that I guess I have to trust I won't regain the weight.
And I mean I'm at a completely healthy weight, but I wanted the lowest possible weight before going from normal to underweight. And maybe the shift in what I'm eating will shift the percentage of fat to muscle.
I did make the appointment with the plastic surgeon about the 10-20 lbs of extra skin I have. It bounces. You can hear it. When I run and when I up and down stairs. It's embarrasing. And it affects my posture, hunching me over. Imagine strapping a medicine ball to your stomach and walking, running, swimming, and biking with that every day. So the surgeon will say whether it's medically necessary or not to remove it and then I can get a determination from the insurance company. Hey may as well try, right? I think they should pay for it because I just saved them a ****load of money in future medical bills and lost work. It's the least they can do. And I guess since it's been three years almost I've shown it's not coming back. And I think part of the reason I'm so slow is the extra skin. It's very hard for me to get into aero on the bike (leaning down towards the handlebars) because of the skin, and of course all the bouncing when I run. And it affects my posture 24/7 when I sit and when I walk. It's very hard for me to sit straight, physically. Have that appointment later this month. Someone said well are you getting this done and that done? Nope, just the skin. I like my body. Imperfections and all. The extra skin, that's about better living as it is about being able to wear a bikini (and come on, I put 20 hour weeks at the gym for weeks, and it sucks that I can't wear a bikini without surgery... I put in the work, I want the rewards, dammit!!). So the stomach skin is different. But the rest of the body, that'staying there. If it's not perfect who cares, it's mine.
I went to a nutrition workshop today and heard the best description of weight I have ever heard. There's useful weight and useless weight. Try to maximize the amount of useful weight you have while minimizing the amount of useless weight you have. So it's not about the amount of weight, but whether that weight helps you or not. And I think I'm really starting to embrace that. And I did start the healthy eating two days ago and the nutrition workshop was yesterday, so I was really starting to come around on my own. But I really like that description and I will disseminate it as much as I can.
So welcome to the ride, I will be updating this from now on with little snippets here and there until I catch up on everything since I started training 1/2/12 (Monday)!! Then I'll just update new stuff once caught up. Aaaahhh my blogging juices are flowing again!!
Busy three months. So I DID start training for an Ironman. And those first few sessions sucked big time. My first one hour bike ride I spent the whole hour wanting to quit and go back to Zumba, and that's what I did the whole hour, ok, I'll get to that corner and then quit and go back to Zumba, and then I'll go to that corner and then quit and go back to Zumba. The first few times I ran sucked too because I started at one and two miles and the endorphins would kick in as soon as I got to the car. And I'd be like REALLY??? NOW??? Where were you when I needed you twenty minutes ago?
Now I love biking, especially with the clipless. There's soooo many things to talk about that I'll take a couple of weeks to catch up on everything as opposed to feeling I need to cover everything in this one post. Now when I run, I get the rush of endorphins even before I started running!! I'm up to six miles now. The swimming is coming along.
Just starting with a new triathlon coach on Mondays. There's a few things I like about having a coach. First, I don't need a coach for motivation. I need a coach to keep me from overworking myself lol I'll drive myself to the ground with workouts. Second, IMTX (Ironman Texas '13) is happening. It HAS to happen. It WILL happen. If this was just you know, it'll happen when it'll happen, sure, I'd wing it, I'm sure with enough reading and websites and plans I can come up with a plan, but maybe it'd need a couple of seasons of tweaking. I can't take that chance. I have a limited timeframe. And it just makes me feel better to have someone behind the wheel that already knows what will work and what won't. No messing around, just straight to results. And I also enjoy just doing. Don't me wrong, I enjoy coming up with it also, but sometimes it's just nice to pull up and do. Less planning more doing. And if something doesn't work, more of a chance that the person knows how to fix it.
And the questions. Oh, do I have questions. My nutrition during races needs an overhaul. 200 calories during a Sprint, including pre-, is just not going to cut it. And there's something wrong in the "execution" of my races also, what, I don't know. But I don't think it's just the engine (i.e. my body), I think it's those two things also, and hopefully a coach helps with that. Then there's also technique work. So while there's a whole debate of whether triathlon coaches are needed for "regular" non-pro people, I guess it's just like personal trianers. You don't NEED one, but they make the whole experience a whole more fun.
I have become so hooked on training it's not even funny. Long way from that first bike ride. Now I crave workouts. Specially since I was following a temporary plan as part of a group that I joined before joining up with a regular coach. I think having workouts makes them that much more appetizing to me. I.e. today I don't get to run, so by tomorrow I'll be all hungry for running. I think with the kind of person I am that had a huge impact in shifting me from dreading to craving.
So what happens if I don't meet the swim cutoff or the bike cutoff in IMTX 13? I try again (no, I won't do stuff like "tri again" ha). I'm not one to get devastated by failures. It just makes me go, oh, you're saying I can't have that or do that? I'll show you! Yeah, a bit passive aggressive, and I enjoy the hell out of my passive aggressiveness. But what are my chances of meeting the cutoffs if I go? If I don't go? Starting with that marathon in 2010 and continuing, I'm still of the mindset that I'd rather show up and fail than not show up at all. The best learning experiences sometimes come from failure. Having said all that, IMTX13 is my ***** :) It's on like Donkey Kong. It's happening. I really shouldn't write these things while amped up on coffee.
I decided either last week or the week before the shirt I'm wearing for IMTX13. Who knows, maybe depending on the cost I'll look on a custom tri top. It's a once in a lifetime thing, I'm willing to spend a buck or two (up to a point... let's say $50-$150 for a custom tri top). On the front I want there to be a picture of my dad with the caption "Dad's Name 11/12/1939-6/3/2009" and on the back there will be my before and current pictures with the caption "Debbie 07/03/09-IMTX13 Date" (or "present," haven't decided that part yet). I think that'd be fitting. And that'd be the end of "the journey" I started in '09, I think, and then I can move on with my life onto the next craziness.
I don't know if I have years of 20 hour weeks, but I know I have a year. I love triathlons and I can see taking a few years to do some, but I can see myself moving on to other competition stuff, or maybe not. I do want to do that Badwater 135-miler run with the 500-mile bike ride for that special medal, 2 Ragnars down and I still have to do the rest so I can hit every runner position and location, I have to do that Disney Full/Half Marathon combo, Boston, Kona, an Expedition Man, Western States, etc. It's a far-reaching dream of mine to do a Ragnar in an ultra team of .... one. But you need like ten minute miles for 200 miles to meet the cutoff, so that's like ok if it happens, ok if not, that's a dream I just thought up but haven't looked into the feasibility, everything else is doable.
I noticed something today. For a long time whenever I met somebody knew I wanted them to know about "Fat Debbie" as soon as possible because there'd be no way they could ever understand me without knowing about Fat Debbie. I wanted to whip out the before picture as soon as possible, not because I was fishing for compliments, but because I wanted them to see what was still inside of me. Today, met someone new, didn't feel like telling them. Hi, this is me, this is the present, what's up. Let's move on from there. No need to get into this whole past thing. This is me. I've been noticing a gradual shift towards this. Like I'm finally coming into this body. I use to describe myself as "Debbie, Thinner" as opposed to "Thin Debbie" and I think those two statements are worlds apart. Now I'm settling into just Debbie whatever the body is.
As I come upon my third anniversary of working out, I was going into this really low calorie diet that really wasn't very nutritious at all. Two days ago I finally said screw it, I'm goig healthy. Third day of eating healthy. Yesterday I went 800 calories over but I think in time with all the training I do and how it increases I won't gain weight and I'll even tone. Tons of veggies and protein and healthy fats. And I think, and I was even expecting, that in the first couple of days my body would go FFFFFFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDD and have a party and then normalize over the next couple of weeks, so I'm not worried (I went as low as 400 calories one day to make up for the 1600 I had the previous two days because I wanted to maintain a 1200 a day average). So yeah, I stopped fighting my body. I figure if I eat vegetables, chicken, fish, yogurt, eggs, etc., eventually that won't make me gain weight and my body will eventually trust that the windfall is not temporary and will settle into a good calorie level that it needs to function well and thrive.
My lifestyle is so different that I guess I have to trust I won't regain the weight.
And I mean I'm at a completely healthy weight, but I wanted the lowest possible weight before going from normal to underweight. And maybe the shift in what I'm eating will shift the percentage of fat to muscle.
I did make the appointment with the plastic surgeon about the 10-20 lbs of extra skin I have. It bounces. You can hear it. When I run and when I up and down stairs. It's embarrasing. And it affects my posture, hunching me over. Imagine strapping a medicine ball to your stomach and walking, running, swimming, and biking with that every day. So the surgeon will say whether it's medically necessary or not to remove it and then I can get a determination from the insurance company. Hey may as well try, right? I think they should pay for it because I just saved them a ****load of money in future medical bills and lost work. It's the least they can do. And I guess since it's been three years almost I've shown it's not coming back. And I think part of the reason I'm so slow is the extra skin. It's very hard for me to get into aero on the bike (leaning down towards the handlebars) because of the skin, and of course all the bouncing when I run. And it affects my posture 24/7 when I sit and when I walk. It's very hard for me to sit straight, physically. Have that appointment later this month. Someone said well are you getting this done and that done? Nope, just the skin. I like my body. Imperfections and all. The extra skin, that's about better living as it is about being able to wear a bikini (and come on, I put 20 hour weeks at the gym for weeks, and it sucks that I can't wear a bikini without surgery... I put in the work, I want the rewards, dammit!!). So the stomach skin is different. But the rest of the body, that'staying there. If it's not perfect who cares, it's mine.
I went to a nutrition workshop today and heard the best description of weight I have ever heard. There's useful weight and useless weight. Try to maximize the amount of useful weight you have while minimizing the amount of useless weight you have. So it's not about the amount of weight, but whether that weight helps you or not. And I think I'm really starting to embrace that. And I did start the healthy eating two days ago and the nutrition workshop was yesterday, so I was really starting to come around on my own. But I really like that description and I will disseminate it as much as I can.
So welcome to the ride, I will be updating this from now on with little snippets here and there until I catch up on everything since I started training 1/2/12 (Monday)!! Then I'll just update new stuff once caught up. Aaaahhh my blogging juices are flowing again!!
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