I've always heard that taper is hard, and now that I'm in the middle of it, I understand perfectly. It's not physically hard, because for the first time in months, I am doing shorter workouts which leaves more free time on my hands. That free time is what is hard mentally, my mind is very restless. I am so wired I can't seem to relax! The mental focus ,though, is not there for mundane tasks around the house, I only want to think about the race. I really am going to compare this to the excitement & nervousness leading up to my wedding or even the birth of my children. I know you are saying NO WAY. I'm NOT saying it is as important as those monumental days, but I have put forth more time and effort on this ironman journy, than on either my wedding or pregnancy. I guess I'm saying that the focus on every workout is crucial, swimming, biking, runninhg can be dangerous if you lose focus; picking out a wedding dress isn't dangerous and pregnancy pretty much happens without much input from you. For an Ironman, the daily 'choice' to get the appropriate training in is exhausting, not to mention the workout itself.
So here I am with the work done, the packing list started, and my excitement soaring, ready to become an Ironman, Ironwoman, Ironmom...whatever you want to call it, it means 140.6 miles!!!
This week I have been advised to have fun with my workouts! I have swam without counting laps, ran & biked without measuring distance, speed, or pace and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather. I'm hoping to do the same on November 5th and ENJOY MY IRONMAN JOURNEY!!!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Race day 26 days away
Had the longest training weekend of my life this past weekend. A double brick starting from my driveway Saturday morning at 7 am and finishing at 3:30 pm consisting of 50 mile bike, 14 mile run, 30 mile bike, and a 3 mile run. The garage functioned as transition area and aid station with food & fluidst was mid 60 temps at start and low 80's by the end, perfect weather! I felt strong & consistent even on my last run. I showered, rested, and ate until bedtime- which was 8:15 (I was alseep at 8:30). I woke up at 6 and ate waffles and went back to sleep itll 8 and ate cereal. I slept close to 12 hours. Sunday I swam my longest lake swim with a couple of friends & one in a canoe! I wore race wetsuit & goal was to prepare mentally & test fitness. I passed! Swam 2.5 miles in 1:36- goal for Florida is 1:45; feel much more confindent about the swim. Even got to swim with a Kona qualifier from a few years back.....no, I didn't keep up with her! Coaches say I need to take a recovery day today (DONE). I'm blogging, logging workouts on daily mile, eating, and watching inspirational race videos on YouTube! (what a great day)...I need to clean house too but that's beside the point. ha
I had to cut a bike short last week because I just didn't have it. After talking it out with Coach Al, looks like I'm not eating enough at dinner. Not a surprise at all in retrospect. I came home and put together a nutrition schedule/checklist and put alarms in my phone for times to eat and snack! I kow I need fuel but at times it's hard to eat when I'm so tired and have no appetite becasue of fatigue. My plan is to have meals planned ahead of time so they are ready to eat....seems it takes all my energy to feed the family and then I don't eat. ughhh....lesson learned!
I will share race week plans, etc during taper in a few weeks.
September Totals:
Swim 9m 5'48"
Bike 459 m 28'14"
Run 57m 9'46"
Total: 525m 43 hours 49min
I had to cut a bike short last week because I just didn't have it. After talking it out with Coach Al, looks like I'm not eating enough at dinner. Not a surprise at all in retrospect. I came home and put together a nutrition schedule/checklist and put alarms in my phone for times to eat and snack! I kow I need fuel but at times it's hard to eat when I'm so tired and have no appetite becasue of fatigue. My plan is to have meals planned ahead of time so they are ready to eat....seems it takes all my energy to feed the family and then I don't eat. ughhh....lesson learned!
I will share race week plans, etc during taper in a few weeks.
September Totals:
Swim 9m 5'48"
Bike 459 m 28'14"
Run 57m 9'46"
Total: 525m 43 hours 49min
Thursday, September 29, 2011
36 days to go...
Wow, race day is sneaking up on me! Only a few more weeks of high volume training and then it's taper time- decreasing the volume will be welcome.
August brought a few races for me as well as school schedules for the kids. The kids love their new schools and teachers- Always a plus when you move just for that purpose! My schedule called for a few olympic distance triathlons during late July & early August, but life got in the way of that. Instead I opted for a back to back sprint race which added together equaled close to OLY distance. It was a triathletes weekend dream- Friday was the Sharpshooter "men's only" tri, Saturday was the Annie Oakley "women only" tri, and Sunday was the Showman Shooter tri which was co-ed. If you participated in two you got a special finishers tee-shirt (and a few more calories burned). I did the Annie Oakley on Sat and the Showman shooter on Sunday, to my surprise I won first in my age group BOTH days! woot woot :)
The other race on my schedule in Augsust was the Rocketman Olympic Tri in Huntsville, Alabama. We opted to make a family trip out of this and take the kids to the Space Muesum on Saturday and I would do the race on Sunday. I did the race on tired legs, needless to say, after walking around all day the day before. I had a good race though, 4th in my age group. I was really happy with my bike & run feeling really strong with each of those. My swim was slow, at first I thought wow this feels good- Then I realized it felt good cause I did not push.....It. Was. Slow. I am working on pacing myself in the water.
My B race of the season was Sept 10, Nashvegas 70.3. I needed to use this race to gauge my fitness for my Ironman. It was just the boost that I needed! I cut off 20 minutes of my Cancun 70.3 time to finish 6:21. I had a steady swim, felt really strong on the bike & run to pull out a 1st in my age group! I was really pleased with my bike....especially since it was a hilly course. The song "Run to the Hills" by Iron Maiden rang in my ears during the bike. I felt so good after this race, I was never sore. I took only 2 days off to recover and then starting building again. I did a 50 mile ride the next week and then a 100 mile ride Sat & 15 mile run Sun. Then Tuesday went to the doctor with a cold! Luckily I got a sinus cocktail shot and slept tons. I took 4 days off to rest & hydrate. Saturday after that, I did an easy 32 bike & Sunday an easy 6 mile run. Not the numbers I wanted to post but hey, what are ya gonna do? Lesson Learned. Recover after a race. Now, I am upping my vitamins, antioxidents, veggies, water etc.... It will do me no good to get to the start line if I'm sick. Period. Feeling weak from that cold put a little scare into me. I'm now on the building, resting , & staying healty training plan. As I should have been all along.
My numbers for August:
Swim 15miles; 10 hrs, 14 min
Bike 479 miles; 28 hours, 50 min
Run 58 miles; 9 hours, 23 min
Total August Training: 551 miles; 48 hours, 28 minutes
August brought a few races for me as well as school schedules for the kids. The kids love their new schools and teachers- Always a plus when you move just for that purpose! My schedule called for a few olympic distance triathlons during late July & early August, but life got in the way of that. Instead I opted for a back to back sprint race which added together equaled close to OLY distance. It was a triathletes weekend dream- Friday was the Sharpshooter "men's only" tri, Saturday was the Annie Oakley "women only" tri, and Sunday was the Showman Shooter tri which was co-ed. If you participated in two you got a special finishers tee-shirt (and a few more calories burned). I did the Annie Oakley on Sat and the Showman shooter on Sunday, to my surprise I won first in my age group BOTH days! woot woot :)
The other race on my schedule in Augsust was the Rocketman Olympic Tri in Huntsville, Alabama. We opted to make a family trip out of this and take the kids to the Space Muesum on Saturday and I would do the race on Sunday. I did the race on tired legs, needless to say, after walking around all day the day before. I had a good race though, 4th in my age group. I was really happy with my bike & run feeling really strong with each of those. My swim was slow, at first I thought wow this feels good- Then I realized it felt good cause I did not push.....It. Was. Slow. I am working on pacing myself in the water.
My B race of the season was Sept 10, Nashvegas 70.3. I needed to use this race to gauge my fitness for my Ironman. It was just the boost that I needed! I cut off 20 minutes of my Cancun 70.3 time to finish 6:21. I had a steady swim, felt really strong on the bike & run to pull out a 1st in my age group! I was really pleased with my bike....especially since it was a hilly course. The song "Run to the Hills" by Iron Maiden rang in my ears during the bike. I felt so good after this race, I was never sore. I took only 2 days off to recover and then starting building again. I did a 50 mile ride the next week and then a 100 mile ride Sat & 15 mile run Sun. Then Tuesday went to the doctor with a cold! Luckily I got a sinus cocktail shot and slept tons. I took 4 days off to rest & hydrate. Saturday after that, I did an easy 32 bike & Sunday an easy 6 mile run. Not the numbers I wanted to post but hey, what are ya gonna do? Lesson Learned. Recover after a race. Now, I am upping my vitamins, antioxidents, veggies, water etc.... It will do me no good to get to the start line if I'm sick. Period. Feeling weak from that cold put a little scare into me. I'm now on the building, resting , & staying healty training plan. As I should have been all along.
My numbers for August:
Swim 15miles; 10 hrs, 14 min
Bike 479 miles; 28 hours, 50 min
Run 58 miles; 9 hours, 23 min
Total August Training: 551 miles; 48 hours, 28 minutes
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
IM Florida in 95 days.....
August, really? We were so busy with our move that June and July flew by! Moving a family of 5 is tougher than I imagined. In my mind, I counted some of the move as cross-training workouts! Lots of strength & cardio workouts carrying boxes up & down stairs! :) Two weeks after we moved we went on vacation. Geesh, we really needed it. I did get an opportunity while at the beach to do 3 open water swims which I loved! Also, I did my longest bike to date (82 miles) while on vacation and I did it alone. I picked up a map from the local bike shop and used my gps, it was a good uneventful ride (thank God)!
I was hoping to do an olympic tri a month during June & July, but that didn't happen. I did manage to do a few sprint triathlons and I have some longer races on my calendar.
JUNE: Dragonfly Tri: I think I did the exact same time as last year within seconds.
Swim: 8m 5hours 56 min
Bike: 311m 18hrs 44 min
Run: 59m 9hrs 47 min
June Totals: 379 miles 34 hours 28 min
JULY: Annie Oakley Super Sprint Tri and Sharpshooter Sprint Tri
I did "The Challenge" which is both races the same weekend-one Sat & the other Sun.
I was super excited to get 1st in my age group in both races! Great awards too :)
Swim: 6m 4hrs 8min
Bike: 312m 18hrs 37min
Run: 51m 8hrs 23min
July Totals: 369miles 31hrs 10min
TRAIN HARD
LIVE HAPPY
I was hoping to do an olympic tri a month during June & July, but that didn't happen. I did manage to do a few sprint triathlons and I have some longer races on my calendar.
JUNE: Dragonfly Tri: I think I did the exact same time as last year within seconds.
Swim: 8m 5hours 56 min
Bike: 311m 18hrs 44 min
Run: 59m 9hrs 47 min
June Totals: 379 miles 34 hours 28 min
JULY: Annie Oakley Super Sprint Tri and Sharpshooter Sprint Tri
I did "The Challenge" which is both races the same weekend-one Sat & the other Sun.
I was super excited to get 1st in my age group in both races! Great awards too :)
Swim: 6m 4hrs 8min
Bike: 312m 18hrs 37min
Run: 51m 8hrs 23min
July Totals: 369miles 31hrs 10min
TRAIN HARD
LIVE HAPPY
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Let the TRAINING begin......
The clock is counting down and I'm now paying attention to the hours whizzing by and the fact that those hours need to be spent wisely. Eat...Train...Rest...Repeat. This is optimum but my life isn't revolving around my training currently. We are moving our family across town at the end of June (less than 2 weeks) so I have been packing, cleaning, stressing, etc.... my training has suffered but not for long, I will get my mental focus back (I write that for me to believe it).
May brought in a heat wave which was difficult on my body because I was not acclimated to the heat yet. ughhhh...I plan on rereading my facebook posts from last summer to give me inspiration for heat endurace training! I had some hard runs & bikes during May which really brought to light the event that I am undertaking. I am not ready....but I will be....I have 20 weeks to prepare. My base it solid...I am ready to focus on my journey.
Today is Father's Day and I am grateful for having a wonderfully supportive husband who is the best dad ever! He is the reason that makes my Ironman dream possible!
I am blessed to have the best group of friends EVER! You chica's know who you are, you have been there every step of the way! Thank you & love you.
May Races:
Killer Kudzu 5K 24:58 overall female masters winner
Memphis In May Olympic Tri 2:59 - torrential rains, hail, wind, and a longer run than it should have been = Good times! Great venue and course!
May Training:
SWIM: 6m
BIKE: 288 m
RUN: 60m
May Totals: 354 miles; 34 hours, 2 minutes
TRAIN HARD
LIVE HAPPY
May brought in a heat wave which was difficult on my body because I was not acclimated to the heat yet. ughhhh...I plan on rereading my facebook posts from last summer to give me inspiration for heat endurace training! I had some hard runs & bikes during May which really brought to light the event that I am undertaking. I am not ready....but I will be....I have 20 weeks to prepare. My base it solid...I am ready to focus on my journey.
Today is Father's Day and I am grateful for having a wonderfully supportive husband who is the best dad ever! He is the reason that makes my Ironman dream possible!
I am blessed to have the best group of friends EVER! You chica's know who you are, you have been there every step of the way! Thank you & love you.
May Races:
Killer Kudzu 5K 24:58 overall female masters winner
Memphis In May Olympic Tri 2:59 - torrential rains, hail, wind, and a longer run than it should have been = Good times! Great venue and course!
 |
| Memphis In May |
SWIM: 6m
BIKE: 288 m
RUN: 60m
May Totals: 354 miles; 34 hours, 2 minutes
TRAIN HARD
LIVE HAPPY
Monday, May 2, 2011
Rain, Rain Go Away.....
Not sure about you, but I'm ready for some May flowers! Rain & chilly weather got in the way of some workouts during April so I had to opt for some gym workouts. The month started with a fun run for Autism. I ran with Cody in this race that started on Beale Street and ran through downtown Memphis by the river. It was a beautiful Friday night and he had a PR at 38:33 which earned him a 2nd place finish in the under 9 age group! Yay Cody (not bad for a 6 year old!)
I rode several organized rides this month to build some miles on the bike. Plus these rides are marked & have SAG's so I don't have to worry about food & drink.
Ride Into Spring is a ride by RB's Cyclery that is normally the first ride of the season for most people. It was a great day for this ride. I met David Barczak before the ride & rode the Lucky 13 Tri bike route that gave us a total of 60 miles for the day on the bike. I have been running a couple miles off the bike since this ride to help condition my legs & mind for the upcoming Tri season.
Los Locos Duathlon was my first multisport race of the season. It was a hot & windy day but the 'curly girls' were still able to pull out a 3rd place finish in our age groups!
Memphis Hightailers hosted the Charles Finney Ride which turned out to be freezing cold and with what felt like an arctic wind! I managed to do 45 miles while several of my friends opted for a hot breakfast at Craker Barrel.
Memphis Thunder Racing sponsored the Cycle for Safety Ride in honor of Cory Horton. The out & back ride began at St. George's where Cory coached swimming and ended at his memorial site where the accident happened. It was a beautiful 50 mile course and a great ride.
During April, I also focused on swim and run speed drills to build some power both in the pool and on the track!
April Totals:
SWIM: 9 miles
BIKE: 299 miles
RUN: 68 miles
Total Distance: 375 miles
Total Training Time: 40 hours 23 minutes
I rode several organized rides this month to build some miles on the bike. Plus these rides are marked & have SAG's so I don't have to worry about food & drink.
 |
| Rachel & I with our hardware! |
Los Locos Duathlon was my first multisport race of the season. It was a hot & windy day but the 'curly girls' were still able to pull out a 3rd place finish in our age groups!
Memphis Hightailers hosted the Charles Finney Ride which turned out to be freezing cold and with what felt like an arctic wind! I managed to do 45 miles while several of my friends opted for a hot breakfast at Craker Barrel.
Memphis Thunder Racing sponsored the Cycle for Safety Ride in honor of Cory Horton. The out & back ride began at St. George's where Cory coached swimming and ended at his memorial site where the accident happened. It was a beautiful 50 mile course and a great ride.
During April, I also focused on swim and run speed drills to build some power both in the pool and on the track!
April Totals:
SWIM: 9 miles
BIKE: 299 miles
RUN: 68 miles
Total Distance: 375 miles
Total Training Time: 40 hours 23 minutes
Friday, April 15, 2011
"I'm training for an Ironman"
You Tube video about training for an Ironman says it all.......*note* a couple words of profanity...and, no, Ironman is not a bad word!! LOL
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