Triathlon

108.8 Miles on Fiesta Island

October 10, 2012 by Asia

I recently had a BIG training milestone. It was both physically and mentally demanding and gave me an indication of what race day could look like at Ironman Cozumel. I completed a 7 hour brick workout on Fiesta Island. I rode my bike for 6 hours and then ran for 1…all around the same 4.1 mile teeny tiny loop!

Fiesta Island

For those of you unfamiliar with this “island” in San Diego (it’s connected by a tiny strip of land), let me fill you in.

1. It’s only 4.15 miles around its largest point. Think about how many times you could bike around a small island in 6 hours…

2. There is a strong headwind on at least one section of the island. In my case, it was windy for most of the ride and got worse in the afternoon. Great practice for Mexico.

3. There’s not much to see besides campers, porta potties, and a large body of water. Bring your own drinking water, though, because there are no facilities on the island, and porta potties will become your best friend.

4. It’s next to Sea World and Mission Bay, 2 beautiful places that attract many tourists.

5. It is popular among cyclists, runners, dog owners, fishermen, and people with campers that like to water ski, jet ski, etc.

The workout

I was both excited and anxious for this long day. It would be flat and windy, like IMCZ, and I wouldn’t have to deal with stop lights and San Diego traffic. I could just ride and ride and ride with no major distractions, without stopping, for as long as I could handle it…except for when I’d have to go pee. (Me and my tiny bladder!) I will not pee myself on the bike. I’ve heard that can cause chafing.

While cars are allowed on this island, they typically go very slowly since the island is packed with outdoor enthusiasts. Signs say “Vehicles, Cyclists, and Pedestrians Share the Road” so it’s a friendly place to do a time trial lap or two…or 25 in my case. The Tri Club of San Diego has club races there, there are bike time trials held there, and the Rock n Roll full marathon has its last 2 miles there. It’s a popular place!

The night before my workout I was tired but couldn’t sleep. I got nauseous and restless and then teary eyed. I think I started having an anxiety attack. Why was I panicking over a TRAINING SESSION? I started psyching myself out. If I was panicking now, what would I be like on race day? On race week? I definitely need to figure out how to manage my emotions! I think part of me was worried I was going to fail at this workout. It was my first true test to see how fast I could maintain my speed on a long, flat course. All of my other long rides had some kind of hills involved or were recovery rides along the coast. This was supposed to be a race simulation. This was going to be a true test. At Ironman Coeur d’Alene, I couldn’t even hold a 13mph average. Granted, it was extremely hilly, but that’s how slow I was that day. I am NOT a fast cyclist, and no, I am not being modest. It’s the truth. Cycling did not come easily to me.

Saturday morning we rolled out of bed at 5am (goal time was 430am, but I think my lack of sleep didn’t help), arrived at Fiesta by 630am, and were riding at 7am. Look at the beautiful sunrise we had waiting for us when we arrived on the island!

Sunrise looking out from Fiesta Island

getting ready to ride!

The ride went WAY better than I expected. I completed 102.8 miles (25 laps) with an average speed of 17.19mph!!!! This is a huge milestone for me! My biggest fear going into Ironman attempt #2 was missing the bike cutoff – again. At this speed, I will not be in danger of the 10:30 hour swim + bike time cutoff. WOOOOO! pushed through the windy parts and hammered the fast parts. All the time thinking positive thoughts, positive thoughts. Sometimes I would sing to myself too, (99 bottles of beer on the wall…) but usually I was focusing on calories, liquids, speed, and cadence. Time went by somewhat quickly because I stayed extremely focused.

My back felt funny when I tried to get off the bike after 6 hours (even with my 5 pit stops in between), so I almost fell as I unclipped. Note to self: Do not fall off the bike during dismount during the actual race. I might need a catcher earlier than I thought! My body was not used to being in the aero position for 6 hours. Again, good practice. I grabbed a handful of pop chips and started my run. We were both pretty slow going during it, but we hung on. I ran 6 miles.

Here are some key metrics from my ride so I can compare it to my next Fiesta Island ride. That’s right. Coach Trevor has asked me to do it 1 more time, and this time, try to increase my average speed by 0.5 mph. Ironman Cozumel, here I come!

Summary

Fluids: 6 bottles of water (1 bottle per hour): 4 straight H2O, 2 with CarboPro (400 calories per bottle) + Nuun fruit punch tabs

Calories: 300 calories per hour (the most I’ve ever managed to take in! Apparently, that is good for my energy levels.)

Food Consumed in addition to CarboPro calories:

– 2 PB&J uncrustables

– 2 packets Amy’s fruit snacks (Changing it up from GU Chomps. These were easy to shove down my throat, but I dropped a couple of them.)

– 2 Bonk Breaker bars (Apple and Fig flavors)

Salt: 3 tabs (1 every 2 hours)

Run: Ate a handful of pop chips before the start. Ran out of water, so was extremely grumpy and dehydrated during the run.

Another note to self: Next time, bring 2 gallon jugs of water! Maybe bring Coke too since that will be available on the run course.

What has been your biggest training milestone?

Still Alive and Training!

September 24, 2012 by Asia

No one has ever drowned in their own sweat…well I almost did during this super sweaty long run post-spin!

I just realized that nearly 1 month has gone by without a blog post from me. To make matters worse, the last blog post I wrote was titled “Mini Training Meltdown” which probably left many of you wondering what the heck has happened to me since then. Well, I’m happy to report that it’s all good news!!

Every week, my foot injury got better, and it no longer hurts when I bike or run! My weird knee pain went away too. I’ve been focusing a lot on my mobility (especially in my t-spin) and strength training, and built everything back up slowly with direction from Coach Trevor. (I also had a lot of ice bucket time.) My foot isn’t 100% perfect, however, so I have to be careful that this pain doesn’t come back.

Two weeks ago, I had my first really big week with over 16 hours of training and a lot of intensity (plus all the mobility work)! Last week, I had my first real recovery week with only 5 hours of training and a lot of metrics (lactate threshold heart rate from a time trial run, 1,000yard swim time, 30 min bike tempo). It was also my birthday week, so that coincided perfectly.

Vegan Sprinkles Cupcake! Red Velvet!

I’m pleased with my current state and can tell I’ve gotten a lot STRONGER on the bike (#1 training goal!) Next thing I need to work on? Calming my pre-race anxiety. Ironman Cozumel is only 2 months away!!

How do you keep yourself calm the days leading up to a big race?

Mini Training Meltdown

August 27, 2012 by Asia

Answers.com defines a meltdown as “an emotional breakdown”

Urban Dictionary.com says a meltdown “describes what happens when a person freaks out, cracks, loses control of themselves. Life – reality at large – becomes overwhelming. They just can’t deal with it all. The person may act out, withdraw, become emotional, run, etc.”

Well, today I had my first Ironman training mini meltdown.

Due to a recent foot injury, I had the option of 2.5 hours of aqua jogging or 3 hours of elliptical instead of a normal long run. Shoot me, right? Well I decided elliptical was the way to go because I would access to music, books, tv, my iphone, you name it. I wouldn’t have access to any of those items during aqua jogging. Plus, the 2 pools I normally swim at were closed for maintenance. So, I made my decision and prepared 2 bottles of water, 3 GUs, various sources of entertainment, and headed to the gym. I was mentally prepared to spend 3 hours on the same damn machine from 5-8pm. It was going to happen. I was going to prove to myself (and my coach) that I had enough mental toughness to survive a mundane, boring, elliptical workout. (No offense if you actually like the elliptical.)

The second I started moving on the elliptical, however, I felt pain on the top inside of my right knee. Wtf!? This was the same spot I experienced my first bout of knee pain the second I got off the bike at IMCDA. I limped around for a few days, and then it went away. Then it came back during a couple of bike rides later. Trevor and I addressed it, and it went away. It has been gone for several weeks in fact, so to feel it again now on a machine I never even use just freaked me out.

I tried changing my foot position. I tried changing the resistance. I tried going faster. Slower. Forwards. Backwards. Nothing was working. I had constant knee pain. It didn’t hurt badly enough to make me stop, so I stayed on it longer than I should have. I got off and took a walk around 45 minutes into my session to see how it felt, and it didn’t feel any better. It still hurt when I got back on, so near tears, I finally called it a night. Trevor suggested aqua jogging, but I mandated self pity and rest.

Ironman Cozumel is less than 13 weeks away, so today I let that get to me, and I started to worry. I didn’t have any nagging injuries when I trained for Ironman Coeur d’Alene, so why are they surfacing now!? (It might have something to do with a lack of a break from training, and/or the large amount of stress I put on my body when I was training for IM#1…) I expressed my concerns to Trevor, and I came home and cried to Jeremy. (Just a little.) I iced my knee. I iced my foot. I drank some wine. I watched Grey’s Anatomy on HuluPlus. I attempted to REST. I wish I had gotten through that 3 hour training session, but sometimes rest is the best medicine.

Trevor said that looking ahead will only get me down at this point. I need to look at the week I’m in and make the most of it. We will build back up as fast as my body will allow. I still have a solid base from Ironman #1, and 12+ weeks is enough time to reach my goal of finishing Ironman Cozumel.

Positive thoughts!!

Still Ironman Training

August 21, 2012 by Asia

Have you been wondering what my workouts have been the past 4 weeks? Probably not 😉 but I’m used to posting weekly or bi-weekly about my sessions during Ironman training, so it’s time to catch up! I have still been training for Ironman Cozumel, and things with Coach Trevor have been going great! I’ve just had some mishaps along the way, unfortunately. I guess I’m surprised and lucky that nothing like this happened to me sooner since I’ve been training for so long, so I guess I am getting it out of my system now!

I’ll try to summarize the past 4 weeks. This time, instead of counting UP to how many weeks I’ve been training for my Ironman (too many), I’m counting DOWN to IMCZ! I can’t believe it’s only 14 weeks away! I know I always say this, but time flies…

#1 I got swimmer’s ear.

#2 I got in a bike crash.

#3 I have a foot injury.

All things considered, I am OK and still training in one form or another. After flipping over my handlebars, I am so lucky I didn’t break anything in my crash and that it won’t affect my performance at IMCZ. My foot pain just started on Friday so I’m going to see a physical therapist on Wednesday to get an assessment. The good news is that it has been improving with ice and rest, so I am optimistic!

19 Weeks until IMCZ – Solana Beach Sprint Triathlon / the week I was a fish

Monday 7/16: 60′ mobility work with Trevor in the morning, 60′ of technique swimming at JCC with Trevor after work

Tuesday 7/17: Easy spin 60′, swim 30′

Wednesday 7/18: Swim drills 3,000 yards for 90′, Group Strength Class 60′

Thursday 7/19: Swim drills 3,000 yards for 90′, Run 20′

Friday 7/20: YMCA Masters Swim 75′

Saturday 7/21: REST and triathlon expo

Sunday 7/22: Solana Beach Sprint Triathlon! My fun race and personal best: 68′ (swim 11′, bike 29′, run 23′)

Total Swim: 6 hours!
Total Bike: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Run: 45 minutes
Total Strength/Mobility: 2 hours
Total combined training: 10 hours 15 minutes

18 Weeks until IMCZ – Building the bike again / swimmer’s ear diagnosis

Monday 7/23: 60′ mobility work with Trevor

Tuesday 7/24: 30′ Swim, 75′ trail run
Trevor helped me discover the joys of trail running! I didn’t even realize there were trails 3 miles from my house. Nicole has come with me on a couple of these runs which makes it even more enjoyable (and safe!)

Wednesday 7/25: 60′ Swim on my own/worked on counting my strokes, Group Strength 60′ after work

Thursday 7/26: Found out I had swimmer’s ear, so got some ear drops and took a rest day. Must have been all that swimming last week (or just bad luck?)

Friday 7/27: Run 60′ with my training buddy, Nicole! Last 30′ negative split

Saturday 7/28: Bike 2 hours / Torrey Pines hill repeats
These are TOUGH. I was supposed to get out of the saddle halfway up the hill. I suck at staying out of the saddle.

Sunday 7/29: Bike 3 hours, 10′ run

Total Swim: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Bike: 5 hours
Total Run: 2 hours 25 minutes
Total Strength/Mobility: 2 hours
Total combined training: 11 hours

17 Weeks until IMCZ – Still building my bike

Monday 7/30: Nada (This is my rest day, and it typically incorporates mobility/stretching and/or swimming. This day it was purely a day off.)

Tuesday 7/31: YMCA Masters Swim 45′ (cut short per coach’s orders), Trail run 45′

Wednesday 8/1: Group Strength 60′

Thursday 8/2: Swim 3,500 yards for 1 hour 45 mins, Group strength plus tempo run for 75′
Trevor started a new group workout where we meet on at San Elijo trails in Solana Beach and do a combo of mobility, running strength movements, and tempo runs! It’s tough yet fun.

Friday 8/3: Spin 60′ before work, Spin 60′ after work

Saturday 8/4: 4 hour bike ride to Ramona
Jeremy came with me and had the pleasure of circling me on this ride since he is so much faster. There were a lot of hills, and I got to try a new route!

Sunday 8/5: 2 hour 10 min run with trails incorporated, 25′ ocean swim
Focused on cadence during my run and tried to keep it above 95. Ran into a snake which scared the crap out of me! By the time I got to my open water swim, I barely made it 25 minutes before calling it quits. (It was supposed to be a 45 min session.) The water was choppy and I was exhausted from 2 big workouts that weekend.

Total Swim: 3 hours
Total Bike: 6 hours
Total Run: 3 hours
Total Strength/Mobility: 2 hours
Total combined training: 14 hours

Post hospital visit. All cleaned up and on drugs.

16 Weeks until IMCZ – The week of my bike crash

Monday 8/6: 60′ mobility with Trevor, 60′ technique swim at JCC

Tuesday 8/7: 60′ bike —> bike crash 🙁

Wednesday 8/8: Rest and recovery day. Doped up on pain meds from the crash.

Thursday 8/9: Group strength on the trails. Slightly painful! Skipped the tempo run part.

Friday 8/10: Another rest and recovery day

Saturday 8/11: Spin 3 hours

Sunday 8/12: Run 2 hours (misery)

Total Swim: 1 hour (my wounds didn’t make swimming a smart idea for a few days)
Total Bike: 4 hours
Total Run: 2 hours
Total Strength/Mobility: 2 hours
Total combined training: 9 hours

15 Weeks until IMCZ – The week of my foot injury

Monday 8/13: 60′ mobility with Trevor, 30′ swim on my own

Tuesday 8/14: 60′ masters swim, 30′ easy run

Wednesday 8/15: 60′ taper repeats (run), 60′ group strength

Thursday 8/16: 1:15 trainer workout plus 10 minute transition run

Friday 8/17: 60′ ocean swim at La Jolla Cove. Negative split at the 20 and 40 minutes. Jeremy came with me because I refuse to go open water swimming alone! He would just swim ahead, swim back, and circle around me since we are nowhere near the same pace. Such a great boyfriend and training partner to put up with me!

Saturday 8/18: Swim and aqua jog! 20′ swim warmup with drills, 40′ aqua jog, 10′ cool down. Have you ever tried aqua jogging? It is slow and hard! Good way to practice mental toughness and get heart rate up.

Sunday 8/19: This was supposed to be my third AFC Half Marathon, but due to my foot injury, I sold my bib the day before the race and settled for a 45′ swim session practicing my technique instead. I was sad to miss out on another Team WODS race experience, but I know there will be more in the future. Sometimes you have to get over your ego and realize that rest is the best medicine.

Total Swim: 4 hours 20 min
Total Bike: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Run: 1 hour 40 minutes
Total Strength/Mobility: 2 hours
Total combined training: 9 hours 20 min

Have you experienced any rough patches during training for your “A race”? How did you overcome them?

Bad Things Come in Threes

August 18, 2012 by Asia

Bad things come in threes. That’s what people say, right? Well I am inclined to believe them because my #3 of Ironman Cozumel training just happened, and that my friends is FOOT PAIN.

Here is what my body has been through in the past 1 month of Ironman Cozumel training:

#1. Swimmer’s ear

#2. Bike crash

#3. Foot pain

I woke up Friday morning with dull pain on the lower outside area of my right foot, from the middle to the heel. I have had dull pain here before the day after a long bike ride, but it has always been nothing more than dull and has gone away quickly. This time, it’s the exact opposite. I went through Friday with increased pain until I was limping at lunch, and then hobbling at dinner. I tried to stay off my foot for the rest of the night and iced it and elevated it.

This morning I woke up realizing it was still tender to the touch. Then, the moment of truth. I got out of my bed and put pressure on my right foot….OUCH!! I cannot put my full body weight on my right foot! It hurts even more than it did last night! Ohhh no. What did I do to my poor foot? The best way to describe the pain is that it feels like a sprain.

My first thought is Ironman Cozumel. Is this serious enough to affect it, or can I prevent it going forward? (Do I need new bike shoes? Should I fix my cleat alignment? Do I need days, or worse, weeks of rest??)

My second thought is America’s Finest City (AFC) half marathon tomorrow. I cannot run it now, and that makes me sad because it’s my favorite San Diego race!

Ok enough whining. Has anyone else had foot pain like this? Was it caused from cycling or running? I think running is more common, but I’ve seen discussion forums on both. I’ll be back with updates. Time to meet with Coach Trevor.

Solana Beach Sprint Triathlon Improvement!

August 16, 2012 by Asia

A couple of weeks ago I completed the Solana Beach Sprint Triathlon for the second year in a row and saw a HUGE improvement over last year! It makes me smile to see how far I’ve come. 🙂 🙂 Last year this was my first sprint triathlon EVER, so this was officially my 1 year triathlon anniversary. I definitely felt WAY more confident on the swim and bike, and even managed a sneak faster run in there too. I also had a bike that fits me!

The morning started off with an early wakeup call and a stop at 711 for coffee. This was my first time having coffee before a race. It’s not a normal thing for me, but I’m tempted to make it a regular thing because I heart coffee.

711 5:15am Coffee Run

We then road our bikes to the start (about 4 miles away) and spent some time setting up our transition area. This was my first race post-Ironman, and it’s amazing how different a sprint is. Yes, I know it’s obviously, but you hardly have anything to set up, and you don’t have to worry about nutrition! I spent a lot of time chatting with people before the race because I ran out of things to do. I was more excited than nervous for once.

Solana Beach – Team “No Wetsuit”!

Solana Beach Sprint Triathlon consists of the following distances:

1/4 Mile Ocean Entry Swim at Fletcher Cove
9 Mile Bike on Highway 101 (with a few sharp U-turns)
3 Mile Run on Highway 101

This is considered a beginner friendly race, which is why I decided to do it last year. (Around this time, Team WODS was also formed!) This year I was able to be more competitive but also relax and have more fun since I wasn’t afraid of the ocean or of crashing my bike with my clip in pedals. I cried the first time I did an ocean swim last year….Yes, that was just last year!

Coach Trevor had 2 goals for me at this race: (I chose to sign-up for this race for fun, so he incorporated it into my Ironman training schedule.)

Swim hard without a wetsuit
Get through T1 fast

I think I succeeded in both goals!

No wetsuit? No problem!

This was my first time doing an ocean swim without a wetsuit, so that was the #1 thing I was nervous about. #2 was the knee pain I had been having. Ultimately, I decided it would be worth it to attempt a non-wetsuit swim in this environment since I have to do that anyway for Ironman Cozumel, and practice makes perfect. The main difference is that will be about 2,600 of my closest friends and 2.4 miles versus 60 triathletes and 1/4 mile, but who’s counting?

Beach start

I continued to push myself hard through the entire race because my knee never started hurting (yay!), and I’m very competitive. (I can’t help it.) I had fun counting off the number of women I passed from my age group (25-29). The only time a girl ever passed me after the swim was when she was going to finish her run. I followed her until she went to the finish line and I started loop 2. I think she placed top 3 in my age group. While I’m a much faster and more confident swimmer than last year, I’m still not “fast” by any means, and I am probably below average in the triathlon world. Therefore, I made up my time a little bit on the bike, and even more so on the run.

Running!

Another fun personal success was that Jeremy didn’t pass me this year. His wave started 10 minutes behind me, and last year he passed me towards the end of the run. I finished about 100 yards ahead of him today. Close call! We both improved from last year.

Solana Beach in 2011

I definitely recommend this triathlon for all ability levels. I had fun both times and I plan to do it again next year! It’s a great local race.

The boys like it too!

My First Bike Crash

August 9, 2012 by Asia

Post hospital visit. Lucky to be smiling. All cleaned up and on drugs.

It happened. I had my first bike crash. I went to the hospital to get checked out, and have no broken bones or stitches to my name. I am sore, have road rash, and am nervous for my next ride, but it could have been so much worse.

Jeremy and I were less than 2 miles from home riding south on highway 101 when it happened. Leucadia is one of the most dangerous areas we ride in because there are cars parked along the highway, there’s a lot of traffic, pedestrians, restaurants and shops, and there are NO bike lanes.

Jeremy was riding right behind me, as usual, to protect me from the cars as they squeezed by us. I always slow down when I see a car easing out into the intersection from the side streets in case they don’t see me. This was a different scenario, however, and I didn’t have time to anticipate what happened next.

A car was approaching from the opposite direction on the 101. It slowed down to turn left, but DIDN’T STOP and started turning in front of me.

In a split second, the car was turning in front of me/at me because it did not see me. I instinctively slammed on both brakes and did a front flip over my handlebars and landed in the road. My bike landed on top of me. Then Jeremy ran into me and over me because he couldn’t stop in time. The only thing that didn’t hit me was the car because the driver saw us at that point. THANK GOD.

As soon as it was over, I was confused to see Jeremy on the ground ahead of me. He was getting up and looked OK but concerned for me. My next thoughts were “Ironman,” and then “Bike.” (Apparently this was all going through my mind as I was moaning and sobbing in the street.) As soon as I realized I could walk, I ran/hobbled out of the intersection and onto the grass because I was afraid of getting hit by a car.

By that time, Jeremy was next to me, and so was the driver of that vehicle and the driver of another vehicle. I’ll spare you with the details, but I was sobbing and making a lot of whimpering noises from the pain and from fear. Did I break anything? Were we OK? Jeremy consoled me and said that the white sticking out of my elbow was not bone and not to worry.

The driver said she didn’t see us. She was very apologetic. She didn’t slam on her brakes until I was already mid-air flip, and by then it was too late for me. I know now that it wasn’t a good time of day for us to be riding because it had just turned to dusk, so that didn’t help matters. Timing is everything.

When we declined calling an ambulance and said he would drive me to the hospital himself, the women packed up our bikes and drove us home. I got the driver’s contact information in case we need anything. I’m so used to hearing about hit and runs. She didn’t even hit me, but she stopped to check on us which I greatly appreciate.

Jeremy drove me to the nearest hospital, and I spent a few hours there getting examined, X-rayed, and cleaned up. No concussion. No broken bones. No stitches. (Close to stitches on the elbow. I am missing a chunk of skin there, so I think I might start shaving my arms to avoid such bad road rash if I ever crash again!) Jeremy didn’t want to get examined so he just sat with me. Luckily his injuries were not as bad as mine.

I’m not angry at the driver or at myself. Perhaps I could have laid on the front brake less and avoided a front flip, but when you are in “fight or flight” mode, you aren’t thinking like that. I honestly thought I was going to get hit, and I am grateful that this accident wasn’t worse. I am not being dramatic when I say that I fear for my life every time I get on my bike because I hear of too many cycling fatalities. I also have friends who have been seriously injured in bike accidents. It’s common to break your collarbone or elbow doing what I did. I am very lucky I didn’t.

In the future, I’m going to avoid riding at dusk and hopefully avoiding riding on that stretch of the 101 until they put a bike lane in. (Rumor has it that it was just approved to put bike lanes in over there!) I will also start riding with gloves again because my palms have gnarly road rash. I don’t want to be terrified of my bike because I still have a lot of Ironman training left to go. Hopefully I can be brave.

Now I just need to relax and embrace recovery mode so I can start Ironman training again. The only part of my body that feels like it might be worse off than cuts and bruises is my left shoulder, so I am going to work on it while I recover. Coach Trevor gave me some mobility exercises to do at home.

I’m happy I didn’t sign up for Ironman Canada which is only 17 days away…Ironman Cozumel is about 15 weeks away which will allow me time to heal and ramp up my training again. I have a half marathon in 11 days so hopefully I can still run that??

Next up are pics of my injury. If you don’t like images of blood, you should stop reading here…

….I’m warning you. They are gross.

Ok here’s a couple that aren’t too bad…

Elbow pre-treatment. gross, right? You can’t see it here, but the cut is deep, and it looks like I have a hole in my elbow now.

Action shot of them scrubbing my road rash

I have more, but that’s all I really need to share.

Have you ever been in a bike accident? How long did you wait before you got up and tried again?

Here We Go! (Again!)

July 19, 2012 by Asia

Ironman Training “take two” is already feeling very different. Last week was a pretty unusual week. I was in Chicago for work and visiting a friend, so Coach Trevor officially started my training plan once I came back to San Diego on Thursday. Here’s how it played out…

20 Weeks until Ironman Cozumel

Sunday: Flew to Chicago to stay with my girlfriend from grad school. Drank too much wine. Failed with the vegan diet and ate too much cheese. Got sick. (Figures!)

Stop #2 for wine. Bottles were 50% off, so I think this is where I got into trouble!

Monday: Forced myself to run in the Chicago heat even though I was slightly hungover and seriously dehydrated. I never found a water fountain while I was out, but I managed to throw down 4 miles at an 8’30” pace along the beautiful river. I heart running. It was a great way to explore the city.

Running along the river downtown

Tuesday: Work stuff and then site-seeing!!

The infamous bean!

One of the many crazy views from below the bean!

That’s a water fountain thingy with a face on it

CHICAGO!

Wednesday: Flew home. Thought about exercising, but decided I would rest and hang out with Jeremy on the couch instead. Watched Forks Over Knives, and then Jeremy decided to follow me on my path to eating more of a plant-based, whole foods diet. Yay!

Thursday: Enter Coach Trevor…
Plan: Bike 90 minutes easy on the coast.
Actual: Biked 60 minutes on the indoor trainer because I couldn’t find a cycling buddy, and I’m afraid of rush hour traffic! Felt kind of bored and fatigued back on the bike. (This was my first time since Ironman Coeur d’Alene.)

Friday:
Plan: Swim on your own. 10 minutes warmup focusing on front quadrant drills. 30 minutes swim nonstop counting laps to validate base.
Actual: I did all that and confirmed that I am, indeed, a slow swimmer! Things can only improve from here, right?

Saturday:
Plan: Bike about 3 hours easy on the coast, focusing on nutrition and hydration. Have fun!
Actual: Started to experience bad knee pain 1:30 hours into the ride, so I cut it short to 2:30 hours. Now I’m worried about my bum knee! Apparently it has been hiding there since I felt knee pain after Ironman Coeur d’Alene. (I was limping for a couple of days, but then it went away.) Trevor is going to help me address this. It’s really good that I have him because I would probably keep training on it too much (like I did on Sunday…)

Sunday:
Plan: Run 90 minutes trails! DO NOT GO HARD! Max 9-10 min/mile. Have fun! (Trevor didn’t know about my knee at this point.)
Actual: Ran 90 minutes – part highway 101 / part trails. Nicole joined me, and it was really fun, so at least I got that right! We also ran really easy at over a 10 min/mile average pace. My knee pain was super dull, so I decided to run on it anyway. Obviously not the best idea, but I was just so happy to be running again with my training buddy!

This week, Coach has me swimming every day except Saturday! My knee pain is fairly non-existent right now and has stayed tame during my short bike and run this week, but it might resurface when I do another long ride or run. I hope, and think, that my knee pain is just inflammation and not a real injury. I put my body through a lot, and it needs to recover. Either way, Ironman Cozumel is still 4 months away, so there is plenty of time to treat whatever this nagging thing is.

Sunday I’m registered for the Solana Beach Sprint Triathlon for fun. This was my first sprint last year, so I’m excited to do it again and see how far I’ve come! I’m excited to get out there and play. Here’s a pic of me from the sprint 1 year ago! I was SO NERVOUS!

Feeling the pre-race anxiety!

Ironman Training Part 2

July 9, 2012 by Asia

I can’t stop thinking about Ironman Cozumel. It’s officially on the brain. I’m both happy and relieved to say that I’m excited to train for my second Ironman this year…I thought I might not be. About one month before Ironman Coeur d’Alene, I was just ready for training to be over and for my race to be here. I took a two week training hiatus after Coeur d’Alene so I wouldn’t feel burned out, and now I am literally craving a structured workout plan again. No more of this sleeping in until 6:30am and not knowing what to do with my free time after work business. Just give me some workouts, please!

I’m going to be doing things a bit differently this time around, and I’m excited to see how this fresh approach to training goes.

Here are two major changes in how I will train for Ironman Cozumel:

1. Pay for a triathlon coach to tell me exactly what to do instead of following a DIY approach to training
2. Eat more vegan and gluten-free instead of following a vegetarian and pescatarian diet

The training
I don’t yet know all the ways that Coach Trevor’s training plan will differ from my previous training plan, but I have a feeling that it will be pretty different. We both agree that my key workouts each week need to be on the bike, and I need to do my long rides with people who are closer to my pace. My second priority is the swim, specifically my long one. These are my weakest links in triathlon because I am still so new to both of them (about 1 year experience to date). I know I’m going to miss running because I used to do two long runs per week, but that is the last priority right now, and I can focus on qualifying for Boston after I earn the title of Ironman. I’m 28 years old (…ok almost 29). I still have time!

The eating
I’ve been a vegetarian/pescatarian for almost 15 years. So where does eating vegan and gluten-free come in? The past 1-2 years I’ve drastically reduced my dairy and seafood intake, and I would eat completely vegan at least 1 day per week. Dairy usually makes my tummy hurt, and I’ve read more and more about the benefits of dropping dairy from my diet. I recently officially dropped seafood from my diet too, even though I was eating pescatarian for a while. I just stopped liking it. I’ve toyed with the idea of going vegan for a couple of years, but never wanted to fully commit because I didn’t know how it’d affect my training (P90X, Insanity, marathons, triathlons), and I loved eggs and cheese. My training buddies Nicole and Mike recently watched the movie “Forks Over Knives” and read Scott Jurek’s book “Eat & Run” and have made the decision to follow a more plant-based lifestyle, so I figured now was as good of a time as ever to give it a try to see how my body responds to it. Professional triathlete Beth Walsh eats gluten and dairy free two weeks before a race. I’m finding more and more endurance athletes that are giving this lifestyle a try, so they might be on to something!

My vegan 4th of July! So yummy.

I don’t know if I have intolerance to gluten, but it was actually my boyfriend Jeremy who suggested that I try eating less of it because I always complain about my stomach hurting or being nauseous after a meal, no matter how healthy it is. This is going to be harder for me to sort out than going vegan will be, so I am going to phase it in to see if it makes sense for my body. I had brown rice pasta for the first time the other week…It’s very sticky! I’m lucky because there are a host of vegan and gluten-free restaurants and shopping options in the greater San Diego area.

What about dessert? I think butter and eggs in my desserts are still ok for now! I love Sprinkles Cupcakes too much to say goodbye.

Do you ever eat vegan or gluten-free while training? Please share your recipes and tips!

Vamos a Ironman Cozumel!

July 6, 2012 by Asia

After my DNF at Ironman Coeur d’Alene, I’ve been on the hunt for another race. A place where I WILL be called an Ironman this year.

And the winner is…………drumroll please………………………………………………………..IRONMAN COZUMEL!!!!

The swim at Ironman Cozumel. 84 degrees and a dolphin show!

Jeremy and I will be on the course November 25, 2012. This will be our second Ironman this year. I never thought I would be doing another Ironman so soon (or ever), but I have unfinished business. I want to cross the finish line so badly! Once I set out to do something, I must complete it. No giving up. No quitting.

I also never thought I’d be able to afford doing another Ironman. After race entry, airfare, bike shipping, and accommodations, I’d need at least $3,000 for race weekend alone. Luckily I have the most amazing parents EVER, and they are supporting me on this journey. I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.

My IronMom and IronDad. THANK YOU!

Stay tuned for my weekly posts for Ironman Training Part II! I’ve got a few days left to play around before I start anything structured again. I’m calling it my mini mental break. 🙂