Triathlon

Life After Ironman Put On Hold

July 1, 2012 by Asia

My first sprint triathlon. Riding a road bike that is too big for me and with a crooked helmet! (July 2011)

The day before I completed my first sprint triathlon, I signed up for my first Ironman. I trained with this goal in mind for 1 year. 6 of those months I followed a very structured training plan, and the last 3 I was so busy that I hardly saw friends or had a social life outside my triathlon circle. Needless to say, I was ready for a break…but life had something different planned for me. I did not finish Ironman Coeur d’Alene, and the moment I was pulled off the bike course just after mile 90, I vowed to do another Ironman.

My Plans Post Ironman – Put on Hold

Pay off triathlon debt
Save money
Take time off from training and relax
Focus on running, my passion
1. August: PR at America’s Finest City Half Marathon (current PR is 1:51:51)
2. September: Complete Napa Ragnar Relay Ultra as “The Most Interesting Team in the World”
3. December: Race Las Vegas Half Marathon
4. February: Qualify for Boston Marathon 2014 at Surf City Marathon 2013 (break 3:35)

My New Plans Post Ironman

Find a second Ironman in 2012 and signup (Cozumel??)
Train my butt off for Ironman #2, and focus more on cycling
Find a miraculous way to cover another $3k+ in Ironman costs
Complete more triathlons for practice
Complete running events only if they fit into my Ironman training plan

The funny thing is, I think I’m ok with this outcome. I remember completing my last Ironman training run the day before the race and wondering what life was going to be like post-Ironman. What would I do with my free time? Watch TV? Go shopping? Those things don’t exactly interest me anymore, and I’m sure I would have just wanted to keep working out in one form or another. Plus, I still have A LOT to learn and huge room for improvement in both the swim and the bike. I don’t have to focus on “just finishing” the Ironman – I can focus on finishing strong.

Now, it’s time for me to take on Ironman Training Part 2, and set out to finish what I started one year ago.

Ironman Coeur d’Alene. Riding a tri bike that fits and with my helmet on straight. (June 2012)

Almost an Ironman – Coeur d’Alene Race Report

June 29, 2012 by Asia

I DNF’d (did not finish) my first Ironman. It hurts. Real bad. It’s like this deep sadness that touches everything from my heart to the pit of my stomach. Those of you that have experienced the same thing know what I’m talking about. If you have never experienced it, then you should be very grateful.

Long story short, my #1 fear of my Top 5 Ironman fears came true, and I didn’t make the swim + bike cutoff of 10:30 hours.

I’m trying to remain positive, though, and not give up. With that, here is my very detailed race report of 2012 Ironman Coeur d’Alene.

RACE MORNING
I woke up race morning feeling fresh and ready, trying to stay calm. I looked at my checklist that I had made for the morning.
– Shower
– Take meds
– Eat breakfast
– Drink pickle juice
– Grab 3 water bottles and frozen nutrition
– Grab GPS watch from charger
– Grab special needs bags
– GO!

I ate my pre-race meal of 2 Eggo waffles with peanut butter and Nutella, and water. As usual I didn’t feel like eating, but I took it down anyway.

Ironman Breakfast

TRANSITION SETUP
Team WODS arrived at transition sometime before 5:30am. I heard Mike Reilly making announcements on the mic. Excitement stirred within me, but I remained quiet. The four of us temporarily split up to take care of our own needs. I went to move around some of my nutrition from T1 bag to bike, took off the rain covers (it rained over night), and went to drop off Team WODS special needs bags. Jeremy and I ran into his mom, Kyle, and Danielle, so they went with us for that part.

When I got back from dropping off our bags, I ran into Mike Reilly and asked him if he saw my tweet. “Asia Simonelli?” he asked. He almost had it right! I corrected him on the pronunciation of my tricky last name, said I’d see him at the finish line, and thanked him.

Nicole and Mike brought their own bike pump which was a great idea because the line to put air in your tires was really long. Mike pumped my tires for me. (Thanks, Mike!) I can do my own, but it is really tough for me to hit 110lbs when that is more than I weigh. After finalizing my nutrition arrangements, Jeremy and I got into our wetsuits, I made a quick bathroom stop (the lines weren’t too bad once you left the transition area), and then we tried to find my parents. I had a peanut butter GU and some water. I never found my family before the start, but I knew where they would be once I finished the swim.

THE SWIM: 1 hour 47 minutes

It takes a while to get to the swim start because you have to cross a timing mat across a narrow beach entrance so they know how many people are starting the race. (18% of people who signed up for this race did not start.) We were still with the slow-moving pack of triathletes when the national anthem began. I had my earplugs in and neoprene cap on for 3 swim caps total, so I couldn’t hear much of anything, which kept me calmer than usual. Jeremy and I finally got to the beach and kept walking towards the right. I was told far right was the most conservative place to start the swim without getting trampled, and I would naturally drift with the pack back left towards the buoys. By pure luck, we ran into Nicole. She told us that Mike was in the center of it all, so Jeremy kissed me goodbye and went to start with him. Nicole and I were never planning on starting together since she is much faster than me, but she felt more comfortable starting in my area and swimming around the slow people. We exchanged a few nervous words before the cannon went off at 7:00am. There wasn’t much of a build up to that point because it all happened so quickly.

Here we go!

We started walking to the water (I told you these were the less hardcore people), and I reminded Nicole to put on her goggles. They were still on her head! We said something like “see you out there” and went about our own ways. I even had time to let a little bit of water into the front of my wetsuit and blow one round of bubbles to try to acclimate to the water before fully plunging into the 57 degree lake for what turned out to be a very long swim.

The first lap of the swim was crowded, but not as bad as I had expected. My main problem was my breathing. It felt laborious and shallow. I remember thinking “do I need my inhaler?” several times, but I kept telling myself that I was fine. I never need my inhaler during a swim, so I would be ok. My heart rate was just really high from the shock of the cold water. I also remember thinking that I would prefer not to do this kind of mass swim start again. I was sick of people running into me! I was only punched in the head once, but I think constantly getting swam into and sometimes on top of was more irritating. I was also annoyed with the people who decided to stop for no reason because I kept bumping into them. The good thing was that once I started swimming, I didn’t feel scared about the day ahead anymore.

All things considered, I think I did a good job of just keeping my head down and swimming. Normally I’m tempted to sight a lot, but being around so many swimmers, I felt ok with just following the pack. Probably not the best idea, though, because I continued to stay really wide and accidentally swam too far past the red buoy where I was supposed to make a left turn! I faintly heard voices on a megaphone in the distance and I guessed it was from the boats telling us to turn around. I started sighting more frequently after that. It was then that I also got into my rhythm and felt my breathing relax.

As I was swimming into the beach, I wasn’t quite sure where I was supposed to get out to begin lap two. Then I saw it. A big red arch. I was so happy! I swam a little harder, kicked my legs more, and finally made it to shore. A volunteer shouted 46:20, and my watch confirmed. I was right on track to come in around 1:30 hours. A smile crossed my face. I took my time getting back into the water. No one else seemed to be running, and I didn’t feel the need to either. I was trying to keep my heart rate low.

Lap two is when everything changed. I thought that I would be the same speed or a little faster because I was going to swim up against the buoys and not waste time missing my turn, but Mother Nature had something else in mind. Little did I know the winds were picking up, and the lake turned evil and choppy. I felt like I wasn’t going anywhere, like I was swimming in slow motion. I was going up and down, up and down with the swells, and I kept inhaling lake water. I mouthed “Where the f*ck did this come from?” more than once under water. This swim turned out to be the toughest swim I’ve ever had.

I was relieved to find the red buoy marking my turnaround, but this was when the water was roughest. I stopped swimming 2 or 3 times because I was having trouble seeing buoys or swim caps and wasn’t sure if I was going in the right direction. Plus, I kept choking. Every time I stopped, though, my legs wanted to cramp, so I quickly started swimming again. Once I finally made the two left turns, I mentally told myself that I was on the home stretch of the swim. My mind wasn’t buying it, though. I couldn’t stop thinking about how cold I was. This was the first time I noticed I was cold…really, really cold. I couldn’t close my fingers together so I felt like I had two bear claws for hands, and I was shaking as I was swimming. I kept telling myself to remain tough. That this wasn’t supposed to be easy. I pictured the warming tent on shore. I decided right then and there that I was going to reward myself with time next to the heat lamp. I think I whimpered into the water a couple of times because I was so cold. I tried to pee in my wetsuit to warm myself up, but I couldn’t relax enough. I remember asking myself if I should stop at one of the kayakers and rest for a minute, but there would have been no point. It would have only made me colder. Finally, I located the red swim exit arch and swam harder, engaged my legs to get the blood flowing again, and stood up on shore.

I looked down at my watch, and what I saw completely confused me. 1:47. My watch must have been broken. 1:47? I started walking sideways, and a volunteer put me back on track. I heard Mike Reilly call my name. I saw a photographer but forgot to smile. My eyes finally found my family in the bleachers, but I only remember seeing my mom. I forced a smile, waved, said I was really cold, (she said I know), and I tried to hug myself for warmth. I’m guessing this was all at a snail’s pace. No one around me was running after being in the cold water for that long.

T1: 17 minutes

I saw the wetsuit strippers and took off my ear plugs and plethora of swim caps as I walked over to them. They unzipped me, told me to sit down on the ground and tried to pull my wetsuit off me. Instead, I literally went flying across the grass from the force of their pull. “You’re so small!” they said. “Put your hands on the ground!” They had more success the second try, handed me my things, and told me to collect my T1 bag and head to the changing tent. For a split second I thought about going to the warming tent first, but I was worried about the time, so I didn’t. For the first time, I started running.

I easily found my bag, ran around three women walking in front of me, and stumbled into a chair in the dark changing tent. I called over a volunteer and gave her my list. She disregarded the list and proceeded to undress me. I literally couldn’t do anything to help. I was shaking uncontrollably, and I cried a couple of times into my towel. I’m not sure why. Each time I quickly stopped pouting, though, and reminded myself to be tough. I had survived the swim! The bike would be much warmer. I tried putting on my winter gloves to temporarily warm my hands, but my fingers wouldn’t cooperate. I also tried to put on my heart rate monitor to speed things up, but couldn’t fasten it, so I called over a second volunteer to help. I should have done this earlier because my transition was taking forever! I had no concept of time in there, though.

My lonely bike in T1

I finally left the changing tent and was greeted by the sunscreen team. “Sunscreen?” they asked. I literally just stared at them blankly, not saying a word. “Well you look pretty covered up. We’ll just put some on your neck and behind your ears.” Then, “Do you need a hug?” I was given a hug, a pep talk, and then sent on my way. I almost started crying when she hugged me. I was a wreck in T1!! I took a quick pee in the port-a-potty, and then ran to my bike. There weren’t many bikes left, and a volunteer took it off the rack and handed it to me. I asked him to pull up my left sock because I noticed it was falling, and I didn’t want to get a blister. (I’ve made that mistake before, and finished with a bloody ankle.) I took my bike, and jogged to the mount line. I got on my bike and realized I was sitting on my bib. Fail. I got off my bike and rearranged my belt, and got back on my bike. I saw my Aunt Joanne saying “Come on Asia! Let’s go!” I think I told her I was stuck. Oh boy was I happy to get out of the disaster that was T1.

THE BIKE: 7 hours 5 minutes / DNF
IMCDA sported a new bike course this year. I was excited about it because it was “less technical” which meant less sharp turns for me, a huge plus for a novice on a tri bike. It definitely wasn’t any easier, though, and it boasted 4,600ft of climbing. Many repeat athletes said the bike course was harder this year. The average times were slower in 2012 vs. 2011, that’s for sure. Either way, I knew I was going to be in for a long day on the bike, and my goal was to come in around 8 hours, giving me about 25 minutes of “cushion” before the bike + swim deadline of 10:30 hours. That cushion was a little too close for comfort.

Bike course elevation

My plan was to average about 14mph on each loop of the bike. This is around what I average on our really long, hilly bike rides at home, (sometimes slightly under), so I figured I could maintain it or even exceed it. I surprised myself at Oceanside 70.3, so maybe I would at Ironman Coeur d’Alene too.

loop 1 on the bike

It took me a while to get warm on the bike, and I eagerly sipped on water for the first 30-40 minutes since I had a dry mouth. Then I made myself start eating, even though I wasn’t really in the mood, and I felt slightly nauseous. I finished a 255 calorie Bonk Breaker bar about 1.5 hours into my ride, and then proceeded to rotate through the rest of my nutrition, including a 400 calorie bottle of CarboPro mixed with GU Brew, an Uncrustable, and another Bonk Breaker Bar.

Body wise I had some aches and pains. The lower right side of my back felt strained for the entire swim, and that carried over to the bike. My left shoulder hurt after the swim, and it was uncomfortable to be in the aero position. My left ankle also hurt, which I thought was odd because I still have no idea how that happened. All of these pains were minor and easy enough to push through, though. I just wanted to note them.

Each loop of the bike course is divided into two sections. The first section is the easier part, and it mirrors part of the run course. This is about 16 miles. It definitely isn’t all flat, but it’s nothing like the massive hills on the second part of the loop. I felt fine on this section and was eager to pass through town again to see my family. I somehow missed everyone, though, and headed out for the second part of the loop which takes you on highway 95. Holy hills. I gauged everything by effort instead of speed and heart rate.

The first part of the new section of the bike course was slow going for most. I was already at the back of the pack but managed to stay with my group. I passed some on the uphill and was passed on the downhill. A leapfrog game of sorts. The long hills and headwinds took a lot of effort, but I didn’t feel like I was pushing it too hard. (I was told after the race from my friends that there were strong headwinds. I had no idea I was battling those on the course. I just thought I was slow, and I’m pretty used to the wind pushing me around.) I climbed some of the smaller hills in aero, but I had to get up and change positions several times. My shoulder was nagging me, and it felt better when I wasn’t in aero, so I would play little games with myself and only allow myself out of aero on the bigger climbs.

I saw Jeremy for the first time on the other side of the road, and he cheered so loudly for me, and gave me a fist pump. He was definitely excited to see me! That made me laugh and smile. I eventually saw Nicole too which was so nice! I could see that they were both very far ahead of me, but I was mentally stupid and couldn’t figure out exactly how far.

The turnaround on highway 95 was the best part because I knew it would be a lot easier on the ride back into town. I got off the bike at the mile 50 aid station, used the bathroom, refilled my water bottles and CarboPro, ate an Uncrustable, and was on my way again after around 5 minutes of stopping time, but maybe longer. I don’t have a good concept of time during races.

Biking through town…Did I mention the volunteer put one of my arm warmers on upsidown??

Loop 1 took me just over 4 hours, and I was happy to see I was right on track to hit my prediction of 8 hours on the bike when I arrived into town sometime between 1:05-1:10pm. (Loop #1 cutoff is 1:30pm. They will stop you and take away your timing chip if you arrive after that.) Then things got interesting.

I had about 4:20 minutes to make a full loop #2 within the 10:30 hour total swim + bike time. With that in mind I was relieved as I hit mile 56 and passed through downtown, happy to see my family again. Things quickly went downhill after that. I noticed other cyclists starting to pass me…quickly. I had slowed way down, and my legs didn’t want to go any faster. As I was headed out for the “easy” part of the bike course, I found myself getting passed. A lot. Apparently I had slowed way down, but my legs just didn’t want to go any faster. I wasn’t monitoring my heart rate, but I could see my speed, and it sucked. I think was doing 13mph on the false flats. Way too slow! I think it took me a while to realize what was happening, though. I was confused as to why so many people were passing me. Maybe they were just really slow swimmers who were fast on the bike? When I began to realize that I was racing the clock, I didn’t stop at special needs or get off my bike again. I began calculating the miles I needed to be at in order to arrive back into town by the 5:30pm bike #3 cutoff. I had made bike cutoff #1 by arriving into town before 1:30pm the first time, but I couldn’t remember what the second bike cutoff was for the life of me! I saw my family one more time as I passed through town, shot them a smile even though I was completely stressed, and headed out onto the challenging and slow-moving part of highway 95 again.

There weren’t many people left on the course at this point, and it became pretty lonely. If you’ve never been with the back of the pack on the bike course, let me assure you that it’s very spread out. There are a few perks like no lines for bathrooms and the ease of passing people since the course isn’t congested. Those are about the only perks I can think of, though. Otherwise it’s just stressful because you are racing the clock.

I was attempting to recap my time on the bike up until this point. Nutrition was good. Hydration was normal. Pace was good on loop #1. What was going wrong? I still don’t know the answer to that question, but I do believe a lot of factors played into my sluggishness on loop #2.

An overweight guy in his 30s passed me up one of the hills and said “Two snails climbing up the hill!” I wasn’t amused. I wanted to talk to people, so I started asking if anyone knew when the second bike cutoff was. We were all in danger of it, so I figured someone would know. Finally, a Team in Training girl around my age said she thought it was 4pm at mile 90. This was not good. I asked if she was sure…then I started asking others. If this was the case, I knew I wasn’t going to make it. This was around mile 83 or so. I tried to do pickups with my legs, and I would get little bursts of speed every now and then, but the hills and headwinds prevented me from cycling at my top speed. Dark thoughts started to enter my mind. “I guess if they stop me now, I won’t have to sit on this stupid slow bike course any longer. Maybe it’s for the best.” Then I would tell myself to remain positive. Think like Chrissie Wellington. And I would imagine myself crossing the finish line. That made me feel good, but then I had to bring it back to the present and really focus on getting my speed and cadence up on the bike.

Sometime before this, I saw Jeremy almost finished with his second lap, cheering me on. I simply said “This is hard.” He said “I know baby. Just keep trying!” I did. Then I saw Nicole and we exchanged helios. Little did I know that she saw them closing the aid station behind me, and she was concerned I wasn’t going to make the bike cutoff.

The Team in Training girl kept saying “We’re going to make it! We’re going to make it!” As we went further along, I didn’t have the heart to tell her that it wasn’t going to happen, so I said “Yeah! I hope so!” and pedaled on. When I approached the last aid station before mile 90, a man to the side who looked a lot like Mike Reilly in my mind said “I’ll see YOU at the finish line! Let’s go!” I must have been delusional because I thought that I had made the bike cutoff! My spirits lifted. I smiled. I imaged myself crossing that finish line again, and I thought about what I would say to Jeremy when I learned I was the last person to make the second bike cutoff. That joy was short-lived, though.

As I rode past the 90 mile marker and approached the u-turn, I saw a group of people, bikes, and trucks stopped ahead of me. The turnaround point was barricaded so I couldn’t cross the timing mat. I slowed to a stop, and a volunteer said something to me that I couldn’t understand. What did he mean I had arrived too late? I tried to convince him that I could make it back into town before the 5:30pm bike cutoff because it was mostly downhill. “No you can’t, and no it’s not” he said. It was 4:10pm. I had missed the bike cutoff by 10 minutes. I literally just stood there speechless and in shock, holding my bike. At one point I cutely threatened to bike back if he didn’t remove my timing chip, and he told me the road was closed. There were already about 15-20 people who were stopped ahead of me, and another 5-10 that came in behind me. One girl was silently crying, but everyone else seemed to be handling it ok for some reason unbeknownst to me. Then it all hit me, and I started crying uncontrollably. I wasn’t going to become an Ironman that day.

I asked a woman if it was her first Ironman and she said no. When I told her it was mine, I just couldn’t stop crying, and she really felt bad for me. Everyone did. The woman gave me her name, phone number, and email address and told me to come do Ironman Canada with her. The water was warmer, she assured me, and the bike course less hilly. I thanked her, not knowing what I would be doing after this. I had never planned on doing a second Ironman.

I called my dad and left him a message asking him to pick me up in transition. One of the volunteers quickly put me in a car, even though there was no space for my bike, probably because I wouldn’t stop crying. I was with 2 men and 1 woman who looked to be in their 40s-50s. It was none of their first Ironman, but one of them told me that he also DNF’d on his first one, so he knew how bad it felt. They told me this was the hardest bike course they’d ever encountered, and a very rough cold swim. It didn’t make me feel any better. I just wanted to finish. I knew I had it in me to keep going. I may not be fast, but I have a lot of endurance, and I love to run. Why wouldn’t they let me RUN? I didn’t need 6:30 hours to finish a marathon! Who cares if I came in a few minutes after 5:30pm?? But these are the rules of Ironman, and I knew about them when I signed up. No use in complaining.

THE WAITING
It took volunteers an hour to get me back to transition to meet up with my family. I found my parents, hugged my mom, and cried. She told me it was ok, and that everyone was very proud of me and that I was still an Ironman to them. I stopped crying and slowly walked to pickup my transition bags and change clothes. (I selected a mixture of morning clothes fleece pants and my lonely run top.)

I told everyone that I HAD to do another one. I didn’t finish, so this seemed like the only logical thing to plan for next. I also complained about the thousands of dollars I had spent to get this far, only not to finish, but I was constantly reminded that I DID do something significant that day. I made it to the start line of an Ironman! I tried to remain positive because it was the only thing that was making me feel better.

Then I did what any mature adult would do in this situation and went to the cantina for a beer. I started explaining what happened to my parents, Jeremy’s mom, and his brother and girlfriend. I smiled and laughed for the first time during that conversation. I had a few chips and salsa. Then we found out that Mike had just finished! Crap! I was worried I might miss him cross the finish line because he is super fast. I guess those 2 hours between my DNF and Mike crossing the finish line went by quickly. With that, we went out to secure our spots at the finish line and wait for Jeremy and Nicole – the rest of Team WODS.

I was told that Jeremy was looking good coming out of T2, but that he was starting to hurt after the first half marathon. Immediately all of my focus was put on tracking Jeremy and Nicole, and waiting for them to cross the finish line. I wasn’t going to cry anymore. Not until I was alone, anyway.

I spent over two hours watching triathletes cross the finish line and become an Ironman. You probably think this was very hard for me. For some reason, it wasn’t. I was happy to high-five total strangers and encourage those that were struggling. It only made me want to get out there and try again. You see, I didn’t get to experience the real pain in the Ironman. Sure I had struggled on the swim and bike, but a lot of people say you don’t really know what you’re made of until you hit the marathon of the Ironman. I wanted to know what I was made of, so I started thinking about all the races left in 2012 and wondering which ones weren’t sold out yet.

Waiting for Jeremy and Nicole felt like a really long time, and I started to feel crappy. I ate a banana and drank a bottle of water. I wasn’t doing the best job of recovering after my 93 mile day, but they don’t invite the non-finishers into the food party where all the fuel was that I needed.

I’m glad I got a little taste of what it’s like to be a spectator in this sport. It’s stressful and makes for a very long day. I truly appreciate all the support we had on the course. I saw that Jeremy’s third 10k split was at a walking pace, so I tried to manage expectations of when he would cross the finish line. Nicole was still holding 12:30 min/mile at the toughest part, so I guessed that Nicole would come in first, and she did because she passed him towards the end of the run.

Nicole came down the finish chute first. She ran over to me, gave me a very brief sad face to see me on the sidelines, and then perked up again for her moment of fame. Jeremy came a few minutes behind her. Here is a YouTube video of his finish. When he saw me, he looked back to blow me a kiss.

http://youtu.be/f8pl3CedXNU

It was a very odd feeling watching both of them cross the finish line. All along I had planned to be the last one to finish, and was looking forward to seeing the rest of Team WODS cheer me across the finish line. Even though it was reversed and I was unintentionally done first, I was so happy for my teammates as they each earned the title of Ironman that day.

Jeremy’s emotional finish

THE VERDICT
June 24, 2012 wasn’t my day. Quite a few factors played into my DNF, and I need to take the time to fully analyze them so I can be better prepared for Ironman #2. Yes, that’s right. There will be a second Ironman. And I WILL FINISH!

Ironman Coeur d’Alene may have gotten the best of me, but now the question is, which Ironman do I sign up for next? (And where will I find the money for it?) I feel like I have unfinished business in Coeur d’Alene, so there’s a chance that I will be back there one day too. Mike Reilly confirmed that notion on my Facebook post.

Facebook post

Ironman Coeur d’Alene Race Week

June 27, 2012 by Asia

Race week FLEW by just like I knew it would. I worked two and half days before flying to Washington, and tried really hard to keep my stress levels low. I’m normally a high stress and very anxious person, so I knew this was something I needed to work on. I didn’t want to waste my energy on anything that wasn’t triathlon related!

My appetite decreased two weeks before the Ironman. I was paying close attention to eating clean, healthy, whole foods during my taper, but I also didn’t want to eat as much as usual. While others were naturally gaining weight from working out less, I unintentionally dropped 4 pounds before the trip and was down to about 106 on the Wednesday before the race. (Not sure if I lost more.) My nerves were kicking in, and I didn’t like to talk about the race much. I was pretty much terrified of getting sick too, so I basically tried to avoid all human contact. (Paranoid much?)

Welcome to Idaho

Wednesday night we stayed in Spokane with Jeremy’s family, and Thursday morning Jeremy and I drove to Coeur d’Alene. We went straight to the lake to checkout the scene. It was beautiful. The water, the trees, the town. It reminded me of the beauty you’d find in Colorado where I went to high school, and I liked that. I spoke to a couple of men going out for a swim and confirmed that the beach to my right was indeed the official IM CDA beach start. It looked to peaceful; I had a hard time imagining it full of over 2,000 triathletes.

Getting the DL from some seasoned lake swimmers

Around 9:30am, Jeremy and I got in line for athlete check-in which opened at 10am. Triathletes are very Type A and like to get things done early. I spoke to a woman who did IMCDA in 2011, and she told me about her difficult cold swim and inability to function in T1. Her hands were so cold that she couldn’t get her hair into a pony tail…So she chopped all her hair off and was sporting a boy haircut this time around. Hardcore, and awesome!

Athlete Check-in

That definitely reinforced my fear of the swim, though. I’m a slow swimmer, so I knew I’d be in the cold sub 60 degree water for at least 1 hour 30 minutes. (Average time is about 1 hr 16 mins, and the swim cutoff time is 2 hr 20 mins.) I think the water temp was around 56 degrees on race day in 2011. It turned out to be 57 degrees for us on race day this year.

With Jeremy at Lake Coeur d’Alene

TriBike Transport didn’t open until 1pm, so we ventured for food, decided on Pita Pit (one of the only chains around), and then went back to get our bikes. Nerves kicked in and I couldn’t finish my pita as I sat quietly in line with all the other IMCDA hopefuls, not wanting to talk to anyone. I was nearly in tears. Was this really happening? Was I ready? Everyone else looked bigger, stronger, and more experienced than me. Granted, I had only started swimming and cycling 1 year ago, but I knew that coming into this. I was just reminded of my newbieness hearing everyone talk about their IM war stories. I felt overwhelmed and sick to my stomach every time I went into the athlete village. I definitely internalized it differently than my peers and tried to stay away from large groups. I was always calmer when I was either working out or relaxing at our bed and breakfast.

Athlete Village

We stayed at a local B&B only 0.4 miles from the start line called the GreenBriar Inn. I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a local place to stay during the race. Free breakfast is included with your stay, and there are only 5 rooms, so you don’t have to worry about the crowds. I think every room had an Ironman in it. Avoid rooms #1-2 if you can because they are very small.

Cozy room #1 at the GreenBriar Inn

After we checked-in, Jeremy and I went for our first lake swim. It was cold, but not as cold as I expected, probably because it was over 80 degrees outside and I was ready for a cool dip! I got out of the water after my 15 minute swim with a new found confidence. I was going to do this! That night we went into Spokane for Jeremy’s brother’s girlfriend’s graduation dinner at PF Changs. (Congrats, Lindsey!) I had some veggie fried rice and water and was ready to get into bed by 10:30pm.

The Osborne Brothers

Friday morning there was an unofficial group practicing a mass swim start at 7am on the beach, so Team WODS went to join in. There couldn’t have been more than 50 people, and I was already nervous! How was 2,700 people starting at the same time going to feel?? I got through the swim start just fine, though, and enjoyed my 20 minute easy swim. I was shivering when I got out of the water this time, so that made me nervous for race day. I wasn’t sure how my body was going to cope with being in cold water for much, much longer. Reported temperature for that day was 59 degrees. A huge improvement from the 53 degree report 5 days earlier, so I tried to be optimistic. The water temp at Oceanside 70.3 was somewhere in the high 50s as well.

At 9am TriBike Transport (the company I used to ship my bike and would highly recommend) hosted a group bike ride of the run course, which was also part of the bike course, so we set off for a 14 mile bike ride. This was longer than I wanted to be on my bike that day, but I really wanted to ride the course and make sure my bike was working properly after shipping it and not riding it for 1 week. This was my 1 bike workout in CDA. I felt great on my bike, even up the hills, and thought that it wasn’t going to be that bad on race day. My confidence was growing.

With Nicole at the TriBike Transport bike ride

We spent the rest of the day preparing our race bags and making our race lists. I used hot pink tape to make sure I could easily identify my race bag. Thanks for the tip, Nicole, and fellow blogger friends! I also made the following lists: what to do in T1 (in case I needed a volunteer to help me), what to eat and drink on the bike, and what to do race morning.

My bike gear bag

Friday night was the athlete dinner. The main message I got from the evening was that I WILL finish! Team WODS was there with their gear on in full support. I love my family! I want to thank my mom, dad, Aunt Joanne, Uncle Jack, Aunt Michelle, Uncle Virgil, cousin Meriah, cousin Anthony, as well as Jeremy’s family, including his mom, two brothers, and the girlfriends. All of them came out to support Team WODS that weekend. It was so appreciated!

WODS Squad

Saturday morning we ran for 10 minutes with four 20 second pickups at 90% effort. That was our only workout of the day, not including all the walking we did. We checked our bikes and T1/T2 bags in the transition area and tried to relax, but we ended up walking around more than I would have liked. I tried to take deep breaths and remain calm. Everyone kept commenting on how quiet I was.

With our trusty steeds

We located the swim in, swim out, bike in, bike out, run out, and finish line and did one more stop in the expo. Here’s a map of transition.

Map of Ironman Coeur d’Alene Transition Area

I didn’t see anything I wanted at the expo and decided to wait until Monday when they made all the IM CDA finisher gear available. My mom said she’d buy me an Ironman necklace and a finishers jacket. I had already spent $100 on t-shirts, a hat, and other misc items. I also had time to send Mike Reilly a tweet telling him how to pronounce my name (since he got it wrong at Oceanside 70.3.) I understand. It’s pretty complicated!

Ironmom and Irondad

Jeremy and I did a pasta dinner with my parents and his mom and brothers, and I had to force feed myself since I was so nervous. I found it easier to eat the pre-sliced butter bread than the pasta I ordered. I was able to get 10 hours of sleep Friday night, and about 6 hours race night. I was surprised at how easily I slept through the night. I think I only wokeup once.

Sunday morning I wokeup ready to tackle whatever the day had in store for me…Sadly, I was part of the 7% that did not finish. That post is coming next.

Ironman Training Final Build

June 20, 2012 by Asia

I DID IT! My final Ironman build period is complete! I was tired, nauseous, and cranky towards the end, but it feels good knowing that I put all the hard work in. Since I started this draft over 6 weeks ago, I’ve also completed my taper, and now it’s RACE WEEK! I’m actually finally finishing this blog post from the San Diego airport.

The purpose of this blog is to get the final workouts “on the books”. I’ll have a more detailed blog about tapering and race week and all the crazy emotions that I’m feeling when I have time. With work and Ironman training, I just haven’t had the TIME to blog!

Highlights here include my first 100 mile bike ride, my best masters swim ever, my first Aquathlon, and a weekend with Chrissie Wellington! (Well it wasn’t exactly a full weekend, but I got to spend some time with her Sat and Sun which was amazing!)

Week 23

Monday: Mobility Class, Ab Ripper X DVD, Pull-ups and Plank

Tuesday: 6 miles Yassos, Spin 1:40

Wednesday morning I had my most successful YMCA Masters Swim EVER! There were actually people there that were swimming my base, so I didn’t get left in the dust, and I was able to keep my 2:00 base throughout the class. It helps that I stopped swimming late Tuesday night before this class too. I figured out my body needs a longer break than that between masters swim sessions. Group Strength Class at night.

Thursday: 1:30 run, 45 min easy spin, Solana Beach Masters Swim

Friday: Rest

Saturday was my first 100 mile bike ride!! It took foreeeeever, but I did it! Team WODS went out to conquer and we did it. There were definitely some road bumps along the way, so we were out there for about 9 hours total with pit stops, flat tires, bee stings, dropped chains, and more. We were all exhausted and ready to eat when we got back, but Jeremy and I fit in a quick 1 mile run just to see what it would feel like. (It felt hard.)

After about 92 miles, I don’t recommend taking a break.

Sunday: 18 mile run, 1 hour spin

Week 24: Final Build

Monday: Mobility with Trevor

Tuesday: Accidental 10 mile run (6 miles of Yassos plus another 4 miles easy because I was locked out and had to wait for Jeremy to get home! Would you sit on the steps and wait, or keep running? I decided to keep running.) Sufferfest Local Hero 1:25 on the trainer that night.

Wednesday morning difficult YMCA Masters Swim. Strength at home. I was very tired this day.

Thursday: Spin 45 mins/run 1 mile brick, and Solana Beach Masters Swim

Friday: Rest

Saturday: I went to LA Friday night to film a brand new game show all day on Saturday! It involved a lot of explosive sprints and obstacles and was a very long day. Not your typical Ironman training day, but an amazing experience I will never forget!

Sunday: 20 mile run = slowest long run to date. I think I was exhausted after my 14 hour day of “fame”! It’s probably a good indicator of how slow I’ll be going during the full Ironman. I think I’d be happy with a 10 min/mile pace! Better than the Ironman shuffle, no?

Week 25: Final Build

Monday: Took the day off work. Mobility work in the morning, Solana Beach Intro to Masters Swim in the afternoon. Was planning to get a medium/long bike ride in, but my body was screaming at me after my hard weekend, so coach Trevor prescribed swim and rest. It was fabulous. I highly recommend a random vacation day where you have nothing planned during IM training. Jeremy and I saw a movie, went for a walk on the beach, and did happy hour.

Tuesday: Spin 45 mins in the morning plus 1:15 more after work to get it all in

Wednesday: YMCA Masters Swim in the morning, Group Strength with just Jeremy and me that night, so it was tailored exactly to our needs.

Thursday: 30 min spin in the morning, TCSD Aquathlon (1,000m ocean swim plus 5k run) after work. As someone with a fear of open water swimming, I’m very proud of this accomplishment! I was too scared to do all the TCSD Aquathlons last year, so this was my first one, and I completed it in a very respectable time of 40 mins. (Thank you ocean current!)

Team WODS post Aquathlon

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Bike 84 miles and run 5

Sunday: Swim 1:30, run 2:00

Week 26: Recovery Week

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: I finally forked up the $$ and got a professional fit on my bike! It included a short spin about 30 minutes total riding time, and I left with a brand new sexy tri bike fit! I should have done this about a week after I got my new bike because my bike shop fit has never even been close, but it’s better to be late than to never do it. My fit is drastically different and built for efficiency and speed thanks to Nestor at Studeo DNA! My before and after photos make this quite obvious…According to Nestor, I no longer look like a grandma!

Before…looking like a grandma on my tri bike

After! No more grandma!

Wednesday: YMCA Masters Swim, Group Strength

Thursday: 4 mile run, 45 min spin

Friday: La Jolla Cove Ocean Swim about 1.5 miles (to the Marine Room and back!) Another huge accomplishment for me because I wasn’t swimming parallel to the shore line. I was out there in the deep blue ocean with the fishies…sting rays, jelly fish, and other stuff that I luckily couldn’t see. I always had someone within eyesight. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Saturday: Run 1:20, bike 30 minutes, followed by a 5k with Chrissie Wellington! (Separate blog post to come on my time spent with the Ironman world champ!!)

Sunday: Bike 60 miles, run 2.5 miles, TCSD meeting and autograph time with Chrissie Wellington! I bought her new book A Life Without Limits and she signed it “Thanks for beating me in the 5k.” Fantastic!

Giving Chrissie a lift. She was asking who was touching her bum.

Dating a Triathlete

June 1, 2012 by Asia

My beautiful triathlete relationship

One of my friends recently shared these important dating tips with me. Source unknown but definitely appreciated for a good laugh! If you’re dating a triathlete, read on for some insights into what she REALLY means when she says she enjoys quiet walks on the beach or dining out. If you’re a triathlete, read on and see how much these apply to you. Luckily, my boyfriend is also a triathlete, so we speak the same language.

“I am an outdoors type of person.” Really means: I train in any type of weather. If it’s raining, snowing, 90 degrees w/100 percent humidity, or winds gusting at 30 mph. I don’t want to hear any complaints because I will still train in it and you’re just a big wuss for complaining about it.

Let’s get DIRTY!

“I enjoy riding my bike.” Really means: with or w/o aero bars, alone or in a peleton, I don’t care. If you can’t do a spur of the moment 30 miler then you’re not my type. I will let you draft, but if you can’t hang and I drop you – I will see you later. I am a capable mechanic, but don’t expect me to change your flats or tune your bike. You need to learn that on your own.

Hot chicks on bikes

“I enjoy jogging.” Really means: Let’s run hills until we puke. I have just as many shoes as you only mine are better because they are functional and all look the same.

Post 21 miler

“I enjoy dining out.” Really means: I enjoy eating out, in or anywhere else I can find food. Don’t be shy because with the amount of food I eat, you can have that main entrée instead of a salad and you will still look as though you eat like a rabbit in comparison. Don’t get your limbs too close though as I may take a bite out of you. Most importantly don’t expect any taste off my plate unless you can bring something to the party like more food. Eventually though if you’re not burning 4,000 calories a day your going to plump up and have a terrible complex due to watching me eat deserts and not gain any weight. Friends and family will eventually decide not to dine with us anymore due to my horrid table manners. Oh, and don’t ask me any questions during breakfast, Mid Morning Lunch, Lunch, Afternoon lunch, dinner or Recovery Dinner as it does not lend to efficient food intake.

Mmmmm pizza

“I enjoy quiet walks on the beach.” Really means: Walks on the beach warming up into an 8 mile run and then plunging myself in the ocean for a 2 miler. If you get in my way you’re going to find out what mass start is and let me assure you that you don’t want to find out.

Jeremy’s idea of a date night

“I find fulfillment in charitable work.” Really means: If I am not racing, I am volunteering and I expect you to be there alongside me as I stand out in 90 degree weather for 8 hours handing out sports drink to cyclists going 20 mph. Just stick the ol’ arm out there and hope it doesn’t get taken off.

Chrissie Wellington gives back to CAF

“I enjoy sharing quiet moments together.” Really means: It’s taper time. Just back off because I am strategizing and in a pissy mood because I am worried about my “A” race and can’t workout.

“I am an active person.” Really means: Aside from my 40 hour job, and the 8 mandatory hours of sleep a night, 10 hours a week are devoted to me during the off-season and 20 during race season leaving us 4 hours. 2 of which are spent inhaling food and you not talking to me, so let’s make the best of the 2 hours we will spend together on average each day. If you are a licensed massage therapist or doctor this would make the most optimal use of our time together. Nutritionist is also acceptable, but I probably already know just as much as you.

Post race

“I enjoy road trips and leisurely drives.” Really means: You have your choice of Wisconsin, Idaho, Florida, California, Arizona, and Canada, but don’t expect to do much site seeing. If I get enough support from you we might be able to include Hawaii in there.

A triathlete’s romantic getaway

“I enjoy site seeing.” Really means: Lets grab a mountain bike and get our HR’s up to 90%. There’s plenty of time to look around on the descent as trees and bushes whiz by you at 40 mph.

Taming the BEAST!

“I like stimulating conversation.” Really means: while we are running, we can talk about food. Then we can talk about how we decided what to wear on this run based on the temperature at start time versus the temperature at the time we expect to finish, how horribly out of shape we are, how many miles we did last week, and how many we will do this week and next week. Then we can talk about food.

Happy because I’m eating

“I enjoy relaxing soaks in the tub.” Really Means: I’m going to stop on the way home and buy two bags of ice, throw them in the tub with some water, and sit in this torture chamber for 30 minutes.

Getting in the ice bath

“I’m interested in photography” Really Means: My camera is permanently perched a tripod in front of my trainer. I obsess over taking photos of my bike position and analyzing them to get the perfect setup.

Like this? Or like this?

“I’m into in technology” Really Means: My HRM and bike computer are my best friends. Until you can give me some hard data that can improve my training, don’t bother trying to buddy up to me. You could one day break into the top three if I find you as entertaining on long runs and rides as my mp3 player.

Checking watches before the marathon

In closing, “I enjoy dining out” applies to me the most! Do NOT get in the way of me and my food!!! Which triathlete dating tip most applies to YOU? Are there any tips missing? I think something about assisting with laundry and dishes should be included. My house is pretty scary around Ironman training time, so a great date will take care of those things for you. 😉

My Top 5 Ironman Fears

May 14, 2012 by Asia

Might as well get them off my chest now while the race is still 6 weeks away. Here are my top 5 fears for Ironman Coeur d’Alene – my first Ironman!

Asia’s Top 5 Ironman Fears

1. I won’t make the bike cutoff because it’s so hilly, and I’m a slow swimmer. (10:30 hours swim + bike cutoff.)

2. I will cramp up during the swim and/or get hypothermia if the lake is too cold. (It was rumoured to be 51 degrees one year.)

3. I will get a flat tire on the bike course. (I’ve never changed one on my own.)

4. I will have a weird bike problem that I cannot fix. (I’m not a bike mechanic.)

5. I will have stomach problems. (Diarrhea, and/or puking.)

What will I do to alleviate these fears?

1. Bike faster and incorporate speed work during my final long rides.

2. Continue to practice open water swimming, and drink pickle juice before the swim to prevent my cramping.

3. Practice changing my tires (front AND back).

4. Pray.

5. Continue to practice my race day nutrition and hydration. Worst case scenario, I’ll just bike/run through the pain!
I’m typically a very optimistic person, but everyone has their inner doubts and fears. Hopefully if I can come to terms with them, I will be a stronger athlete on race day!

Ironman Training Week 22 – Recovery Week

May 11, 2012 by Asia

Taking out my new Speed Concept for her first ride

April 29-May 6, 2012

I LOVE recovery week. I almost feel like a normal human being during this time. In addition to tapering my workouts, I try to use the time to catch-up on sleep, errands, and my dwindling social life.

Monday: Went to Group Mobility in the morning which felt amazing, and then I chose not to workout that night. Mondays and Fridays are always my easiest days since Sat/Sun are such high volume.

Tuesday: Ran 5 miles easy in the morning and did at Solana Beach Masters Swim at night

Wednesday: Skipped a workout and chose to sleep in, and then went to Group Strength at night…after I took home my new tri bike from Trek!! I feel like I’ve been living at Trek lately trying to square away my new bike purchase, but it was definitely worth it. I’ll have to blog about my experience another time.

Thursday: I took my new tri bike out in the morning for a 10 mile ride to get used to it. A tri bike is VERY different to ride than a road bike. You have to reach so far to shift! I also practice going aero a little bit. Nicole and I went for a 5.5 mile run in the evening and then did some pull-ups to make sure we still could. (We can!)

Friday: Glorious day of rest that included a romantic dinner with Jeremy at our new favorite spot by our place – Moonlight Lounge at Solace.

A yummy/naughty salad. I’ve been obsessed w/ taking pics of my food lately.

Saturday: Took my tri bike out for the first long ride. It was convenient timing since I didn’t have to rush into a 90 mile hilly ride like last weekend. The 65 mile bike ride up the coast and through Camp Pendleton was a good experience for me. I got to practice shifting and going aero a lot. It wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be, so I think I will be used to my bike in time for the Ironman! My bike ride was followed by a 2.5 mile run. I always try to run after my long bike rides. It’s good practice.

Taking my Speed Concept out for the first long ride

Jeremy wasn’t feeling 100% that day, and we didn’t want to get drunk like the rest of the Cinco de Mayo participants, but we went out to a Mexican restaurant to enjoy the experience anyway. I got buzzed off 2 Mexican beers, and we watched the 21-year-old college students, the cougars, and the Mariachis go crazy!

Our tame Cinco de Mayo. People watching is better than getting drunk off cheap tequila.

Sunday: 1:30 run in Mission Beach followed by a 1 mile swim in Mission Bay. I hope to get one open water swim in per week or at least every other week until the race. I’m always reminded of how much more I need to practice once I’m out there. Sighting and going straight are tricky! I also checked the water temperature of Lake Coeur d’Alene that day, and it was 46 degrees. Brrrr! Hoping it’ll make it up to 60 degrees for the race…

Now it’s time for my final build sequence of Ironman training! I still can’t believe it’s almost here. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Ironman Training Weeks 19-21 – Going Long

May 4, 2012 by Asia

Awesome Sock Tan Lines

Ironman training weeks 19-21 were a build period after my recovery week post Half Ironman. It was actually my second to last build period before Ironman Coeur d’Alene! How is it possible that the race is already less than 8 weeks away?! These past three weeks gave me more confidence in my ability to complete the race than ever before, so that was encouraging. I’m still nervous because it’s going to be here SO soon!

Week 19
Monday I slept in and only did a 30 minute run in the morning. The highlight of the day was in the evening at the season opener of the Triathlon Club of San Diego La Jolla Shores 1 mile ocean swim! Every Monday at 6pm, TCSD members meet for a 1 mile swim out towards La Jolla Cove, stopping after 1/2 mile, regrouping, and heading back. There is also a beginner group that swims a shorter distance parallel to the beach. I’m proud to say that this was my first successful mile swim in the ocean! I had planned to do the beginner’s group because I’m not 100% confident in the open water, but a couple of girls asked if I would swim with them in the regular group since we are at a similar pace (aka slower than the rest). It was very choppy and colder than usual (definitely sub 55 degrees f), so one of the girls turned back, and I was left with 1 swim buddy, but we stayed close together. There was a strong current that drastically slowed us down on our way back in, and we lost the majority of the group, but we made it back in safe and sound! I felt very accomplished for getting over my fear of swimming that far out into the open water, even though I was a little bit scared when I got stuck in the current heading back towards shore. I’ve done bay swims, harbor swims and shorter distances in the ocean, but I have never swam that long in the ocean. In case you’re wondering, the waves and currents are what scare me the most; not the sharks.

Tuesday: 1.5 hour Sufferfest Local Hero indoor spin on my road bike in the morning, Solana Beach Masters Swim in the evening

Wednesday: I recently started going to YMCA Masters Swim in Encinitas, and it has been a good challenge for me. Swimming is definitely my weakest of the 3 sports in triathlon, so I need to focus on my technique, endurance, and speed more than the other people I train with. My base is somewhere between 2:00-2:05, but the lanes at YMCA are usually 1:50 or faster. You can see how that would be a problem for someone like me. Luckily, there are some 2:00 min base swimmers that come on Wednesdays occasionally, but it’s not consistent, and I’ve caught them going faster than 2:00 before. I try not to let it get to me, but it definitely beats me up a little bit mentally. I HATE being slow. The only comfort I can give myself is when I do races, I’m never in the last group to finish. I guess the really slow people just don’t come to masters swim? That night I went to Group Strength which is always one of my favorite parts of the week. I heart strength training.

Thursday: Nicole and I went on a 70 minute run in the morning, and a did a 1.5 hour spin at home after work that night. Normally I try to go to Masters Swim Thursday nights too, but I’ve been really tired lately with this volume. It’s hard to fit everything in!

Friday: Rest day! My family went out for pizza for my sister Skye’s birthday dinner and I was in bed before 9pm! I’m always so tired by Thursday that I love to get lots of sleep on Fridays.

Saturday: Due to rain and high wind gusts, we postponed our long bike ride to Sunday and swapped the two sessions. Nicole and I set out for our 1:50 long run which equated to about 12 miles, and then we finished off the workout with a 45 minute spin on the trainer. That night, my family and I went out to sushi for my sister Aden’s birthday dinner. It was a fun-filled weekend of celebrations!

Sunday: This was probably the most difficult bike ride I’ve ever done. Mike, Nicole, and I mapped out a new route and went 75 miles with 3,700 ft climbing. Jeremy couldn’t join us unfortunately because he had knee pain. Some of the hills were SO STEEP! You can read more about the ride that we nicknamed “The Beast” in Nicole’s blog post. Let’s just say I was compelled to take my first ice bath that night! I have a fun post on that particular experience here. It was a great way to round out a high volume week of training, and I’d like to do more of them. Jeremy and I also went to a dinner discussion on Over-training and Recovery put on by Energy Lab Training which was super informative. Plus we got to eat at Urban Plates which is one of my new favorite places to dine!

At the top of one of many beastly hills

Week 20

Monday: I slept-in and did 20 minutes of mobility and stretching in the morning, and then a 30 min run + 30 min spin brick workout at night. Big mistake. I felt like I could conquer anything during this workout, but about 1 hour later, I had crazy knee pain. I was slightly limping and scared that I really hurt myself. Luckily the pain eventually went away over the course of the week, but I learned my lesson not to do too much leg work the Monday after a hard IM training weekend. I will be better served resting, swimming, or stretching!

Tuesday: I rested my knee in the morning and went to a coached spin/run brick workout at night so he could help me with my knee. Then I did Masters Swim.

Wednesday: My knee was feeling better so I did 45 minutes of easy spin in the morning and went to Group Strength at night.

Thursday: Back to my usual self again, I did a 1:25 run (8.3 miles) with Nicole nice and early in the morning, and then Masters Swim at night.

Friday: I had my weekly/bi-weekly swim lesson with Coach Trevor and made some great progress on my technique. He thinks my stroke is really coming along! Now I just need the speed and endurance to follow.

Saturday morning I woke up very nervous for an 85 mile bike. This was starting to sound serious!! I ended up doing 82 miles on the bike, and then a 3 mile run afterwards. The four us that train together on the weekends have different speeds, so we started doing slightly different mileage on these beastly long rides and runs. Afterwards we ate. A lot. I’m not proud to say this, but I’m pretty sure I consumed over 4,000 calories that day!

Homemade nutella ice cream. Thanks Nicole & Mike!

Sunday: Nicole and I went out for a 2:15 run, and it took us both at least 5-6 miles to warm-up. My legs felt very heavy, but it wasn’t the slowest run I’ve ever done which gives me hope for the IM, and I had no problem completing the distance. At 2pm we met up with TCSD for a 1 mile ocean swim in Fletcher Cove to remember one of the tri club members who was attacked and killed by a shark there a few years ago – Dave Martin. It was a very special event, and the local news came by to do a story on it. I wasn’t doing triathlons when he was attacked, but I was living in San Diego and remembered hearing about the attack. I never thought that I would be doing long ocean swims just like him one day. This 1 mile swim was much easier than the one I did on week 19. The water was in the high 50s and the conditions were very smooth. I felt more comfortable out there too because we had life guards on paddle boards by us the entire time, so I never felt like I was alone out there. I also drank pickle juice beforehand and didn’t cramp! It’s a direct correlation for me. If I don’t drink pickle juice before any kind of swim (ocean, pool, short lesson), I will get a calf cramp. If I drink it, I don’t cramp. Guess I need to fit that in on race day!

Headed into Fletcher Cove

More poor but delicious food choices

Week 21
Monday: Since I really like doing mobility work and stretches on Mondays, I started going to Coach Trevor’s mobility class this day. I could only stay for 45 minutes due to my work schedule, but lucky for me, he changed the class time to 5:30am so I can make it now! Thanks, Trevor! I decided to rest that night. These high volume weekends warrant rest, don’t you think?

Tuesday morning I felt refreshed and took on 5 miles of Yasso 800s in the morning (speed work), and finished off my day with a 2 hour spin at night. Jeremy bought a trainer so now we have 2 and can spin at the same time! We watched Mad Men to keep us sane.

Wednesday: YMCA Masters Swim in the morning, and Group Strength class at night

Thursday: 90 min run with Nicole, and Masters Swim at night

Friday: Rest! Team WODS also went to happy hour together that night. I only needed 1 Delirium Tremens to get a good buzz!

Delirium Tremens is my favorite beer

Saturday I did my longest ride to date!! 88 mile bike ride with a 2 mile run afterwards for good measure. It was also a hilly course which made me feel more confident about IM CDA. I didn’t feel nearly as tired afterwards as I thought I would. Granted, I was ready to fall asleep at the dinner party I was attending, but I couldn’t help that side effect of 90 miles of training.

A little more than halfway through our longest ride. Still smiling 🙂

Sunday was the big test. How would my legs respond to running the morning after such a high volume of training? Nicole and I went out for our 2:30 minute run, and it probably took me about the same time to warmup. I felt a little odd, like running was just something my body was supposed to do. Maybe I was in the zone. Maybe I was just out of it. But my 16 mile run went by quickly, and I even saw WHALES and dolphins along the way!! When I get home I immediately did a 45 minute spin. Then I went to Trek and made a BIG decision. I traded in my road bike for a tri bike!! I am the proud owner of the Speed Concept 7.0! More on that later, but I think the switch was definitely for the better.

Goodbye Madone 3.1 🙁

Hello Speed Concept 7.0! 🙂

My First Ice Bath

April 16, 2012 by Asia

Preparing the Ice Bath

After a weekend of tough endurance workouts and a dinner conversation on recovery and overtraining, I decided I would attempt my first ice bath. (Saturday I did a brick of 12 mile run + 45 min bike. Sunday I biked 75 miles with 3,700ft of climbing.) I’m not injured. I just wanted to recover faster, and ice baths are supposed to help reduce inflammation.

According to Runner’s World, here are some other benefits that you can get from an ice bath:

– offset the risks inherent to long bouts of running
– don’t only suppress inflammation, but helps to flush harmful metabolic debris out of your muscles
– cold-water immersion generally produces a greater and longer lasting change in deep tissues and is more a more efficient means of cooling large groups of muscles simultaneously (vs. using ice packs)

If you’re contemplating taking an ice bath, I would highly recommend it! I woke up the next morning with minimal soreness and ready for another week of Ironman training. (Note: There is some controversy around taking ice baths, so please do your research before giving it a try.)

Here’s a quick guide of how I prepared my ice bath and the supplies I used.

Attempt #1 to get in the ice bath

Supplies:
1. ICE – I used 4 (7 pound) bags of ice, but Jeremy and I agree that 3 bags will be enough next time. We don’t want to break the bank each time we take an ice bath. The water will get cold enough, but it’s impossible to keep it all from melting unless you have massive quantities.
2. Bathtub filled with cold water just deep enough to sit in it and hit below your belly button. If you need to submerge more than that, fill it up more.
3. Sweatshirt to stay warm on top & swim bottoms to stay more comfortable below. (Tip: If you have a two piece wetsuit, you can wear the top half to stay really warm!)
4. Timer – I’ve read and heard that you should never stay in an ice bath for more than 20 minutes. 15-20 minutes is the ideal timeframe if you can handle it. (Why waste more time freezing when you don’t need to?)
5. Optional: Swim booties to keep your feet warm – I swim with these in open water conditions to make the cold more tolerable, and it also worked here. If you need to soak your ankles, try to find something that won’t cover them so you can get the full benefit of the cold water. Jeremy did the bath without anything on his feet. His stung. Mine didn’t.
6. Optional: Hot beverage, reading materials, your boyfriend, anything to keep your mind off the fact that you’re sitting in a tub full of ice-cold water. I had Jeremy in the tub with me. He’s 6’5″ so it was tough squeezing both of us in there, but he kept me warm!

Attempt #2: My butt is shocked by the cold!

How To Draw and Ice Bath:
1. Fill a tub with cold water that will cover your legs and hips, but no higher than your belly button so you can stay warmer on top. (Adjust water level if you need to soak other areas.)
2. Put approximately 20 lbs of ice in the tub. Water temp should be in the 50s farenheit.
3. Get in quickly (bundled on top!) because the ice will start melting, and you don’t want to psyche yourself out. Melted ice is OK. The water will still be cold!
4. Soak for 15-20 minutes, but not a minute longer. Try to relax! 🙂
5. Wait 30-60 minutes before taking a hot shower (optional). I needed this because I was quite cold after my ice bath. All the socks and blankets couldn’t keep me warm enough! It’s also a good way to relax the muscles.

Success! It takes a few minutes to adjust to the cold...

Alternatives to an Ice Bath:
If an ice bath isn’t for you, you can also use what mother nature has to offer. A quick dip in the ocean, lake, or river can provide the same benefits after a tough training session.

In summary, I had a great first ice bath experience and plan on incorporating it into my Ironman training each weekend. (I think a 100 mile bike ride definitely warrants one!)

Have you ever taken an ice bath? Do you have any other tips to share?

Ironman Training Weeks 17 & 18 – My 1st Half Ironman!

April 13, 2012 by Asia

The last two weeks revolved around my first 70.3. I spent one week tapering for it, and one week recovering from it, and I loved every minute of it. I took full advantage of my recovery week because I knew I would never have a week that easy again until after my full Ironman. I’m prepared to enter full beast mode!

I DID IT! (Time reflects pros start.)

Week 17: Tapering for my first Half Ironman!
Monday: Swim lesson with Coach Trevor. He isn’t technically my triathlon coach since I don’t get full training plans from him, but I go to a lot of his workouts, and I do private swim lessons with him…So at the very least, Trevor is my swim coach and it has been working out great!

Tuesday: Bike/run brick with Trevor, and Solana Beach Masters Swim. My workouts were geared towards Oceanside 70.3 participants, and both were about 45 minutes long. My masters swim had very specific drills, and my spin was pretty easy with some sprints to keep my legs fresh. It was fun talking with the other Oceanside 70.3 participants. I expressed my concern about getting a flat tire and found out that everyone else had the same concern. Refreshing! (They could probably all change a tire, though, if it actually came down to it.)

Wednesday: Run 4×90 seconds at race pace with easy jog in between for 20 minutes. Running for only 20 minutes feels weird.

Thursday: Rest! Pack and prep for the race!

Friday: Nicole and I went on a 20 minute bike ride + 10 minute easy run to stay warm before the race. I don’t know if I’ll ever do that short of a workout again! I wore my race day gear, but don’t worry, it didn’t get sweaty.

Saturday: RACE DAY! 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run

Sunday: Rest (I should have done an active recovery exercise like swimming laps, but I had absolutely no desire to workout.) I couldn’t sleep in, so I started blogging about my race day experience, and then Jeremy, his mom, and I went to brunch. Then we had a nice late lunch at my parents’ place. A very relaxing Sunday for a change!

My adorable niece, Kiva

Week 18: Recovering from my first Half Ironman!
Monday – Tuesday: Zip. Zilch. Nada. I should have done at least an easy recovery swim, but I still had no desire to workout. I was starting to wonder if I had burned out and if I was going to want to get back into Ironman training.

Wednesday: 3 mile easy run with Nicole. My legs were a little sore and felt a little pain while running, so I’m not sure if this was the best recovery exercise for me to do, but it was the only thing that I actually WANTED to do, so I went with it.

Thursday: Nothing again 🙂

Friday: Swim lesson with Trevor

Saturday: 62 mile bike + 30 minute run (Not exactly recovery, but I was ready to start to pick-up where Ironman training left off. I took it easy on this ride.)

Sunday: 8 mile run (Ditto)

I’m already into week 19 now, and I’m happy to report that working out 2x/day again feels totally normal. I’m back in full beast mode for my Ironman! Coeur d’Alene is only 10 weeks away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CDA mass swim start. I think I'll start in the back...