Wandering Dawn

A California girl exploring the world

Ironman training

Return of the foot pain & how to cope

by

25 days to go until Ironman Cozumel and I’m trying not to FREAK OUT.  Why?  My foot pain has returned!

I’m in Las Vegas for work Monday-Friday this week, and I was already worried about how this trip would affect my Ironman training.  I brought my bike pedals, bike shoes, and a pedal wrench so I could hopefully turn the hotel spin bike into something that more closely mirrors my bike that I couldn’t bring with me.

As soon as my plane touched down in Vegas, I realized I was sick.  Crap.  That was what I thought was going to be my biggest problem of the week.  I hit up Target and bought a variety of cold meds and Zicam.  Monday night was the worst of it, so I decided to work the SEMA show Tuesday morning.

I was literally on my feet from 8am-130pm before sitting down once.  I wore TOMS thinking those would be a perfect comfy option to wear at the show.  After I got back to my hotel room, had lunch, and went to stand up again, it felt like my heel was bruised. WTF?  Not again!  I stayed in bed until I had to walk back to the show and wore Converse this time.  Still no relief.  The pain increased all the way to dinner, and I was limping.  I tried to stay off my foot as much as possible, and as soon as I got back to my hotel room, I went straight to the ice bucket.

My hotel room doesn’t have a bathtub (shower only), so I decided to make use of a trash can for my DIY ice bath.

DIY Hotel Room Ice Bath

1. Fill ice bucket completely with ice from hotel vending machine

2. Line a trash can (or 2) with a plastic bag

3. Dump ice in trash

4. Fill trash can with cool water to desired height

5. Stick foot in ice bath for up to 20 minutes

makeshift ice bath

I was in tears for the first 4 minutes because my foot was stinging so badly and because I was very afraid that my foot injury had returned.  I haven’t had foot pain in a good amount of time.  It originally started on August 17th, and I couldn’t even walk without pain or limping.  It lasted for about 1 month, and got better week by week.  Now, I’m back to trying to do everything in my power to keep it from getting back to how bad it was back then.

I got Jeremy on the phone, and he gave me an amazing pep talk on Ironman Cozumel.  (He always knows how to calm me down.)

I need to:

– Stay positive.  Worrying won’t make anything better.  It will only cause unnecessary anxiety.

– Take it one day at a time.  I shouldn’t worry about how many days are left until my race. (25. ah hem.)  I need to focus on today and tomorrow, and just take it day by day.

– Remember that my body will know when it’s race day.  The body is capable of incredible things.  Even if I have foot pain on race day, I will get through it.  I don’t care if I am crawling across the finish line, as long as I FINISH!

– This is part of the journey that will make finishing the Ironman even more incredible.  The race is going to be one of the toughest things I’ve ever done.  The journey to get to race day is also not easy. (Juggling work, injuries, 15 hour training weeks, illness, travel, lack of free time, no money for anything other than triathlon, etc).  It is probably why so few people attempt such a distance…and why those people think I am crazy. 🙂

 

And with that, I’m off to find a place where I can swim laps before I’m on my poor foot again all afternoon for work.  Ohhh Vegas.

Do you have any other tips to share on how to stay mentally strong until race day?

Makeshift hotel lap pool

108.8 Miles on Fiesta Island

by

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?

Mini Training Meltdown

by

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

by

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?

Here We Go! (Again!)

by

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

by

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!

Ironman Training Final Build

by

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.

Ironman Training Week 22 – Recovery Week

by

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

by

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! 🙂

Ironman Training, but not Blogging

by

Nicole and me - training buddies for life!

I looked back to see when my last weekly Ironman training post went up….IM training week 10 which was 6 weeks ago!   It seems like only yesterday, but somehow I let weeks of Ironman training go by without blogging about them.  It’s scary how quickly life can pass you by!  This won’t be the most exciting blog post, but I find it important to log every week of my training so I can reflect on them.  That being said, here’s what I’ve been doing the last month and a half along with a few pics of highlights.

Week 11 (2/13-2/19)

Valentine's Day gift!

Monday: Easy spin 1 hour, and JCC Technique/”Mini Masters”
Tuesday: Rest/Valentine’s Day
Wednesday: Sufferfest “A Very Dark Place” spin, Energy Lab Training Group Strength class
Thursday: 90 minute spin, Solana Beach Masters Swim
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Bike 60 miles, run 4
Sunday: Ocean swim attempt, 8 mile run, Ironman Seminar at HERevolution

Week 12 (2/20-2/26)
Monday: No work! 45 mile Pizza Port bike course (=hills)
Tuesday: 4 mile run, Solana Beach Masters Swim
Wednesday: Sufferfest Fight Club spin, Energy Lab Training Group Strength class
Thursday: 30 min spin + 4 mile run brick, Tri Club of San Diego meeting
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Practice Triathlon with Energy Lab Training: 1k time trial swim, 30 mile bike, 4 mile run
Sunday: 40 min lap swim, 90 min run

Week 13 (2/27-3/4)
Monday: Mobility Group Class with ELT
Tuesday: Sufferfest “A Very Dark Place”, Solana Beach Masters Swim
Wednesday: spin/run brick, ELT group strength class
Thursday: 60 min spin, Solana Beach Masters Swim
Friday: Private swim lesson with coach Trevor from Energy Lab Training
Saturday: 70 mile bike + 30 min run (=Longest bike ride to date!!)
Sunday: Lap swim and 75 min run

Week 14 (3/5-3/11)

1/4 Ironman Practice Triathlon. I'm the squinty girl on the left.

Monday: Mobility/Stretch class
Tuesday: Solana Beach Masters Swim
Wednesday: 60 min brick (45 spin + 15 run), Strength class
Thursday: 45 min spin + 3 mile run, Solana Beach Masters Swim
Friday: Rest
Saturday: “1/4 Ironman” practice triathlon for Oceanside 70.3 (.6 mile ocean swim, 28 mile bike, 6.2 mile run)
Sunday: 30 min bay swim

Week 15 (3/12-3/18)
Monday: Mobility class
Tuesday: Sufferfest “A Very Dark Place” spin
Wednesday: YMCA Masters Swim, ELT Group Strength
Thursday: 10 mile run, spin/run brick class, Solana Beach Masters Swim (= 3.5 hours of workouts in 1 day! Not planned. Was very tired by the swim.)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 3.5 hour indoor spin on trainer + 30 min run (=CHALLENGING. I’ve never been on the trainer that long and don’t really want to do it again, but when it rains, you’ve still got to train!)
Sunday: Rest (fun trip to LA)

Week 16 (3/19-3/25)

I don't like big waves, so I prefer the bay

Monday: Rest (back from LA trip, tired)
Tuesday: 1 hour Sufferfest spin, Solana Beach Masters Swim
Wednesday: 45 minute spin
Thursday: Spin, Bay group swim intervals workout
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 50 mile bike + 30 min run
Sunday: 30 min bay swim (56.1 degrees!) + 5 mile run (=The water is going to be cold for the race! 55-59 degrees is the predicted temperature. At least it’s good practice for Coeur d’Alene on that level.)

Currently on Week 17 tapering for my Half Ironman in Oceanside this weekend!  Again, I can’t believe how time flies. It seems like only yesterday that I was doing my first masters swim class and trying out road bikes.  My full Ironman will be here before I know it! IM Coeur d’Alene is less than 3 months away!  At least Chrissie Wellington wished me good luck. 🙂

Chrissie Wellington wished me good luck!