Independence Triathlon 2010--Spectator Report

A few weeks ago, Dave signed up for a sprint triathlon on July 4th that was really close to our house and would be on roads we normally ride. Coach asked if I wanted to sign up. I said no because (a) we had a wedding the night before and we would be getting home until after midnight and (b) what purpose would a sprint triathlon do me when I'm training for Ironman. As time approached, however, I really wanted to do this race. I wanted to use it as my bike test. Plus it had sweet age group awards and I really felt like I had a chance to place in my age group. I went to sign up and wouldn't you know that bugger was sold out?! Dang it! So, I went to the race as a supportive wife.

This race was a little different in that it was a swim in the pool, serpentine style. The athletes seeded themselves based on their expected 300 yard time and then jumped in every few seconds and swam up and back in the same lane before switching lanes. Mostly this style works except those people who don't seed very well or who can't hug the lane line so others can pass. Dave seeded himself well and swam mostly by himself until at least half way in the swim. Check out this baby I created...



From the swim there was a LONG run to transition over grass, rocks, etc. Dave had stashed his shoes by the pool and put them on to run to transition. Smart man I married. :) I didn't make it over to transition to see him leave onto the bike, but from his race report it seems like he had really fast transitions.

The bike was a 12 mile loop starting and ending on the gravel driveway of the park. Yikes! The best part was, though, all 12 of those miles Dave and I ride on almost a weekly basis. My parents live right on this race course and we do many of our rides starting from their house. Dave knew these roads like the back of his hand and it showed. He rocked the bike! Myself, I hung out and met a woman named Meg. She was cheering on her friend who was doing her first triathlon. Rock on, sister! It was great to meet you.

Dave made it back to transition so quickly I almost missed him. His transition was 28 seconds! Is he a freakin' pro?! He was out on that run course and looking good.





It was starting to get hot and Dave doesn't do very well in the heat. He was having such a great race and I was just hoping he could finish it strong. Before I knew it, he was back and dashing to the finish line. He was hoping to place in his age group. He's not quite there yet, but he did have the best race he's ever had and finished really fast for a dude training for iron-distance.



Watching the race unfold, I totally could have rocked this race. My friend, Colleen, finished second in our age group and third overall. I think I would have been right there with her. I think I would have had a little faster swim and run, but she would have beaten me on the bike. We could have come in hand-in-hand. Ahhh! He he he! Just kidding!

We didn't stick around very long because it was getting HOT and we had a wedding later in the day we needed to prepare for. Too bad. I guess we missed meeting Tri Diesel. I guess he saw us before the race but didn't want to interrupt our pre-race rituals. Dude, we have no rituals, plus I wasn't even racing. Next time say hi!!! We'll see you at the next race.

Which is in 7 weeks if you're counting!!!!

Bike Test

Every few weeks/months, Coach likes to do "tests" to see where my fitness currently falls and if my heart rate zones have changed. Unlike Dave, it seems I have somehow escaped doing many of these tests. In fact, the last time I had a bike test was two years ago, July 2008. At that time I didn't bike AT ALL!!! Doing that bike test was pure torture. I thought I was going to die. Today I had just my second bike test on the schedule and I was determined to do well at it. After a long warmup, it was go time. I started off conservatively keeping my cadence high and building speed in five minute intervals. I kept a sticker over my bike computer so as not to see how good or poorly I was doing. Every once in a while I would look at my heart rate just to see where I was at and was really surprised to see how low it was. Was I not working hard enough? Was I worn out and the heart rate was not going to climb at all?

After 20 minutes I had gone just 5.63 miles with an average pace of 16.8 mph and a maximum pace of 21.9 mph. Did I mention this was on the trainer? Yeah, so the speeds were slower than if it had been outside. My heart rate maxed at 178 and recovered at 137.

So what does all this mean? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! Eight months focusing on cycling and my heart rate zones are staying exactly the same. What?! I guess this boils down to my aerobic fitness being spot on. I haven't been working on speed. My goal for Ironman is to ride in zone 2 the entire ride. The paces I have planned fall into zone 2.

I hope it's another two years before my next bike test.

Foto Friday

Dave and I had the opportunity to bring our photo booths to Red, White, and Boom and sell sessions inside the booth to families at the KidsLinked Children's Park. Was it successful? We're not sure. But, it was an opportunity to get our name out there and we had fantastic seats for the fireworks display.

Could we look a little more haggard? At least the sunset behind us is pretty.

Ooohhh!!! Aaaahhhh!!!

I hope all of you have a safe and fantastic holiday weekend. Me, I'll be working all weekend. :)

Thursday Thoughts

This Thursday Thoughts is brought to you, in part, by my mom. Yes, she reads my blog. :)

My dad has run the Boston Marathon several times but not since The Boston Athletic Association made some changes like splitting the start in two, moving the start time to 10:00am, and doing away with the Freedom Run. He thinks it's a travesty. I have run Boston in both eras and don't really think anything of the changes. I kind of like the two stage start. For me it has allowed me to run in the front corral several times. And I kind of like the 10:00am start. You don't have to sit around for hours and your nutrition is more like a "normal" marathon. Dad has said that if he ever qualifies he's not sure he'd run it again. He likes tradition.

Last night at dinner mom mentioned that one of the neighboring communities has decided to do away with it's Fourth of July fireworks display after this year. Considering I'm working this year and don't really enjoy fireworks, this doesn't really bother me. She thinks it's awful.

So, what traditions have gone away that you wish hadn't?

June Totals

Man, June went fast. I probably spent more hours in spandex or a swimsuit than not. I tackled workouts I never thought were possible a year ago and have been places mentally and internally that I didn't know existed. Things are starting to come together. June was a BIG month and I know July will be even bigger. Bring it on!

Swim = 25,125 meters....that's 15.7 miles!!!

Bike = 351.06 miles....152 miles were done in two days!!!

Run = 55.87 miles....finally a month where I feel like I'm starting to train for a marathon. More running please!!!

See you in July!

Self

My teammate Sonja raced herself right into Kona with a 4th place age group finish at Ironman Couer d'Alene this past weekend. I am so excited for her!

But it got me thinking, no matter how hard I work EVER, I will never qualify for Kona. See, I always knew that I was going to be a marathoner. Halfway through the training for my very first marathon, I knew I would qualify and run Boston some day. And I did. I just don't have that confidence with triathlon. I was having a, well, let's call it a discussion with Dave the other day and I found myself screaming at the top of my lungs. Mind you, this was all happening while stopped at a light while we were bike riding. Anyway, I was screaming at the top of my lungs that I felt like this was my one and only chance at the Iron-distance. I didn't want to "just finish" this race. I needed to have a race of a lifetime NOW. I have to get this right the first time because there is nothing, NOTHING, on the schedule after this race. I don't know what's going to happen after August 29th. I feel like I have placed all my self worth and all my self confidence all in this one race. What if I fail? What if I'm not happy with my performance? What if "just finishing" is all I achieve?

I'm eight weeks away from taking on a task bigger than I could have ever imagined. The reality is REAL. The consequences of all my actions and decisions is astronomical. I just don't know if I'm ready...

Riding the Course

When I was deciding which Ironman to do, it really came down to two things: (1) swim start and (2) friends and family being able to watch (and (3) I didn't have to fly my bike). Since Louisville is the only one with a time trial start and is only 3-1/2 hours from home, this really was an easy choice. And because it's so close to home and because my aunt lives in Louisville, I would have the opportunity to train on the course leading up to the race. That's what I did yesterday.

Dave and I drove down to Louisville on Friday late afternoon, found part of the bike course and drove it until it get too dark to see anything. Being totally honest here, I don't get intimidated too easily. I enjoy the challenge. There were certainly parts of this course that were scaring me. It seemed there were no flat parts to the course (true) and there was always a hill (true). Saturday we got up and headed to La Grange which is miles 30ish and 60ish on the bike. We were planning on doing the loop twice and the out and back (probably the hilliest and hardest part of the course) once.

The first time we did the loop wasn't so bad. There's a spot on Ballard School Road (which I've taken to calling School House Rock Road) which has an uphill that somehow you can't carry any moment into. We did the out and back before heading back into La Grange. It's not as bad in the daylight as it looked in the dark. The worst part is the bridge where there are HUGE potholes. Both directions you come to the bridge you are flying downhill and you have to really slow down to avoid the hills, which means you have no momentum to carry you up the uphills. Hopefully that is something they fix before the race. Then it was back to La Grange via Route 393. This road is pretty hilly, but it really only has one big uphill and one small uphill to contend with.

We stopped at our car in La Grange, reloaded our bikes with fuel, and headed out to do the loop again. This time it wasn't so much fun. It was now midday, 93 degrees with the heat index over 100 degrees. You could feel the heat radiating off of the pavement. The wind gusts weren't refreshing. The sun made it feel like my jersey was melting into my back. I was starting to talk to myself and it wasn't happy things (mostly four letter word that aren't really appropriate for this blog). The flats and downhills I found myself not doing any work. I was cruising any time I could. The uphills I was still attacking but that was because it was that or stop and fall over. Route 42 felt like it would go on forever. Something tells me this will be the worst part of the ride--33 miles of one road all the way back into town. Finally we reached Route 393 again and took a picture of Cedar Point on the IMLou course. At least we knew Dave was getting training for his race too. :)



Finally we made it back to our car. 77.65 miles in 5:14. Not very fast but that's okay. Race day will be when I go faster. We were supposed to have a run off the bike, but Dave talked us both out of it. I'm really pissed at myself for not doing it. Sure it was hot, but it's going to be hot the day of the race too! We loaded up our stuff and headed to Dairy Queen and got ourselves something to cool us down. We returned to my aunt's house, showered, and drove back home.

It scares me there's still 35 miles left to that course, but I also have gained some confidence knowing that I've ridden the hardest part of the course. I have another trip planned to Louisville in August and I hope to ride the entire course during that trip. This week was one that certainly tested my character and my brain power, along with my physical abilities. Hopefully that type of training will payoff in eight short weeks.

Thursday Thoughts

You guys had great responses to last week's Thursday Thoughts. So, let's stir the pot a little more this week.

I don't remember ever saying when I was a kid, "I want to be a mom." I always wanted to be an athlete or someone smart or Princess Lea. But not a mom. I didn't babysit to make money; I had a job at a country club. I would say I have compassion but not really empathy. My sister on the other hand was 180 degrees in the opposite direction. She loved pets, had a gazillion friends, and babysat all the time. I went to college and got my engineering degree. She got married and had her first child two years after high school. I'm 32, been married eight years, and am childless. She's 29 and has four, FOUR, kids!!!

When I was in my 20s there were times when I thought I wanted to start a family. In 2005, Dave and I talked about it seriously, but then I got laid off and it obviously was bad timing. In 2007 we actually tried to get pregnant but it wasn't in the cards. I took it as signs. And I knew I definitely wasn't ready because of two things: (a) I was in Bible study when the pastor said the purpose of marriage was to produce children and (b) my OBGYN told me I was getting older and I shouldn't miss my opportunity. Both of those instances pissed me off so much (because I don't believe either of them) that (a) I haven't been to church in three years and (b) I didn't go to the OBGYN for three years.

Now that I'm in my 30s I definitely feel like my clock is ticking and time is running out (I've set a 35 year old limit), but that doesn't necessarily mean I actually WANT a child. I know A LOT of people who are pregnant right now. Part of me is jealous, part of me wants to scream, "What the hell are you doing?!"

When is the right time to have a child? How old were you? Did you think you were ready? What are your thoughts on people who decide not to have a child? How would your life be different if you had a child or if you decided to never have children?

Lots of food for thought today....

You Know Your Training for Ironman if...

Coach sent out some emails yesterday for her Ironman athletes. One was serious. One was lighthearted. I liked the lighthearted one. :) Some of them really resonated with me like...

• You use toilet paper to wipe the inside of the toilet bowl and think to yourself as far as "cleaning" goes - that will do, you'll clean it 'for real' after Ironman. Seriously, I might have to hire a cleaning team to do the house after Ironman.
• Dinner time is now what used to be bedtime. I don't remember the last time I had dinner before 9pm.
• You get on the scale and find you have gained weight. You think there is no mathematical way this could be possible for you to train more and gain weight. I might be at my highest weight ever right now, yet in the smallest size I've worn in years.
• You're too awake to fall asleep but to sleepy to stay awake. My sleeping patterns are all jacked up.
• There are more dirty water bottles in your dishwasher than dirty dishes.

• At least once a day you find yourself “on the prowl” – the point in the day where your hunger has become so huge that you start walking around looking for something, anything to shove in your mouth. And for me, I'm ALWAYS craving chocolate.
• Before you make plans, you say “I have to check my schedule”, not your work schedule or family schedule, but your workout schedule. Dave and I did a mad dash to see my niece and nephew play softball/baseball during our rest week.
• You keep hearing a voice in your head and it is saying “Meredith Gordon, you are an Ironman”. And it brings me to tears.
• Anything shorter than a 500 in the pool makes you feel like 'why bother'. Today's warmup was 1000.
• You’ve ridden more miles than you’ve driven in the past week. Especially true when you work from home.
• You think about Ironman incessantly. You drive to work and think "I am doing Ironman." You go to bed and think "I am doing Ironman." You wonder what you will think about after Ironman. Probably doing Ironman again? Gosh I hope not, but I think I said the same thing about marathons...

And two of my own...

• Don't bother buying new clothes. Even if you don't gain or lose any weight, your body shape will change so drastically that NOTHING will fit correctly. I, literally, just bought a pair of jeans a month ago that I had tailored to fit and now they are too loose.
• A new rash will appear weekly and they will be random and hard to explain. This week's: right below my belly button.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Wow! That was a big week of training and I did a pretty good job at it.

The week started with a muscle-busting bike trainer ride. It was a sweat-fest, but I totally rocked it. I also rocked the 3000m swim I had too, even if there was a little lane rage. I got through a split long run (half was on Tuesday evening, the other half Wednesday morning). My longest swim of my life, until next week, was on Thursday. Although I was starting to feel the weight of the week, I was still getting things done.

Prepping for my long ride...

The week ended with my very first bike ride over 4 hours. Dave's knee has been bothering him so this bike ride was my first long ride all by myself. I spent 5 hours trying to navigate unfamiliar roads and unfamiliar mental territories. It wasn't as hilly as I had planned. It wasn't as fast as I had hoped. But, I got through 75 challenging miles and tackled my inner demons. I was supposed to run off the bike for 20 minutes, but as I finished the ride I heard my first crack of thunder. Driving home it only sprinkled. Man, I really wish I had done that run.

As for my personal goals for the week, I did pretty good at getting up and getting moving and going to bed on time. I did not do so well on eating in. Dave and I are so exhausted by the end of the day it's hard to get motivated to cook dinner. Dinner is usually at 9pm, so ordering something is soooo much easier.

For my long ride I tried the new Ironman Perform, which will be the sports drink for all upcoming Ironman and Ironman 70.3s. It's okay. Not great, not terrible. It's not as syrupy as Gatorade, which is nice because it doesn't sit heavy in the stomach. But I also don't think it has much flavor. I tried the lemon-lime which actually tasted to me like watered-down apple juice. I'm lucky that I have a pretty solid stomach so I'll continue to train with Gatorade and substitute with Ironman Perform whenever I have it, so I'll be ready for race day.

....which, if you're counting down, is in about 2 months. Yikes!

Thursday Thoughts

Every Thursday in the month of June, I have been spending my afternoons with my grandma taking her to her hair appointments and then usually having a late lunch or snack with her. This week while eating ice cream (her favorite) we were having a conversation about marriage. She was talking about her hairdresser and how her son was 21 and still not married. I smiled and said, "Grandma, that's really young to get married." She said she was married at 16 and I told her that that was a long time ago. I said I was married at 24 and that's still really young to be getting married. I told her that I was going to a wedding this weekend for a friend who was 29 and her fiance in his 30s and that was pretty normal ages now to be getting married.

Every week I come home from weddings and think how I would do things differently. I'm not saying, would I still marry Dave. Duh! He's a keeper! Would I get married at 24 again? Would I wait until I was older and knew what I was getting into?

So, what age did you get married? What age would you like to be married by? What is the ideal age to get married?

Lane Rage

Today I blew a fuse...

I arrived at the pool this afternoon around 3:30. All lanes were full and there were at least three people waiting for a lane. I had barely put my towel on the hook and turned around to wait on a lane when a woman asked me to join her (and the others were still waiting). YES!!! It pays to look like a real swimmer. I thanked her profusely, letting her know I had a very long swim ahead of me. I jumped in the lane and hugged the lane line so hard I hit it almost every time. I wanted to let her know I could share a lane. Barely 300 meters into my swim I noticed she was finished and gone. Sweet! The lane is now all mine.

Just 200 meters later, I noticed someone was in my lane and it wasn't the same woman I started with. I was still swimming down the middle of the lane so she was circle swimming with me, without my permission. I was pissed! This was the last straw!

You see, I've had some issues with Lifetime's pool policies (or lack thereof). I fully understand that everyone has the right to workout there, but if 3 or more lanes (of 5 lanes) are being taken up by people walking, I'm sorry, they have to share lanes. They're walking, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!! There are LOTS of people who have no business sharing lanes (terrible swimmers), yet it's the swimmers who always have to share lanes. And don't even get me started on the "aerobics" classes that take up multiple lanes when there is another leisure pool that could be used for those classes. Last week all five lanes were occupied--three with walkers and two with swimmers: myself and another woman. The lifeguard came over and asked me to move lanes and share with another person because my lane was going to be used for classes. When I got out, I noticed there were still three people walking and the other woman was swimming. Why was the lifeguard not asking one of the walkers to share a lane with another walker?!?!

So today when the woman decided to share my lane without asking me first (and for the record, I don't have a problem sharing a lane, JUST ASK!!!), I blew a fuse. I hopped out of the lane and went right to the lifeguard. I let her know I was pissed. Not just for this instance, but for all the other times and the crappy lack of policies at the pool.

I then waited AGAIN for another lane to open up. Just as one did, I noticed the woman was talking to the lifeguard. I don't know who initiated the conversation, but the woman left the lane, came over to me and told me I could have the lane back. She said, "when [she] was on the swim team, you shared lanes with people and split the lane." I told her she could keep the lane because I was taking this lane.

But what I really wanted to say was this....SWIM TEAM?! You're wearing a two-piece swimsuit and you're not wearing a swim cap. You're not a real swimmer!!!! And all you had to do is freakin' ask permission to share my lane!

Needless to say, I had some rage leading into the main set of my swim. And I swam FAST! Really fast. So fast, that when I finished my 3000 meters (under an hour, thankyouverymuch) the pool director came up to me and said "Wow, you were flying today. That was the fastest I've ever seen you swim and you kept great form the entire time."

The moral of the story...don't piss me off in the pool. Not only am I totally gonna rat on you, I'm going to kick your ass and swim circles around you.

Ironman Training has Officially Begun

Ironman training has officially begun. Yes, yes, I started training last November, but I like to think that was all training for the half Ironman. Now that that race is over, it's time to fully concentrate on Ironman. This week is no joke. My biggest week to date has been around 13 hours. This week? 14-1/2 hours. This week I will do my longest bike ride - 5 hours. This week I will do my longest swim - 3700 meters. This week I will put aside pain and tired and look at the big picture.

To be successful this week, I got organized. First, Dave and I wrote down our workouts so that we knew who had what workouts when.



Knowing that we would be HUNGRY (like the wolf) this week we stocked the refrigerator with pre-made vegetable and fruit salads, along with some Ensure for recovery.



Finally, Dave and I set three goals:

1. Be in bed by 11:00pm every night.
2. Get up to our alarm at 7:00am (yep, we don't get up very early). That way I can be working out by 8:00am (when I like to work out) and Dave can get to work earlier so he can get out earlier to finish his workouts by a decent time in the evening.
3. Eat in. This will save time and money and will be more nutritious.

We've started the week off right. Let's hope the plan and organization sticks.

My Trip to the Top of the Arch

On our way to Kansas a week ago, Dave and I stopped in St. Louis to take a trip to the top of the arch. I had never been to St. Louis (or Missouri for that matter) and Dave hadn't been to the arch since he was a child, so we thought it would be fun. It's starting to seem a little weird (or funny) that everywhere we travel we like to go vertical. In Italy we went to the top of every single church and bell tower we saw. In Switzerland we went to the top of the mountains. In NYC, we went to the top of the Empire State Building. Etc., etc., etc.

Anyway, here's some pictures of our trip...

Posing outside the arch before going inside.

The ticket to open the door for the ride to the top.

The door to the "pod."

Inside the pod.

Dave and I right before our journey to the top.

Needless to say, I did not enjoy the ride.

We made it to the top!!!

It's pretty scary that you can see the bottom of the structure from the top.

Jumping for joy that I'm back down on the ground.

Foto Friday

The official pictures have come out from Kansas and mine are UGLY!!! Seriously. Every single one of them, except one, I am looking at my watch. I'm not even a person who does that! It just so happens that the picture was taken right after I got out of the swim, right at the start of the second run lap, and right after I crossed the finish line. I did get one decent picture.



At least in my next race (IRONMAN!!!!) Dave will be carrying a camera so I'm hoping to get more than one stinkin' picture.

Ironman Kansas 70.3 2010

When I go to bed at night before a running race, even a marathon, I sleep like a baby. I'm comfortable with running races. I know my abilities. I know my competition's abilities. After nine years of competing I know what to expect. I'm just not that comfortable with triathlon yet. Although I slept pretty good the night before I was super-nervous when I woke up Sunday morning. I just didn't want to be racing: the race is too long, the expectations are high, it's going to be hard. Dave helped me settle down by showing me my favorite YouTube video:



At the athlete meeting on Saturday we were told the water temperature was 81 and that no wetsuits would be allowed. Although I prefer to swim without a wetsuit, I was a little distressed about this because the swim was a deep water start and I wanted to wear the wetsuit only to tread water easier. When we got on the bus Sunday morning to head to the race site, they told us wetsuits were allowed. Okay, game on. We set up our transitions (yep, there were two different ones) and headed down to the starting corral. My nerves eased a bit once I was into the corral. I entered the water and it was WARM, almost too warm. I lined up to the outside, which for me is safe but dumb as I like to swim right on the buoy line. Once we got started I was relaxed. I was able to swim on bubbles but also find my own space at times. I swam right on the buoy line as I hit SIX bouys with my left hand as I swam past them. The swim was crowded as I caught slower people from the waves ahead of me and got caught by people from the waves behind me. I just tried to stay relax and follow my plan. When I exited the water I wasn't really excited about my time (39:48), but I was happy I didn't waste energy as I was going to need it for the bike.

I thought of three things on the bike: (1) let the bike do the work for you - meaning, keep it in a big gear when I could and go faster while not putting a whole lot of pressure on my legs, (2) let the race come back to you - when things were difficult or when I wasn't feeling well I used this thought to remember that things will change and MY race will come back to me, and (3) it's okay, it's fine (yet another one of my favorite YouTube videos).



I actually didn't think this course was as difficult as everyone was saying. Sure it was hilly, but for every uphill there was a downhill and after mile 41 there was a long flat section that went on for over 10 miles. Until the very end, I stayed seated up the hills. I passed a lot of people; a lot of people passed me. I just found my rhythm, followed my nutrition plan, and stayed focus. As I got closer to the finish I started doing the math in my head and kept coming up with 3:14 for the bike portion. This was great as I was expecting to go between 3:15 and 3:30, but was incredibly shocked and excited when I dismounted in 3:10:20.

Onto the run. It didn't feel good, to be honest. Not my legs so much, but just overall I was feeling tired and sluggish. I started off around an 8:30 pace and that's how I stayed for the remainder of the race. This was my first Ironman-branded race so I was excited that the water stops would be more than water and Gatorade. I took that opportunity and not only took water to drink but often took water, ice, and/or a sponge to help cool me down. I was thirsty in between the water stops too so I used the ice I put down my sports bra to suck on when needed. I know, gross! But, dude, I'm an athlete. We start at gross. :) I saw Dave when I was about to start my second loop and he was entering the campground portion of the run. He said I was looking good. All I noticed about him was that he was wearing two watches. After the first turn on the second loop I had two women start running with me. Normally, I would hate this as I'm super-competitive, but it was very welcoming as I was getting tired and they helped get my spirits up. One of them read my blog (hey Spie, I can't find your blog to give you acknowledgement!!!), which is just crazy when you meet people who call you by your online name. They helped me get through a couple miles and then we all disbursed when we hit the next water stop. I really got focused in the last couple miles and found a good rhythm. My Garmin was way off from the mile markers so I had no idea how well I was really doing. The math I was doing in my head kept coming in around 5:50. As I approached the finish line and started my final kick, I was beyond ECSTATIC to see my watch say 5:46. My final run time was 1:50:52.

My official time was 5:46:52, which is a new half IM PR by nearly 23 minutes. And the best part...Chrissie Wellington gave me my finisher's medal.

Secretly my goal was to qualify for the Halfmax Championships, which I needed a 5:40 to do so. I knew it was a long shot and realistically thought I could probably only go 5:55 on this course. I missed qualifying by only 6 minutes and change, I know I can do it with the right race and course. Now the push begins for Ironman. I can't believe I only have a few more weeks to go. This week I'm going to celebrate my success in Kansas and then it's back to the grind starting next Monday. The year of triathlon continues...

My Nemesis

When I was a gymnast, beam was my nemesis. The state meet where I won the floor exercise, I also fell off the beam twice. I was scared of beam. Seriously, it's four feet off the ground, four inches wide, and you want me to do flips on it? You're crazy! But that same summer something happened when I just stopped being scared and dominated beam. I did all my tricks with elegance and stayed on the beam. I scored my first 9 on the event and even won a meet on beam.

This weekend is my third race at the 70.3 distance. I did my first one in 2005 and my second in 2008. The time difference between those two races? Fifty nine seconds. The first race I was happy with; the second race was a little more disappointing because I should have gone faster. Both those races I did all the training on my own and did VERY minimal bike riding. This time around I'm working with a coach and have done a TON of training for all three disciplines. And, I'm hoping to really have a breakthrough this weekend.

Today we leave for Kansas and will be stopping in Effingham, IL. Where? Yeah, exactly. Friday we will arrive in Kansas and will be staying with a family friend (20th cousin, 17 times removed--just kidding!) who we have never met. We hope to stay pretty relaxed and calm on Friday and Saturday. We've been to many big events (Ironman, Boston Marathon) so we've done the big expos and now avoid them like the plague. We just want to check in, do a little warmup, turn in our bikes, then get out of the heat, sun, and away from the action. My wave on Sunday starts at 7:06 and Dave starts at 7:26. I have to worry about him catching me the whole race! I plan on being a little conservative in the swim, using my heart rate monitor to guide me on the bike, and bust out an awesome run. I've got some time goals, but I don't want to disappoint myself or others so I'm not saying them aloud. I just want to have fun, have a good performance, and represent Team Trakkers well.

I don't know if you can track me online, but if you want to and you can, I'm number 988.

May Totals

May started off really strong. I raced to a new, BIG PR, and felt high about my training for the next week or so. By the end of the month, though, I was unmotivated, missed lots of workouts, and was ready to be done. Hopefully I can get back on the wagon and stay pumped up for another three months.

The most exciting thing to happen in May? I passed 1000 miles for the year of bike riding. :)

Swim = 18,050 meters

Bike = 208.03 miles

Run = 43.42 miles

Foto Friday

Maybe I'm a little biased, but I think I have the CUTEST dog.

Thursday Thoughts

Confession: I LOVE to sing! I love to sing at the top of my lungs in the car, in the shower, anytime, anywhere. And Dave? Well, he usually sings right along with me. :) My guilty pleasure song is The Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men."



What's your guilty pleasure?

A week in review

Last week was my biggest week of training, thus far, and wouldn't you know it rained 5 out of 7 days. I had to check the news just to make sure it wasn't the week of the Memorial Tournament. (For those of you not local, during the Memorial Tournament it ALWAYS rains.) I tried to plan my long workouts for the week so that I would avoid the rain. That didn't happen. Dave and I did our long run starting in the pouring rain. And since we have to do nothing but hills, our local metropark provided a very muddy setting.



My favorite part of the run was towards the end when a man in a bird watching group threw a fit like a child when I scared off the bird he was looking for. Seriously? There is a trail that runners are not allowed on because it's specifically for bird watching! Go there!! Plus, you're in Central Ohio. What are you seeing? A robin?

I was able to get in my long bike ride in the HOT, blazing sun. My workout wasn't all that complicated with a long warmup and cool down and 4 X 15 minute stuff in the middle. Of course, though, I made it way more complicated as I programmed my watch as 4 X 45 minutes in zone 3 plus another 15 minutes after each interval. Dave helped me find a route for these long intervals and I wrote them down to remember the turns.



As I'm part of the way through my first interval, I think a little bit more about it. Four X 45 minutes plus another 15 minutes equals four hours itself, which was the total of the ride. I've screwed up. After my first interval I stop at my parents' house to use the restroom, check my email and sure enough, I've majorly screwed up the workout. I then try to do the 15 minute intervals but I've got to figure out a new route. I'm a little off, but it still works out. As I head back to start another interval, I approach a 4-way stop where I came to the stop sign first and had right-away. But instead of stopping fully since what a pain in the butt with clip-in pedals, I slow down nearly to a stop and then creep through the intersection. A man on a motorcycle at one of the other stop signs yells at me, "You're supposed to stop." I scream back, "I know." It's not like I was in danger and I wasn't hurting him. What the heck was his problem? At this point I was tired, HOT, and totally rattled by everything that has happened. I stop again at my parents' house and call Dave. I'm done and ready to go home. He comes rolling up on his bike and talks to me for a bit while I lose my cool and start crying. He gets me back on my bike and we head for home, except he still has more riding to do so he asks me to just do a little more. I do and now I'm feeling good. So I tell him I'm going to do one more interval and then finish up the super-long cool down portion of my ride. I finish the 4 hours right around 62 miles.

We're not finished yet, though. I had a 1/2 hour run off the bike. I fill my water bottle, put on my hat and shoes, and head back out. And...my legs have said enough. I'm just toast. I try to find a rhythm, but nothing's happening. I made it nearly a mile and stopped.



Of course this week it's not supposed to rain at all. Damn you, Central Ohio!

Foto Friday

I made the OSU women's varsity crew team as a coxswain because the coaches said I could steer the straightest line. You would think that would translate into sighting for swimming. What do you think? :)



Now, I had the watch on my wrist, it kept losing the signal, and I didn't smooth this all. But, seriously funny!

Thursday Thoughts

The people who know me in real life would never describe me as "mild mannered." To say I'm high-strung is a drastic understatement. Right now I'm under a doctor's care to settle down and control the probable ulcer I have. Yeah, I'm that high strung. As Ironman training goes on, I'm starting to lose it. My temper will flare at anything and everything. I'm likely to make a scene or maybe even get arrested for assault. Okay, not really. But I will cuss at you if you're being a dingbat in the swimming pool.

So, what gets you all fired up?

New Found Confidence

I've had a love/hate relationship with triathlon for the last 5+ years. I want to love it. I really want to do it. I want to be good at it. But with every race I've done I haven't felt satisfied and always give up on it. After a very success 2009, I decided to give triathlon another try. Why? I don't know. And even worse, I put HUGE races on the schedule and PAID FOR THEM. Which totally means I HAVE to do them. Darn it!

The previous olympic duathlon and triathlon I tried, I absolutely hated. HATED! But, I really enjoyed my experience at Rev3 and now I'm staring at triathlon with a whole new outlook. I'm excited to be racing again in just a few weeks. I'm seeing my workouts as challenges instead of dreadful hours.

Maybe I'll look at it differently after Kansas in a few weeks. For right now, I'm going to ride the high of my new found confidence.

Foto Friday

I found the official pictures from the triathlon last weekend. And some of them are not so pretty. But, I'm putting them out there anyway because why not? Enjoy! (I "borrowed" these and they were thumbnails so the quality is not so good.)

This look says, "woah, I did awesome on my swim so I better run hard because I have a great time going."

Looking good starting off on the bike.

This looks says, "damn, those downhills are SCARY!!!"

Obviously, I am not working hard enough on the bike. :)

Chuck and I. He's looking happy to finished. I look like I'm gonna hurl.

Finished! Looks like I won the mirror ball trophy from "Dancing with the Stars!"

Rev3 Knoxville Olympic Triathlon 2010

When I woke up Sunday morning before the race, I was already writing the blog post in my head about how much triathlon was not for me and that I was ready to either return to running or ready to move on with my life.

You see, it started Saturday morning with the team meet-up. I'm quite intimidated by my teammates. They are studs! They are wearing their kits; my kit is wearing me. I keep quiet and just absorb the moment. Where they rock in triathlon, I totally rock jumping pictures. :)

Photo by Eric Willis

After some mandatory team commitments, Dave, Rachelle, and I headed down to the river to get in a practice swim. Although I swim decently, open water swims are my nemesis. Being in the deep water scares me. And this practice swim was no different. The temperature was just cold enough to take my breath away and seeing the bridges ahead that I would have to swim under and bike over were FREAKIN' ME OUT!!! I had to stop several times to calm down.

Thanks Rachelle for taking this picture. Look at that bridge behind us!!!

Then Dave and I went out and drove the bike course. It was hilly but didn't seem to scare me as much as maybe it should have. Finally we checked in our bikes and rested the remainder of the day.

Sunday morning I was nervous, but I felt better once I began to set up transition.

Photo by Eric Willis

Rachelle, Dave, and I headed down to the water and got ready for our swim. Dave started 5 minutes before us and then it was our turn. I got in the water, got comfortable, found my position (slightly back and to the far left), and was ready to go. The first part of the swim was rough. I had trouble finding my position and often found myself stopping for a stroke, letting people get out of my way, and then beginning again. Once I made the turn around it was smooth sailing. I found a good rhythm and cruised to the finish. After rolling like a seal onto the dock (seriously funny--wish there was a picture), I peeled off the top part of my wetsuit to see my watch say 24:XX. Holy sh!t! I was flying! My goal was to go 30 or better and I accomplished that. The course may have been short; the current may have been strong; anyway, I'm taking it.

Total swim time - 25:41 (1:42/100m pace)

We don't need to talk about transitions. There is room for improvement. :)

I felt good on the bike, surprisingly. I kept the cadence high, spun up the hills (passing A LOT of people--it's awesome to be a featherweight), and flew down the hills. Seriously, I hit 30 mph at one point. Scary!!! I kept within myself and didn't worry about pace or that I was all alone by the end. I was doing what I could do and that was enough. The bike was one mile longer than advertised so my pace wasn't really what was stated. I'm not sure what I could have done differently to be faster, but Coach and I have been talking about ways to improve.

Photo by Eric Willis

Me and my teammate Jamie cruising along at the beginning of the bike.

Photo by Eric Willis

And now all alone at the end of the bike.

Total bike time - 1:33:37 (15.9 mph, actual pace - 16.5 mph)

When I started the run my feet were blocks of ice. It was COLD on that bike. I could barely feel my feet when I started the run. I took the first mile conservatively right around an 8:00 pace. Then in that second mile it felt like there was something stabbing me in both my shoes. What was inside my shoes? I stopped and took off both my shoes to find out what the problem was only to discover it was actually the feeling returning to my feet. Pins and needles. Even with that break, I still cruised the second mile right around a 8:00 pace. After that I was flying. My pace was around 7:30s and I was feeling great. At one point I passed a girl who said, "damn, girl! You're flying." Goal achieved.

Photo by Eric Willis

After the turn around I started to hear someone breathing heavily behind me. I turned around and he said to me, "I don't have the energy to pass you." But, he did come beside me and talked to me for the last mile and a half. His name was Chuck and he was such a gentleman. When we arrived at the finish he told me to go ahead of him. He said I had paced him and he wanted to show his appreciation by letting me finish first. Super sweet! Thanks Chuck!

Total run time - 48:25 (7:49 pace)

Total time - 2:53:43

I set a new PR by about 17 minutes and the course was one mile longer. Of course, this is only my second Olympic triathlon. Overall, I'm very happy with the way I performed. I kept my mind in check which helped my body to perform the way it was supposed to. Sure, I may have been one of the slowest Team Trakkers members, but I faced my demons head on and finished confidently. I'm not quite ready to give up triathlon yet. :)

Some thoughts about the race itself...

• Knoxville was a fantastic host city. Dave and I love going to races where we can walk or take public transit and can be part of the event itself. We found everything to be close by and convenient. The people were friendly, the food fantastic, and the city welcoming.
• Although there were some glitches with the Trakkers devices themselves, mine worked for the race and looks like my race played out well online.
• For once I was happy I didn't freak out in the water, but I would have liked to have seen more patrol on the water. Even if I wanted/needed to hang off a surf board or kayak, I didn't see many around.
• I would have liked to know where the transition ins and outs were and where the timing mats were for the transitions. I just clicked my watch randomly in and out.
• Rev3 still has some bumps to work through as they progress as a company, but for a first time race using a new timing system and hosting a big event, I though they did a good job. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing them again in Cedar Point. (Dave's doing it; not me).

Track Me LIVE!!!

Tomorrow I'll be racing in the Rev3 Olympic Triathlon in Knoxville, TN. I've been through the hoopla today, swam in the river, drove the bike course, and got the bike checked in. I'm as ready as I'm going to be.

My race starts at 8:15am EST and you can track me LIVE on the Trakkers website. Follow this link, click on Rev3 Knoxville Olympic, highlight me (and my teammates) and then hit go. The tracking device will not be worn in the water, but will be available in real time once I am on the bike. I will not be wearing my heart rate monitor so you won't be able to get that data.

See you (online) tomorrow morning!

Foto Friday

Okay, so this is Video Friday but that's not an alliteration.

When I was in Florida a few weeks back I was talking to the swim coach at the YMCA. Her family is from Ohio and all OSU alumni. Her husband, on the other hand, is a Gator. She took him to Ohio one time to attend a football game. She kept telling him, "it's different." You don't understand unless you're from here (Ohio).

No matter how many times I try to explain to people the hysteria and love that is Buckeyes around these parts, you just don't understand until you experience it. When OSU went to the national championship in 2002, the city literally shut down so people could watch the game. I remember school sports being postponed, restaurants closing early, etc. It was crazy and awesome!

On Monday there was a flash mob (or as my mom calls it, a flash dance--ha!!) in the new Ohio Union on campus. The Ohio Union is the student union. It's been closed for the last couple of years, torn to the ground and rebuilt. I haven't seen the inside of it yet, but the outside is gorgeous. My college counselor in high school told me when I was visiting universities to look at people on campus and see how many people are wearing school t-shirts, hats, etc. Of the 5 or so universities I checked out Ohio State won that battle hands down. It was like every third person was wearing something OSU. Anyway, back on topic, the following video shows this flash mob. If you were there in the union and saw that many people wearing OSU shirts, it probably wouldn't phase you. And that's why this video is so awesome!

Go Bucks!

Race Week

It's race week. Yep, my first triathlon I've ever actually trained for is this weekend. Now, I've done quite a few triathlons, including those two half Ironmans I'd rather not talk about, but I've always done those on basically running training with a few bikes here or there. This time around, I'm ready. Or at least I think I'm ready. Yesterday while doing some bike intervals, I was cruising around 21 mph and I thought to myself, last year 21 mph would have scared me. Now I want to go faster. Yeah, that ready.

Here's my thoughts about this weekend:

Swim - Be calm and consistent. I have always freaked out in open water even though I am quite a good swimmer. I have to remember to tell myself that I am a good swimmer and that there is nothing to be worried about. I want to swim aggressively and be proud of my swim when I come out of the water.

Bike - In the past it's been "don't worry about those people passing you!" But this year I think it's going to be a little different. I want to be able to stay competitive because....

Run - I'm gonna get you sucka on the run! I want to run off the bike like I know how to run on the open road. I want people to turn their heads and say, "woah, that chick can run." Yeah, that's how I roll.

Sure, I have some time goals and they're pretty aggressive, but I don't really have any reason to doubt that I couldn't achieve them. I'm pretty excited to finally see how all this hard work is going to pay off. I want to walk away from this race and think that I did well, something I haven't felt in any other triathlon.

See you in Knoxville.

Leave a Message Monday

Today is my ONE THOUSANDTH blog post. Yahhooo!!! To celebrate, I'm calling this "Leave a Message Monday." In the time I've had my blog (since November 2005) the most comments I've had in any post has been somewhere between 12 and 15 comments. So today, leave me a message just saying how much you dig this blog, or just to say hi.

A toast...to a thousand more blog posts. :)

Thursday Thoughts

This is a "Thursday Thoughts" and a "Thursday Things I Shouldn't Admit".

I worked as an engineer for 7 years and four different companies out of college. Although I loved studying engineering, I absolutely loathed it in the real world. A trained monkey could have done any of my jobs post graduation. During my days at work I would find ways to waste time and disappear. One of my first jobs was right next to the airport and I would sneak out the back door and go watch the airplanes take off and land. Or, I would hide in the stairwell or in my car. For a LONG TIME.

So, what is the worst job you ever had and/or what would you do to avoid working?

April Totals

Man, it was a HUGE month in April. Of course, I've been saying that every month and each month is only going to get bigger. :) I didn't get in all the workouts, but I think I did a pretty good effort in getting most of them done and with pretty good success. May is going to be an even better month: I'm racing!

Swim = 20,775 meters (That's over TWELVE miles of swimming!!!)

Bike = 308 miles WOW!!!

Run = 68.29 miles

I didn't get any strength training done. If there's one thing to go on the weekly schedule, that would be the first one. For next month, Dave and I have made a pact to at least try to get in all our workouts on the days they are scheduled. And that will include strength training.

A toast to April....

Foto Friday

Here's a pictorial of my bike ride yesterday...

First of all, rocking the new Trakkers team bike jersey. My first bike jersey. Crap! Guess that means I'm no longer "just" a runner.


After a warm up and two of four intervals, I decided to meet the pavement personally as I tried to turn my bike around. I suck at turning around. Dave wasn't there to pick me up or laugh with (at) me. I hide to ride back with my bloody knee.


I was supposed to do a run off the bike after I returned, but I realized half way through the bike that Dave had the key to the car and his bike ride was 10 minutes longer than mine--a whopping 5 minutes less than my run. This is how unhappy I was that (a) Dave had the key and (b) that I had crashed my bike...


Alas, there would be no trying out my new racing shoes, the Saucony Fastwitch. Like my fancy laces I put in them? Of course, the racing shoes will continue to be named "The Green Dragons."

>
Big bike ride on the agenda this weekend. See you on the trails!

Thursday Thoughts

I meant to ask this question last week while I was actually on vacation, but didn't get around to it.

Dave and I have done a lot of traveling together. That's what you do when you don't have kids, right? We have been to beaches and cities and have even traveled abroad. What we have found is that we love to explore. If we're going to some place new we REALLY want to check it out. Our parents travel very differently than us. My parents are beach lovers and will go and sit on a beach. All. Day. Long. Dave's parents are retired and travel by cruise. All. The. Time.

So, where do you like going on vacation and what do you enjoy doing on your vacation?

And a little vacation picture...

I will never complain about my bike being uncomfortable again

Even though I was on a rest week, I really tried hard to stick to my training schedule while on vacation. As mentioned previously I scouted out swimming pools, made plans to run with my dad (only after I realized I forgot my heart rate monitor chest strap and couldn't do my run test on the schedule) and even went so far as to rent a bike. Friday was biking day. So, the family headed to Sarasota to the bike shop where I had already called ahead and reserved my bike. My parents also wanted to rent beach cruisers and do a little riding. We get to the shop and lo and behold, they didn't have my reservation. Crap! Someone in Sarasota, Florida is running around with my credit card information. Guess I'll have to keep an eye on that. Anyway, they were able to get me a bike and set it up for me, but they only rented road bikes and therefore, my parents decided not to rent a bike (even though they sold beach cruisers).

In theory, renting a bike and continuing with my workouts was a wise thing. But in practice, this did not go so well. I was smart enough to bring my own helmet because YUCK, but I decided not to bring my pedals and shoes because I figured the bike would have toe cages on it and I only had a 45 minute ride on the schedule anyway. Of course, no toe cages. When was the last time you rode a bike where you weren't strapped into the pedals? I haven't ridden a road bike in a long time. The only bike I have at home is my tri-/time trial bike. I used to have a road bike, a Giant OCR3, which I had converted into triathlon ready with aero bars, etc. When I had been fit for the aero bars on that bike, the person told me that bike would never fit me. Giants are not made for most women. To say I'm short-waisted is an understatement. My belly button and my busts are roughly three inches apart from each other. :) Anyhoo, wouldn't you know it, this bike was a Giant OCR-whatever?! I was so uncomfortable riding this bike. My shoulders, my arms, my back...nothing felt right. For as much as is said regarding tri-bikes and how unstable they are, my bike felt like a tank compared to this thing. I felt completely out of control—white knuckles. Plus, don't tell me that Adamo seats are made for men. I will pay a gajillion bucks to never ride a bike without one again! And to top it all off, the route started and ended by riding over a bridge. Not just any bridge, mind you, a drawbridge. I thought I was going to die or at least throw up. I almost called my parents to come pick me up...I was NOT going over that bridge a second time.

If I ever need to travel during a week where I NEED my bike, heck yeah, I am packing it up and taking it with me.

Foto Friday

Because today is my birthday, this post is all about ME!!!

First, a picture of me at the jetty in Venice, FL.


Secondly, I got my swim stroke videotaped today. In my head I feel fast and out of breathe, but in this video I look slow and quiet. I already know what's wrong with the stroke, what's your take?


By the way, yes I can flip turn. I'm just a lazy fool.

Tri-ing Something New

With a last minute decision I hopped a plane and headed down to Florida to crash my parents' spring break vacation. Although it's rest week on the schedule, there are still workouts to be done. So, I researched my opportunities down in Florida and found many, many options. For swimming, I called the local YMCA and got myself hooked up with the masters program.

I arrive in Florida on Tuesday night and was settled into the hotel around 10:30pm. I got ready for bed quickly as the next morning was going to start early, like 4:30 early. I was out of the hotel by 5:00am and to the local Y by 5:05. The place was already packed. And yet, I was bringing down the age by like 30 years. I looked around for an indoor pool but couldn't find one. The outdoor one was pitch black. Where the heck was everyone? Finally I ran into some swimmers (and I knew they were swimmers by those giant robe jackets they were wearing) and they guided me to the outdoor pool. Outdoors, in the dark, in April? This is so not Ohio.

I don't think this was normal masters. Not that I have anything to compare it to. The age range was 35-65, but I didn't see anyone that really looked to be around 35. I was the youngest by far. There were two workouts: a short workout (1800 yards) and a long workout (3500 yards). I chose the long workout, but soon found out I was one of only 3 people who took that workout. I didn't have to share a lane, which was nice, but everyone who was there was a triathlete so I saw NO ONE doing flip turns. Sharing a lane wouldn't have been an issue. The workouts didn't have send offs or rest periods so I just used my best judgement.

Finally I finished up around an hour and 15 minutes into the workout. I did get some feedback about my stroke that I'm interested in sharing with coach and seeing what she says. I'm going back again on Friday to give it another try. And then maybe when I get home, I'll look into the masters program at the local high school.

Nightmare on Elm Street

Actually this workout wasn't a nightmare, but we did start it on Elm Street and I thought it made for a great title. Plus, super-cute picture!

On the agenda was a 3 hour 15 minute ride that had to include lots of hills. So we drove out to Granville, a half hour trip, but the only place in Central Ohio with serious hills. Plus, Granville is also home of a 'rails to trails' that goes for about 14 miles one way. We started off with a warm up on the trail and then headed out of downtown to do our climbing. I have to admit, I have a serious mental-block when it comes to triathlon. It's been well documented in this blog that I have major freak outs in open water. Those freak outs have been applied to biking as of recent. Ever since seeing the hills Dave rode in Couer d'Alene, I've been nervous about what Louisville has to offer. Yesterday while riding up our first hill, I did it again: FREAKED OUT!!! I stopped half way up the hill and yelled to Dave, "I just can't do this!" He calmed me down, saying we were almost to the top, but neither of us could get started again on the hill, so we had to ride down a little and start again. After that initial freak out, things seemed to go better. The hills were long and steep but doable. The pace was slow and the heart rate was slow. Check out the elevation map compared to my heart rate.



Dave asked me at the end of the hills if I would be able to do that whole set again? That's probably what my half and whole Ironmans would be like. Yikes!!!

After the hills we headed out to the trail to finish up the last hour and a half with a controlled heart rate. We headed toward Johnstown and rode for what seemed like forever. Problem was my heart rate kept high and my pace was slow. What the heck was going on? Dave said we were going uphill, but it didn't seem like it. That is, until we turned around. Oh my, how we were going uphill. If you check out the elevation map above, you'll see the last big hill that goes on for about an hour before we start coming back down? Yeah, that's the hill we were "climbing" on the trail.

When the ride was finally over I had another half hour of running. My legs felt like bricks at the beginning but quickly were turning over and I was comfortably traveling along at an 8:30 pace. Sweet! But, when I hit the 24 minute mark (almost done!) my stomach decided to tie itself in knots and I suffered until I got back to the car.

In the end, I didn't do the miles I had hoped to do on my bike and certainly am still nervous about the many, many hills to come. But, I'm trusting Coach and knowing there are many, many more workouts to come to help me gain my confidence.

Thursday Thoughts

A few years ago when I worked a "real job" I had a cleaning girl that came out twice a month. It was wonderful to come home on those days and have the whole house clean. When I quit my job, I had to quit her too. And, I swear, I have not been able to keep up with the cleaning since then. Dave and I made an agreement this year that whenever we had a "fall-back" week that we would clean the house. As of yet, that hasn't happened. There are certain chores I love to do (laundry) and certain chores I hate to do (cleaning the bathroom).

So, what are the chores you love and which ones do you hate?

Going Long

Next weekend is the Boston Marathon. And for the first time in eight years I'm not going or running it. That makes me a little sad. My teammate Sonja just won the Moab 100. Go watch her video, it's awesome. But watching that video has made me sad and envious. I just want to run. I miss "just" running.

Monday I had a long run on the schedule. Although there were prescribed heart rate zones, most of this run was "just run." I was so excited to do this workout. But as I stepped out in just the first mile I knew things were going to be rough. My HR was already flying, I couldn't catch my breath, and I just didn't feel normal. With only a few minutes left in my long warm up I thought about bagging it. I even turned around and started running back to my starting point, but I said to myself, "no, Meredith, you can do this." Once I got to the "just run" portion of my workout, I did feel better, although only somewhat. My heart rate was really high and I was only doing 9 min/miles. A year ago I ran the Boston Marathon at an 8:00 pace and I couldn't even run a 9:00 when I was allowed to get my heart rate up? How could I feel so out of shape with all of this training? I had hoped to run around 13 miles or so, but finished just short of 11. Freakin' 11!

Luckily Tuesday brought around a new workout: a swim. This one was also long including a single set of straight 1000 meters. I love to swim straight, long sets. And it went so well. Just like running, I just catch a rhythm and let my thoughts go and somehow pick up pace along the way.

This morning was yet another long workout. I had to bike for an hour and a half on the trainer with lots of high heart rate zones. I thought I would struggle because of fatigue from Monday and the last couple weeks, but the bike actually went really well. I kept a pretty good pace, heart rate zones were exact, and the time flew. Two great workouts in a row.

Last week I had a ton of workouts: 3 swim, 3 bike, 4 runs, and a strength workout. Needless to say, I didn't get everything done and felt like crap the whole week and during all workouts. This week I don't have as many workouts but the time is equal to last week. I feel soooo much better this week. The workouts are long and just as hard as they've been, but I like going long. I get lost in going long. This week there are positive thoughts and excitement again.

Blowin' in the Wind

On Friday I was on Facebook reading my friend Judi's status and it said 30-40mph wind gusts on Saturday. I looked at my dad to confirm this weather forecast. Yep, windy day on Saturday. On the workout schedule: 2:45 ride with time trials and hill intervals. Great.

I used to be quite the chipper morning person. My second job out of college, I had a start time of 6:00am and I was always punctual. When I quit "the real world" almost two years ago, the morning person went with that job and now most days I don't get out of bed before 8:30. That means, I usually don't start my workouts until 10:00am at least. Saturday I had good intentions of starting my workout early, but no alarm means no getting out of bed early either.

So, Dave and I started our workout right around 11:00am which meant the winds were beginning to howl. And oh my how they did! We both had 2X time trials in which we had to ride like we would in our upcoming half Ironman. The first part of the time trial the wind was at our backs and we were flying. I was doing over 23 mph and I was comfortably in low zone 2. I was supposed to be in zone 3 and just could not get my heart rate up. Dave was going so fast I didn't see him after the first five minutes and we were on a straight road in the country! Because of the wind, we decided to turn around early in the time trial to make sure we could make it back to my parents' house to refill our water bottles. I turned around and it was like nothing I had ever experienced. The wind was so strong I was going 11 mph and my heart rate reached zone 5. I was so nervous I was going to get knocked over. Luckily, I made it through and back to my parents' house with time to spare before the next time trial.

The next time trial I was feeling even better. I passed some other bikers and thought to myself, "man, I'm getting better at this. I wish I was doing a flat course half Ironman to really see what I could do." Alas, though, I turned around and that's when my mind started to wander. I was starting to lose it. I stopped three times on the return trip just because I thought I was going to get knocked off my bike. Even standing in the wind, I had a hard time keeping my balance. Finally the time trial ended and I headed over to the hill to begin my hill repeats. The bad news was, it was a big hill (to me) and it was into the wind. I did my first interval and thought I was going to die. I stopped before the time was to expire and just let my watch run out. I soared down the hill and tried to talk myself into doing another one. The second one went the same as the first. Utter frustration. I actually said aloud (among many other bad, bad words) "if this is how Louisville is going to be, I'm never gonna finish." As I headed down the hill to begin #3, I ran into Dave who was about to begin his intervals. The next two were good. I fell into my OCD ways and began counting things. It's a tick that has helped me tremendously in my running. :) The last two intervals were just too much to handle. By the last one I collapsed over my handlebars and cried. Finally I headed home and began my run.

While watching the local news last night the weatherman said the wind gusts had reached 54 mph. And that was when we were on our bikes. How we stayed on our bikes, I don't know. Dave said this was the hardest bike in the hardest conditions he had ever done. I guess that makes me feel better. Surprisingly my numbers were pretty good from this ride and THAT definitely makes me feel better.