Music City Race Report

I noticed the wind on my drive up to Nashville but didn't think that much about it at the time.

I got to the race site and got in line to pick up my packet. That is when I noticed the chop in the water. "WOW that looks tough", I thought to myself. Water temp was too high for wetsuits too. Then I noticed the flags, they were all standing straight out and blowing like crazy.

I got my stuff and did all the pre race stuff(set up transition, body marking...) then made my way to the beach. The RD had decided to shorten the swim and make it optional due to how rough the water was. If you chose to just do the duathlon, there was only going to be an award a overall prize.

The race started with wave 1 being the Collegiate Racers. Wave 2 was All Relay Teams, Aquabike & PC Racers. And wave 3 was Male Age 50+. I was in wave 4, Females 40+. As I was entering the water they cautioned us again and said they were already pulling people out of the water. I fought the chop and made it to the start buoy just as they said go. I tried to swim freestyle but the waves were just too much for me. I ended up doing breast stroke. I kept my eye on the double orange buoy that marked the turn. Then the buoy was gone. I kept swimming and swimming. I finally made it to a white buoy that the orange buoys had been tired to before they BLEW AWAY!! I made the turn and headed for the yellow triangle buoy. People were hanging on buoys as I swam by. I felt like a cork bobbing along. I tried freestyle a couple more times but always gave up and did breast stroke. I made the final turn to the beach. I could tell something was wrong. There were too many people standing on the beach. I hit shore and found out they had stopped the race after wave 6, Females Age 30-34 went in. I stopped my watch. I had been out in the water almost 25 minutes. We stood around in the water not allowed to cross the timing mat for a while waiting for everyone to get out of the water. Some people were told at the first turn to just head back while others, like me, swam the whole thing.

So now the race was going to be a duathlon and the swim (that I didn't even need today) wouldn't count.

The first run would be from the water to T1. It wasn't that far and would have just been part of T1 in the tri.

I really questioned if I should do this thing or not. I was worried about getting hurt this close to Ironman. I decided to tough it out and just get a good workout it. I had never planned to race today anyway.

So they started the du with Wave 7. After the last wave of non swimmers (wave 15), they started with wave 1. So now instead of being at the almost beginning I was at the almost end, where I prefer to be. BTW, if it wasn't for the age up rule and I still got to race as 39 I would NOT have had to endure that swim!

My wave lined up in the water and they said go. I got to the back of the pack and walked/jogged to transition. My heart wasn't in it and distance really didn't count for much.

I put my bike shoes on my sandy feet, grabbed my bike and was out.

The wind as an issue right from the beginning. I just thought it was windy Friday. HA! Nothing compared to today. There was one bridge that really scared me. I felt like the wind was going to blow me off. The overall male winner said in his "winners speech" that he was wondering if he would be able to unclip before drowning when he blew over into the water below. I have also never seen so many bikers with bike trouble at a race. They were pulled off the course fixing flats, dropped chains and whatever. I know there were a couple of wrecks too. I was SO glad to make it back to T2 without incident.

I racked my bike and changed shoes.

The run was new this year. This is how the RD described the course
We have designed a scenic two-loop course (3 miles each loop) entirely on the Nashville Shores Property. It is a mix of running through and around the water park, along the shores of Percy Priest Lake and through beautiful wooded sections of the park. There are several areas where you will run off of pavement - very short section on sand that we will have raked smooth, gravel portions, and a very short trail section with sure footing. We hope you enjoy this new course - includes two not so terrible climbs and definitely less of a climb than the original course!
I, for one, was not a fan. I don't do trail running. I didn't feel sure footed on the gravel. The sand section was short but still SAND?!?!!? And it was followed by stairs. Not a set of normal steps, but those kind where you get about 3 or 4 steps before having to step up. The first loop I ran in the grass next to the steps but the second loop I took the steps and it was much easier. The wind was still an issue on the run too. I was sorry I had on a hat since it almost blew off my head several times.

I was so happy to make it to the finishline. Then it started to rain. I felt really sorry for the people still out on the course.

I got my stuff out of transition and took it to my car. Then I used my meal ticket for a burger, chips, banana, cookies and a diet Pepsi. As I was walking away from the food tent, the lettuce and tomato blew right off my burger. I mean come on already!!! I went back and got more salad for my burger then just sat right there and ate so it couldn't blow away again.

After lunch I went to find results. I was SHOCKED to find out I got first place Age Group!!! I got a cool mug, jug of Heed, a gift card from Acme MultiSport and Stuffitts.

Offical results "run 1" 3:16, 44k bike 1:33:09, 17.7 mph, 6 mile run 47:43, 7:58 pace. Total 2:25:59

So while today's workout didn't match the plan, I still think it was major money in the bank.

L&M Century

The L(Lana)&M(Michele) Century started at about 8:30 from the Rec Center Friday morning.
Lana had a 70 mile route and when she told me I suggested how we could add to the end to get it closer to the 100 miles we were shooting for.
I had already asked Lana if she was going to kill me on the hills. She assured me there were only 3 worth mentioning, the rest would just be rolling to flat. I knew my part was flat, maybe slightly rolling.
We loaded our pockets with as much food as we could carry and some money for additional fluids and were off.
The hills were tough but I made it up them, heart racing but no pushing. The wind was brutal. It just wouldn't let up and I think it got worse when we got to the second half. Three fourths of the time it was a battle against the wind and one forth it was a tail wind and we caught some speed.
We made one pit stop at about mile 45. We should have made another because we both ran out of fluids at the end.
Since we were both out of water and sick of the wind we called it good when we reached the rec center with 94.27 miles. rolling time of 5:16. That is an average speed of 17.9!!!! That is FAST for me.
My fuel:
2 PB&J
4 Fig Newtons
1 banana
2 small boxes of raisins
2 bottles of Nuun
1 bottle of Gatorade
1 bottle of water
I know I needed more liquid. I think I was ok on food. I had a chocolate/banana protein shake when I got home and we went out to dinner where I pigged out and drank way too much beer.
So today I am enjoying a rest day. Guilt free since I got the swim done Thursday.
Week Totals:
swim 9700 yards
bike 138.58 miles
run 13.09 miles
The kids and I are going to take my mom out to lunch for her 60th birthday. Then I am doing NOTHING!!! Tomorrow is Music City. I know I am going to take a public stomping. No way will my legs be ready to race by the morning. But Team Magic always puts on a great race, so I am going to have fun.

Got it Done

I am happy to report that I got Saturday's 1200 yard swim done this morning.
Believe me it wasn't easy. I tried to use the whole "I can count Sunday's swim" rational. But that is NEXT week. I needed that 1200 yards this week.
When the alarm went off at 5. I goaned and thought
Oh, I don't have to do this...I could swim tomorrow before my 100 mile ride...Is 1200 yards even worth getting wet for...my bed sure is comfy...I am tired...
The dog cried to go out. I got up to deal with her and in the process realized I wasn't that tired. So I got dressed and went to the pool.
The Plan called for easy 1200(and even allowed 25 minutes) so I took it easy (26:30). But it is done!
Now I just gotta figure out how I am going to make up those lost run miles from Tuesday.

Nothing Like a Good Nap

I am a contract employee. I only get paid for hours I work. There are no benefits, no sick time, no vacation, and I pay all my own taxes and social security. So basically I am self employed working for someone else. The job doesn't pay very well but what it lacks in pay it makes up for in flexibility. At the end of each month I make out a work schedule for the next month and hang it on the fridge at work. So when I made out my work schedule for Sept I consulted the school events calendar and my training schedule. Today's plan called for an hour run and 4000 yards of swimming. A couple of weeks ago I thought that I would sleep in a little, do my run, take kids to school, swim, then go to work. I scheduled working 11-2:30. But last night I noticed that the plan called for an hour of hills. So I set my clock for 3:45 so that I could run jail hill and thrill hill repeats for an hour and be ready to swim when the pool opened at 5:30.
My hill repeats were slow and I only got in 5.9 miles. But I felt good while doing them.
The swim was another continuous swim. The plan allowed 1:15 again. Guess since it had hills before hand it was cutting me some slack. I still didn't make the 1:15. 4000 yards in 1:23:59.
I got home in time to pack lunches and get the kids to school. After I dropped them off, I came home and TOOK A NAP!!! It was wonderful. I feel recharged.
Tomorrow is suppose to be a rest day but I am thinking of doing Saturdays 1200 continuous swim tomorrow. Making it to the pool on Saturdays is just so HARD. On the other hand I am doing the Music City Tri on Sunday and there is no swim on the plan for Sunday. Could I call that an even trade??? That would give me a rest day tomorrow AND Saturday!!! Hmmmm....

Skip the Apricots

This morning I got up at 4:00. Plan called for an hour forty bike followed by a 55 minute run. The bike was "anything goes". So I set up my trainer and popped in a movie. I took it easy.
After the ride, I grabbed a few dried apricots and some water.
I started feeling uncomfortable within the first mile. By mile two I knew I had to alter my route and swing back by my house.
I made it home but was done with my run for the day. So only 29:37 of the 55 done.
I won't be eating apricots before I run again.

Another Race

I got an email the other day that "The 2008 Los Locos Duathlon is Fast Approaching!" I didn't delete it but I didn't really give it too much thought either. It is in Memphis and that is a long drive for a duathlon. Then this morning I realized that it is the same weekend we will be in Memphis for a wedding anyway!!!! AND they have a 1 mile kids fun run where each kid gets a finishers medal. I called Ronnie and told him about how lucky we are!!! He was overjoyed ;) but gave me clearance to sign up. yahoo, another race.

In the meantime. I have Music City this Sunday and a training plan to stick to. That plan called for a 1:30 ride Sunday followed by a 40 minute run. Tracy came over at 4:00 PM and went along. We had a nice social ride and went 23.2 miles. After the ride Tracy ran with me for the first 3 miles then I finished up alone for a total of 4.2 miles.
This morning I had a 4500 yard continuous swim. The Plan allotted 1:15 for the swim, it took me 1:41:30. Man I am slow!!!! But it is nice to know that I can go the distance.

HOW 100

My training plan did not call for a long ride this week, but I really wanted to do this ride. So I did.
The weather was iffy on the way to Nashville. It misted on me most of the way but the weatherman kept saying that the rain had moved out and it was going to be cloudy and mid to high 70's.
I got to the ride start and checked in. They made the announcements and sent us out. I am a tri girl at heart, I want my 3 bike lengths. Pack riding scares me to death. So I kept trying to fall back so that I could have more space, but then it was hard to ride that slow.
I made it to the first rest stop, grabbed half a bagel with peanut butter and got out of there. Now I had some space.
They had told us that we had to be at rest stop 3 by 11:45 to be able to continue on the 100 mile route. So I made a quick potty stop at 2, refilled my aero bottle, and scarfed down two of the best cookies. I also looked over the que sheet. It said
Turn left onto Tom Rail Rd (CAUTION-Goats/Gravel At Turn)
I so hoped that there would be goats in the road. What a great pic that would have been. But I never saw the goats.
I made to to rest stop 3 with time to spare. I ate 2 more cookies, part of a PB&J and refilled my water bottles. It was a little confusing which way to go since this is where the 62 and 100 mile routes split. But I got assistance from one of the rest stop workers and was on my way.
Mile 67 I had my first run in with dogs of the day. Then I rolled into rest stop 4 to cheers of "You're number one, You're number one...". I ran to the bathroom. I got another bagel with peanut butter and refilled my bottles. A group rolled in right behind me and were complaining about the dogs. A guy working the stop said they are out there every weekend. Then one of the girls asked how the rest of our ride would be and he said "hilly". I grabbed a bag of trail mix and headed out.
The guy was right lots more hills to deal with and another dog. This one, a black lab, was scary. First off he was big. Second he had that low growl bark and his fur was standing up from his neck to his tail. I made it by with out getting bit or knocked off my bike.
Rest stop 5 was rest stop 3. I was in and out of there quickly. I passed 2 girls that were riding the metric. There was a head wind and the climbs were so slight that it was hard to tell you were going up hill other then the slow down in speed. I ended up passing 5 people from the metric before making it to the finish.
Whole Foods Market supplied all the food at the rest stops and then provided box lunches at the end. Problem was most of the people did the shorter rides. So even though I was the first 100 miler in the pickins were pretty slim. I wanted a diet coke SOOOOO bad but they were out. I got a slice of pizza and an awesome ham wrap. I feel bad for the others that came in after me, there might not have been enough food for everyone.
All in all it was a great ride. Lots of beautiful country roads with very little traffic. Great rest stops with very helpful encouraging people. A very well marked route. And money raised for a great cause.
I am happy to have gotten another 100 miles done without any bike or stomach issues.
Another week in the bank
swim 11,500 yards
bike 146 miles
run 28.5 miles
17.6 hours total

Got the Most Out of It

The title for today's post was going to be
Bad Run
But then I read today's entry in The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration that my friend Kim gave me for my birthday.
It said
Instead of judging each day on strict standards of "good" or "bad," it might be worthwhile to look at it in a different way. Is it possible that, even though you had a theoretically "bad" day, you got the most out of that day that you could possibly get? That you derived more benefit from that "bad" day than you did when things were so easy for you on that theoretically "good" day?


Wow, that hit home today.
I got up at 3:15 for my 2:20 run. I felt slow the whole time. I just couldn't get into it. I wanted to quit and try again another day, but there is no other day. I had to get it done today. So I ran. 13.97 miles in 2:21:42.
I was mad at myself. How can I go out and run so easily one day and then barely shuffle through another day?
I read my daily inspiration and instantly felt better. Today's run my not have been at a pace I like to run at but the mental toughness I got just by finishing is money in the bank for Ironman.

8 Weeks

Man, hard to believe 8 weeks from today I will be in Panama City. How am I going to get ready in 8 shorts weeks????
Guess it would help if I would stick to The Plan.
But Sunday I totally skipped my stretch/core day.
Then Monday I got up and ran for an hour before Ronnie left for his golf scramble. But then I got to enjoying the day outside and could NOT make myself go inside to swim. So I put it off til Tuesday.
Tuesday morning I got up early and went to the pool to make up the 3000 yard swim. After taking the kids to school and counting laps at their Rebel Run, I did a 2 hour bike ride followed by a 20 minute run.
Today the schedule called for a 50 minute run and a 4500 yard swim. I miscalculated the run so ended up with an hour instead. That put me behind and I was worried that I would have to cut the swim short. I finally convinced myself to suck it up and do all 9 of the 500's and just deal with running late when I got home. Thankfully the kids got themselves ready all by themselves this morning so all I had to do was comb hair and run out the door with them.
Tomorrow I am shifting things around again due to HOW100 on Saturday. It is going to be an early morning so better wrap things up around here and get to bed.

Star Triathlon Race Report

The Star Triathlon is held here in town at the Rec Center, less then 5 miles from my house. It is a sprint, 200 yard swim, 14 miles bike, and 3.1 mile run. This didn't really match my training plan of a 2500 yard swim and a 3 hour bike but I just couldn't skip this race. I knew my legs would be tired from Fridays run, I just figured I would take a public stomping and move on.

Friday morning I ran 13.5 miles in 2:10:55. That 55 seconds is what it took for me to get home. I was having some stomach issues and knew it would get messy if I stopped and walked.

Friday evening I got a voice mail from Lana telling me that I had a good shot at overall female. She would be there to cheer and expected to see me win. Now I had pressure.

So I got up Saturday morning and rode my bike the 4.85 miles to the rec center. I racked next to Tim. I got my transition area set up and got body marked. Then my other buddies started showing up. Amy and her son, Will then Eric, who was doing his first ever tri There were a lot of first timers there and Tim and I did our best to answer any questions. It was fun to see all these new people getting excited about triathlons.
I handed my camera off to Don, who was volunteering not racing. He became my official photographer.
I had mailed in my registration and it did not have a place for estimated swim time. So I got stuck in the back. They were letting people move up but I decided to stay put and went it at the very end. I think there were 4 or 5 people behind me.When I got to the mat for my turn to go in the water, I did ask for a few extra seconds so that I would have a little space. I took me the first 25 yards before I caught up to the swimmer ahead of me. I ended up passing quite a few people in the pool and got smacked in the head once in the process. I pulled myself out of the water after the 200 yards and headed off to T1.200 yard swim 3:44
In T1 I put on my helmet and shoes, grabbed my bike and was outta there. T1 0:53
Now the real chase was on. The bike starts with a few turns in town then an out and back on the highway. In town I had to get past several people while making turns and trying to stay out of their draft zones. I got to the highway. Usually the wind would be a tailwind going out and a headwind coming in. I am hammering along and only seeing speeds of 17, 18, 19 mph. I told myself this is not going to win the race. I continued to try to pick up the pace and chase people down. I finally saw the leader coming back in. Tim was in 3rd and I cheered him on. I looked for women and once I saw three I ahead of me I stopped counting. Right before the turn I saw a female in a blue top heading back, I set my next goal to catch her. I made the turn and tried to catch her. I realized then that the wind was backwards. Now I was seeing much better speeds but still could not catch the girl in blue. I tried but she made it back to transition just ahead of me. 14 mile bike 41:33, 20.2 average.In T2 the girl in blue sat down to put on and tie her shoes while I just slipped my on and was out of there ahead of her. T2 0:44
I was really feeling my Friday long run by this point but I was running on my home turf. I run this route all the time. I made it to about the one mile marker before I saw the first female. I looked at my watch intending to time how much of a lead she had on me. I grabbed a quick drink and went to the turn around. There were only 3 females ahead of me and I passed one of them right after the turn around. Now I knew if I could just hold pace I would finish in the top 3. I forgot to check my watch again to time the lead of the lead female. I made it to the final turn and there was Lana. I said 'There are two ahead of me right??" She said "I think so". I said "I went in last". She said "Well you might have them, push it". I gave my final push to the finish. 3.1 mile run 22:42, 7:18 pace.
Total race time 1:09:34
Hung around the finish talking and cheering in the rest of the racers.
I took my bike inside and went out back to find the official results. I couldn't even get near the results so I grabbed a few orange slices and chatted. Then Lana walked up and told me congratulations I did it 1st place overall female!!! I couldn't believe I did it.
I got a super cool transition bag and a medal.
Everyone did awesome.
Will got first age group
Tim got first age group
Eric got third age group
Amy got first age group

After everyone collected their medals, I went back to the pool. I swam my required2500 yards. I thought about counting the 200 from the race but I need all the time in the water I can get.
Then I got my bike and asked them to hold my new backpack at the front desk. Riding home with one bag was enough. I took the extra long way home for an additional 2 hours to get total ride time for the day to 3 hours.

Totals for the week
swim 5200 yards
bike 105.7 miles
run 29.79 miles

Don't Do Anything New on Race Day

This is a rule that I am bad about following. I have raced with new shoes, new socks, new tights, and new shirts. I tried my aero bottle for the first time at a race. And I have eaten new foods on race day.
But for some reason riding my new wheels for the first time at a race has me all freaked out. I had planned to ride them this week but all three of my rides ended up inside on the trainer. So today I put them on my bike and me and Casey rode around the block. My computer didn't work. Oh yeah, the magnet. Lucky for me, I have a spare since I had to get a new computer a while back. I put the magnet on and took another spin around the block. I shifted gears all the way around and it appears all systems are go.
So Saturday at the race, I will be riding my new wheels. Hope this isn't the time the rule bites me in the butt.
For TJ:
And Phil, don't worry it is just a sprint. Only 14 miles on the bike.

Make up Hills

The Plan called for 4x2 minute hills on Sunday. There aren't any good hills near my house, but I knew I would be running from the Rec Center today and jail hill is there. So today I ran jail hill 4 times. It was early and I was tired (read slow). Got just over 4 miles before heading inside to do weights. Did all the required sets then went downstairs to the pool. Today's swim was suppose to be sets of 50 on 1:00, 250 on 4:30 and 100 on 2:00. Well those are great times for me so I pretty much ended up with a continuous swim. 2500 yards.
As soon as I can get these kids to bed, I will be right behind them. I am exhausted. But tomorrow is a rest day, so I get to sleep until 6!!!!

Riding Inside but Running in the Rain

Well the weather man was right and it was still pouring this morning. So it was right back on the trainer. Without the structure of a planned workout, I didn't get the mileage I got yesterday. I watched a movie (and the rain) and put in the time. 24.5 miles in 1:40, but I looked like I had been riding in the rain by the time I finished.
It was still pouring when I got off my bike, but I threw on a hat and went out to run. I have never had a problem running in the rain it has always been starting in the rain. I think it was pure laziness this time, I didn't want to drive to the Rec Center. So I sucked it up and ran in the rain. It cooled me down. I finished my 30 minutes with 3.58 miles, a 8:32 pace.

More Trainer Time

Today's workout was designed for the trainer, so that is where I did it. Plus I needed to get started at 4ish so that I could get it and the swim done before work.

I got up at 3:50. I had my Garmin all programed with the workout.

9 x 3 minutes starting in big ring and easiest gear and dropping a gear each interval.
in hardest gear 10 x (30 seconds grind, 30 seconds all out, 30 seconds grind, 30 seconds stand).
still in hardest gear 5 minutes grind.
9 x 1 minute working from hardest to easiest.

Time flew doing this workout. 18.25 miles in 61 minutes.
Then it was off to the pool. I was really stiff starting out but I felt ok. I did the required 3150 yards but didn't go as fast as I should have. I really didn't want to push it too hard.

I have plans to ride with Tracy and Eric tomorrow at 8 but it is raining right now and is suppose to continue all night and tomorrow. I just might be getting even more trainer time.

Stiff

My bike incident yesterday had left me very stiff today. My left arm and neck are very sore and it hurts to rise my arm above my head. Swimming tomorrow is going to be very interesting.
But can't let a stiff, sore arm slow me down. I have training to do. Today's plan was 1:15 bike followed by 50 minutes of running.
Last night at dinner when I was asking Ronnie his plans for today he said "You just rode 100 miles today , now you have to ride again tomorrow?" I told him "This is Ironman!!!"
I decided to sleep in and wait on Ronnie to get home. It rained off and on all morning. I hoped that the rain would stop for my ride/run. But it was raining pretty good when he walked in the door so I opted for the trainer. I watched a movie and just put in the time. My left hand hurt if I tried to sit up and my left elbow hurt to ride aero. I did what I could.
The rain stopped while I was riding, but it was still muggy for my run. I got in 5.57 miles at a 9:00 pace. I feel pretty good about that.
I am going to go lay on a heating pad now and see if that will help my stiff neck.

Drivers and Dogs

Today I had a 100 mile ride scheduled. It so happened that the HOT100 was also today. But I have claimed next Saturday morning for the Star Tri and the following for the HOW100. So I passed on the HOT and let Ronnie play golf this morning. Gotta keep the peace just in case I ever want to do this again.
I head out at 12:30.
10 miles into my ride I was riding along and got up next to a pick up parked in a church parking lot. I heard a car behind. Then all of a sudden that car cuts me off to turn into the church. I slam on the brakes and over I go. The girls in the truck were putting out yard sale signs and came over to make sure I ok. Then another pick up comes up and asks if I am alright. I pick up my water bottle, assure the people I am ok and went to find the black car. One old lady was still getting out and I lit into her. Another women walks out of the church and the women I was informing she almost killed me points at the other lady and says "She was driving". So I let her have it to. She said "I didn't see you. Were you in the ditch?" I told her no I was on the road and she cut me off. And you know what she says?? "At least I didn't hit you." I was shaking I was so mad.
I put the anger to good use and hammered out some miles. My hand and elbow were killing me but no blood.
I must have missed a turn due to the lack of road signs so my pre planned route had to be adjusted on the fly. I had dog run in number one (of six) on the adjusted route. I learned that my 23 miles per hour to out run a dog theory was wrong. It took a good stretch at 25 to drop him.
I was almost home but still needed 4 miles, so I decided to add a loop. I heard a car behind, looked and saw it was pretty far back. So I stuck my arm out to signal I was making a left. I start into the turn and the car comes flying by me. I managed to stay upright that time.
I made it home without any more dog or driver encounters. 100.09 miles in 5:38. 17.7 average speed
totals for the week
swim 8500 yards
bike 140.81 miles
run 20.8
14:30 hours

Easy Spin and Racing Heart

Yesterday's easy spin must have done my body good.
I met Tracy at the Rec Center at noon when I got off work. It was a very social ride and I did the whole thing in my little chain ring per plan. I ended up with 22.5 miles in the hour and a half that I rode.
Then this morning I got up at 4:00 for a 50 minute run and 3600 yard swim. I felt great on the run. It just felt right again. I ended up with 5.87 miles, 8:32 pace. Wow, I need more easy spin days!! Funny thing is my heart rate average was 201 with a max of 240. Think something is wrong with my HRM??? I noticed this for the first time earlier this week while on a flat part of the greenway. I happened to check my heart rate and saw it was 238. I knew that wasn't right then forgot about it until today. Guess I need to try to figure out what is wrong with Garmin now.
After my run, I went inside to swim. I ended up getting to the pool at 5:20 and it was already open! I love when they open early when I have a long swim. This workout had lots of kick and took FOREVER, 1:27. So even though I didn't have to be at work until 9, I was still rushed getting the kids to school.
Tomorrow is a 100 mile ride. There is an organized ride in the boro but I have already claimed the next two Saturday mornings. So I am going to wait until Ronnie gets home from golf at about 12:30 then head out on my own century.

It's Not the Shoes

This morning I got up at 4:15 for my 40 minute run. Once again, I was stiff and could not get a rythem. Differrent shoes so can't blame them. Guess it is just time to admit, I am getting old.
So the 40 minute run was slow. Then I went inside for a 2000 yard swim. Only 1000 yards were free style, so the swim was extra slow too.
Good news is that tomorrow is an hour and a haf ride that is suppose to be slow. That I can handle.

On Track

Yesterday morning it was cool out when I started my 30 minute run. I was still half asleep and stiff. I thought to myself "Oh boy, this is not a good way to start the week". I didn't feel like I was in any kind of rhythm, my form just felt off. It was my second run in my Omni 7's, I wondered if it could the shoes. I ran the greenway and town and ended up with 3.27 miles. Then I went inside to the pool. I wasn't feeling any better in the water. I finished the warm up and started my 100's. I started feeling better. Then I did my 16 x 25 and I hit every one of them at 24 seconds, fast for me. I was happy by the time I wrapped up my 2900 yards and left the pool.
I was off work today so waited until after dropping the kids off at school to start my workout. At 8:00 I went out on my bike. I did a basically flat route in big gears. I had to do two loops of my neighborhood at the end and even then was 30 seconds short of the hour but I rounded up and called it done. 18.22 miles. Then I changed shoes and grabbed my fuel belt with two 6 oz bottles of Nuun water. Plan called for 70 minutes of hills. I ran the rollers over to Cracker Barrel hill, up the hill, then turned around and headed home. I am glad I took the fuel belt. It was sunny and hot. I am not use to running in daylight. I had to loop my neighborhood again to get in the required time. 7.57 miles.
Diet is also back on track. I will get this vacation weight back off before the race.

11 Weeks to Go

Only 11 weeks????!!!! How am I going to get ready in just 11 weeks???
Vacation and my "summer birthday" have totally thrown my diet off plan. Eating junk and drinking WAY too much. I am getting back on track now.
Then to top it off, I didn't do a good job on following my training plan Saturday. How do I expect to be ready if I skip workouts? Especially swims.
At least Friday I did what I was suppose to. I got up at 3:30 Friday morning and ran in the dark. Plan called for 2 hours of "pretty running" . I kept my heart rate down and got in 12.68 miles in 2 hours.
Saturday the plan called for 140 minutes on the bike "anything goes just put in the time", 2500 yard swim, and stretching/core. I did the ride on the trainer while watching TV. Lots of bigger gear work with lower RPM. Ended up with 35.81 miles. I got a late start on the ride and didn't have time to do anything else before taking Casey to a birthday party and Bryce the movies. I thought about making up the swim and stretching today since it is a rest day, but next rest day isn't until Thursday Aug 28th. I am going to just enjoy my rest day today, spend time with the kids and get ready for what is on the plan this week.

Lot of Swimming

I have spent a lot of time in the pool this week. I think I am growing gills.

Monday morning I did a 24 mile ride with Eric followed by a 3600 yard swim. It was the same workout as Friday and just as hard.

Tuesday I did a 15 mintue run, weights, and a 4000 yard swim. The 4000 yards took less time then the 3600 since it was all free style. Throw in back stoke or kick board and I get even slower.

Today I did a 3000 yard swim and a 18.6 mile bike with Tracy. Today's swim had 500 kick board so was slow.

I am ready for rest day tomorrow!!!!

Summer Birthday

My birthday is December 19th. I HATE a December birthday. You get the combo gift, the "oops I forgot, better pull something out from under the tree" gift, gifts wrapped in Christmas paper...I have aways wanted a summer birthday. Back in May of 06 I did the GJCC Triathlon and per the “age up” rule; they wrote a 38 on my leg. I figured since they considered me 38 I might as well have my birthday. It was great, I got to sit by the pool and enjoy a few cold beverages. No one else bought into this summer birthday thing, just me and the USAT. Ronnie was totally against it and told me I could not do it again. So I had my 39th birthday in December of 07 even though they had been calling me 39 all year.
This year is the big one, four oh. I had to say it for the first time at Memphis in May. I wanted to celebrate turning 40 then but knew Ronnie wouldn't go for it so didn't even bring it up.
I haven't really thought about my birthday since then.
My friend Angie came in town this weekend. Angie and I have been friends since high school. She is also my drinking buddy, I can always count on her to keep on drinking with me.
This weekend was also a hard training weekend. Thursday was an hour of stretching and 15 minutes of abs to get ready. Friday I had 90 minute run followed by 3600 yards of swimming. Then I had to shop and clean house to prepare for Angie's visit.
Saturday morning I got up at 4:45 for my long ride. I wanted to get started at first light so that I could be home before Angie arrived with her boys. The plan called for 4 hours but I am concerned about the number of long rides on this plan so I wanted to extend it to 5 hours. I rode for an hour and a half, met up with Tracy and rode a nice slow loop with her, then I was off on my own again. I had a sitter until 11 so decided to see how many miles I could get in. 90.3 in 5 hours and 25 minutes, and I felt GREAT!!! I got home got cleaned up and ate just before Angie showed up. As soon as she got unloaded I said, "time for a beer? I am in need of a recovery drink". We sat by the pool drinking all afternoon. She wasn't keeping up and then announces that we have "got to get the kids fed". No one had said they were hungry. But what the heck, we were going to the Mexican place to sit outside and they have beer there too. I went in to tell Ronnie we were going but he had a headache and didn't want to go. I trash talked him the entire dinner. Angie still wasn't keeping up on the beer and then when we were leaving she took FOREVER in the restroom. Finally we head home.
We pull in the driveway and I said "What the heck is going on? Ronnie has people over. I thought his head hurt!!!!" We go in the backyard and everyone yells "Happy Summer Birthday". I was shocked. I never saw that one coming.
I had the best birthday ever. And to make it even better...Ronnie gave me a note that said "Happy Birthday. Buy your bike Wheels"
Getting up this morning was tough. Angie finally started keeping up on the beer last night and then I had to keep up with her. I really didn't know if I would be able to run to the end of the driveway much less 70 minutes. But I laced up my shoes and headed out. Run went fine. Legs felt great. I got just over 9 miles, slow but done.
Next rest day isn't until Thursday and I will be over due by then.
***edit that should be just over 7 miles run on Sunday. As Lana pointed out, 9 would have been smoking, 7 not so much.

New Orleans????

Back in May when I did the half iron in GA, all the talk down there was about the new 70.3 in New Orleans this year. Got me thinking. April in New Orleans will surely be cooler then May in Florida or Georgia. April is a much easier month to get away during. Then I started seeing lots of bloggers talking about going. Then TriSaraTops hypnotized me.
So I got on line again to look it up.
Next price increase is Sept 1st. yikes!!! I am going to have to decide soon.

In the meantime, I have this little thing called ironman to worry about.
Today was suppose to be all about speed. 50 minutes of running with 10 minute warm up, 5x5 intervals with 1' rest, and 10' cool down. Didn't happen. I ended up just running and running slow. Sure Garmin beeped at me after the warm up to let me know to pick it up. But I just didn't have it in me. I rationalized it by saying that I had run fast on Saturday so it was an even swap. Does that work?? After my not so speedy run, I went inside for a time trial swim. The plan called it a "fitness assessment". I did the warm up first. Lana had pointed out to me the other day that I had something haywire going on with my kick. I really worked on form for the entire warm up and therefore was extra slow. I felt good during the 1000 yard TT, but ended up SLOWER then the last time. Am I less fit now???

Tomorrow is a rest/stretch only day and boy do I NEED it!!!

I am Behind

I saw Eric at Sunday School Sunday morning and he asked me if I was sore. "Nope, not at all". Well, that was until I got on my bike Sunday evening. As soon as I sat on that saddle, I realized that I was in fact pretty darn sore.
I did a nice easy hour forty ride, it was suppose to be 1:50 but I was home and couldn't think of a way to add a couple miles to the loop.

Monday, I got up at 4:00 for a 45 minute run (again nice and easy), weights, and then a 2600 yard swim. I got home at 7, got the kids packed, ready and dropped at school. Then I came home and got myself ready for work. I have changed my work schedule. I am going in a 9:00 instead of 8 and working 4 day instead of 3. I am a lot less rushed in the morning and therefore everyone is a lot happier. On the other had, my house looks like a pig sty. Guess I will clean it in Nov.

This morning the plan called for 1:15 bike (I did 1:18, had to get home). I decided to try out some utter cream and see if it would help with some of the soreness. I guess it helped. I got to see a beautiful sunrise and discovered that it takes a speed of 23 mph to out run a dog. Got to test this theory 3 times this morning.

I did the ab ripper DVD this evening for the first time since before vacation. Might be paying for that tomorrow.

Going to go try to catch up on blogs. I have read some at work but haven't been able to comment. Lots of great race reports from the weekend.

Staggerwing Duathlon Race Report

My training planned called for a 3:30 bike and a 0:35 run. But it was Staggerwing Race day. I don't have many races that I don't have to drive 60+ miles to get to so I hate to miss any close to home. Plus this race has free beer at the finish.
So I came up with a plan. I would ride my bike the 20 miles each way to and from the race, plus the 18.6 miles for the race. The 2 4k runs would more then cover the 35 minutes of required running.
I called Lana and let her know my plan. She was in too.
We met at the bank at 5:45. It took me 20 minutes to ride the 5 miles from my house to the bank. Then Lana and I rode the remaining 15 miles to the race. We made good time and got there with time to spare.
I picked a spot in transition, got my packet, got body marked, and set up.
I walked up the hill to the start line. Made a port-a-potty stop and waited for the start.
I was number 11 so I went out in the first wave.
There were only a few other females in this wave and I was in the lead right off the bat. I didn't feel like I was running fast but at mile one I was sub 8 (very fast for me). For the run course, it is an out an back on the taxiway, down a gravel hill, and then out and back on a greenway. So you get to see who is in front of you and who is behind you several times along the way. I cheered for all my peeps as I saw them. I finished the first 4k run in 20:49.
In T1 i changed shoes, swapped my hat for helmet, and was out of there in 0:55.
The bike course starts out flat then is mostly downhill to the turn around then mostly up hill back to transition.. As soon as I got on my bike, I started drinking. I had my aero bottle full of Nuun water. I have never had it before but loved it. Eric went out of transition just before me and I could see him just up the road. I pressed to catch him. Once I did, I looked for the next person to catch. I didn't like being in the first wave to start. I like chasing people down not running from them. I knew Lana was in the second wave and I was waiting on her to catch me. I had hope to make it to the turn around before she did, but she caught me a little before then. She yelled "come on and keep up" as she went by. I tried but she is just too darn fast. I made the 180 at the turn around and headed back. I tell myself every year I am going to go ride this course before the race. I really wish I had, it would have paid off. Going out there was a nice downhill that I knew we would have to climb coming back. Problem is, I didn't recognize it when I got there. I climbed the whole thing in my big chain ring. At the top Holly and Flash were there, and I yelled "Is it almost over" thinking I still had the hill to climb. I hit the flat and realized what I had done. I pushed it back to T2. 30k bike time 56:17.
In T2, I made the swap back to running shoes and hat. Out in 0:36.
Run 2 is the first run in reverse.I saw Lana on the greenway and there was still no other female between us. I didn't see any females closing in on us either. I drank water at each of the water stops along the way. It was HOT. Out and back on the taxiway then up to the finish line.

Second 4k run 20:34
Total 1:39:10.
I crossed the line and got my cold towel. Then I found the beer truck. Hung around eating pizza, drinking beer and chatting.

Results were posted
So I hung around for the awards and collected my first ever overall award.

I helped fold up a tent then decided it was time to make the ride home. Lana was going the long way to get in even more miles but 20 was enough for me. So I headed out alone. I had a good ride home. I didn't get three and a half hours like the plan called for but close enough.
Special thanks to The Flash and Holly. Y'all did an awesome job as photographers. I have a ton of pics. And since race pics are never good, it is nice to have several to choose from. Thanks also for all the support out there, it really helped. Holly did't get to race due to a run in with a dog, details on her blog. Hope you heal quickly girl.
Also congrats to all my friends that raced. Lots of hardware collected and awesome times posted.

Swapping not Skipping

The kids start school tomorrow. Hard to believe summer is over. Due to the kids going to school and me having to work, I would not have had time to get in the required 2200 yard swim and 2:20 bike. So I did them today and am saving today's 2800 yard swim for tomorrow.
I did the swim this morning before Ronnie left for work. Then I did the bike inside on the trainer at about 1:00 this afternoon. The plan called for hills so I did the Pedaling Strength DVD. It has been a while since I did that kind of trainer time and it took a lot of will power to keep going. How easy it is to just quit, don't have to keep going just to get home. But I did it and ended up with 35.5 miles of mostly big gear turning. I was sweating buckets.
On the hamster front...even an old grouch like Ronnie could not be mad once he saw how happy his daughter was. Helped that Dexter is cute too. He is a very sweet little guy and hasn't bitten any of us yet despite being man handled. He had spent most of the day sleeping and I am just waiting on the sound of his little wheel spinning to start.

Dexter

Today could very well be my last day here on Earth. Casey has been begging for a hamster and decided that is what she wanted for her birthday. So while we were in M'boro school shopping, we went to Pet Smart. Meet Dexter.Ronnie is going to kill me! He just said last night "we don't need a hamster, we are on the go way too much". Peyton (the dog) isn't too crazy about Dexter either. She does like the hamster treats though, hope she doesn't get sick.

At least I got in good workout before I die. Plan called for 1:40 ride and 0:30 run. I rode the same route as yesterday adding on Pomroy. It was a little short and I made it home in 1:33. Close enough. Plus my legs were feeling VERY tired. I averaged a whole 1 mph slower today then yesterday. The run was about the same as yesterday's, slow. I wasn't feeling great afterward. I have been tired all day.

I Don't Mountain Bike

Today's plan called for a one hour mountain bike and an hour ten run. I don't mountain bike and I am not starting for this plan!
So I just set out on my road bike at 5:30 this morning. I did some poor planning and ended up riding for 1:15. It felt good to be back outside on my bike. All that indoor stationary bike riding last week got old.
I returned home, changed shoes, and went out for a nice slow run. I wanted to quit several times. It was getting hot and I was still so tired. I finished all 70 minutes and am glad I did.
As cross training I cut the grass. Both the push mower and the weed eater died on me.
I have thought about doing ab ripper and weights (from yesterday), but I haven't gotten around to it. It's not going to happen now.
Tomorrow is regestration for the kids at school. I just found out they both got the teachers I wanted for them!! So tomoorw we just pick up the paperwork.

Time to get Back to Business

We got home this morning at 2. I slept for a few hours then got up for work. I decided to skip the swim this morning and do it this afternoon. Well, now I am too tired and just don't feel like it. Instead, I am going to bed early and getting back to hardcore tomorrow.

We had a great time on vacation and I actually got in some of the workouts. This is how it went.


Sunday:
Plan-rest day
Actual-travel day

Monday:
Plan- 40 minute run and 2300 yard swim
Actual-40 minute run on treadmill, lots of beer drinking in the rain

Tuesday:
Plan-1:10 bike and weights
Actual-1:10 bike on stationary bike, weights (had to skip the leg press since they didn't have that machine), 10 minute open water swim. water was VERY rough from the tropical storm and that is all I could stand fighting the waves. Drank more beer and watched the waves instead.

Wednesday:
Plan-1 hour run and 3250 yard swim
Actual- 1 hour treadmill run

Thursday:
Plan-1:30 easy spin and stretch/core
Actual- 32:50 pool swim and 1:30 easy spin

Friday:
Plan-1:20 run and 4200 yard swim
Actual- 1:20 run on beach (man that is HARD)

Saturday:
Plan-3:00 bike
Actual-1:10 spin. It was HOT in the room, I was bored, I had done the 3 hour ride the week before knowing I would never make it, I wanted to get out to the beach and the cold beer...

Sunday-
Plan-rest day
Actual-travel day

So that is it. I missed way too much of the swimming, drank way too much, and ate stuff I shouldn't have, but we had a GREAT time!!!!

Now it is time to get back to business, no more skipped workouts.

Final Plea

I have until the end of the month to raise another $225.
If you can spare a few bucks, sponsor me here.
or you can mail in a check to
HOW100
2410 Patterson Street Suite 110
Nashville, TN 37203

It is a great cause and EVERY penny of contributions will go directly to research.

thanks for your help

Week of Stretching

The plan called for stretching 3 times this week. I am glad I have that x-stretch DVD because today I might have touched my toes and called it done.
Thursday was stretching only. So x-stretch and ab ripper it was.
Friday was an 1:10 run followed by a 1800 yard swim.
Today was stretching, abs and a 2 hour ride. I did 3 since I will be on vacation next weekend and there is no way I will be riding for 3 hours in Mexico.
I managed to get myself lost on today's ride. It was fun at first, new places, new scenes. But then I wondered if I would ever find my way home. I called Ronnie and tried to get him to figure out where I was. By the time he did, I had turned around and just did an out and back. Ended up with 51.9 miles.

Fear

One thing I hate about training alone is that I worry about something happening to me and there not being anyone around to call for help.
One of those something is Coyotes! All winter running alone in the dark on back country roads I would jump at every sound. But this summer, since it is light out, I haven't even given coyotes another thought. Until yesterday...
I went out on my bike at first light for a 45 minute easy spin. I wasn't 3 miles into my ride when a coyote came running across the road in front of me!!! Scared the sh!t out of me. So much for a zone 1 ride.
I made it home and changed shoes for the 30 minute run. I decided to stay in my neighborhood and avoid all wild creatures.

This morning I knew I had a long workout on schedule, so I prepared. I told my boss I wouldn't be in until 9:00, I pack the kids lunches and laid out clothes last night.
I met Tracy, Eric, and Lana at the rec center. Tim was out running and Lana waited for him while the rest of us went out so we could pick up Amy on the way. We had a great ride, 24 miles. Afterwards, I went inside for a 2900 yard swim. I ended up having to cut out the 200 yard cool down because it was 8:00 by that time and Ronnie said he had to leave at 8:15.
I was still rushed today and my hair looks like crap but I made it to work on time and didn't have to fuss at anyone.

Quick Check In

Still have a million things to do before bed but wanted to do a quick check in before I get too far behind again.
Yesterday was a "recovery" day. 30 min easy spinning and 20 minute run off. I headed out on my bike at 5:30am. It was cloudy, cool, and still on the dark side. Then it started to mist. I rode an easy 7.7 miles, made a potty stop, then ran 2.04 miles extra easy.

This morning I PROMISED myself no rushing, no fussing, get the day off to a good start. I hit snooze. I am so not a snooze person. I did get up before the second alarm but now I was already 7 minutes behind schedule. I went to the rec center and did 2.85 miles in 25 minutes then went inside and swam 2000 yards.
But I was prepared this morning. I had lunches and backpacks already packed and my clothes ironed. We were still rushing out the door late but it was a much calmer rush.
Tonight I did the 1 hour x-stretch DVD and the 15 minute ab ripper DVD that came with the P90X. The stretching felt great.
Now a little bragging on my child. Got a call from her gymnastics instructor this evening. She wants to move her up to the next class. She will be 8 soon, going into the 3rd grade. The class she is moving into is all middle school and high school girls. The instructor says she is ready, the bigger girls will make her push herself more. I hope I am doing the right thing.

Morning Rush

I have been grumpy all week.

These early mornings and too late nights are catching up with me. I have gotten up at 4:45 every day this week and I am not getting to bed early enough. Even getting up early I am still rushed to get my workout done, get home, get myself and kids ready, and get out the door on time. I can't even tell you how many days Casey went to day camp with just a finger combing and a ponytail.

Yesterday was the worst day so far. I had a 35 minute run and a 2500 yard swim. I was moving in slow motion. For the run I only got in 3.55 miles and the swim took 54:32. I got home to find Ronnie getting in the shower and the kids still asleep. It was a mad rush to get out the door so that the kids didn't miss the bus for the field trip. I end up fussing at the kids to hurry and we all end up grouchy.

Trainer Riding

The plan called for a trainer ride this morning followed by a 40 minute run.

The ride was 10 minute warm up then 5 minutes each at 60, 70, 80, 90 rpms, then back down 80, 70, 60 and a 10 minute cool down. 55 minutes total. I was sweating buckets by the end. Forgot how hot I get on that trainer.
The run was suppose to be low hear rate, pretty running again. I picked up the puppy at the end of my run. He got spooked by a car once and a dog another time. Both times he ran under my feet and almost tripped me. He is lucky he is just so darn cute.

Back in Business

A while back my HRM quit working. I never remembered to put a new battery in it and when I finally did it still didn't work.
Recently the plan had a heart rate run scheduled and since I didn't have my HRM working I just ran it based on feel. Doesn't really work well for me.
So last night I finally remembered to see what I could do to get the stupid thing working again. Found a rest menu and got back in business.
This morning it was up at 4:45 after a very sleepless night. Bryce ended up in bed with us at midnight. He wasn't feeling good yesterday. It is amazing how much room such a small person can take up in the bed.
Anyway, The plan called for a 30 minute run and a 2500 yard continuous swim. So I was off to the rec center by 5:00.
I ran around town, not flat like the plan said, but I did run slow enough to keep my heart rate down (most of the time).
Then it was inside for the swim. 100 lengths, 50 laps. I wish I could say I lost count and threw in a few extra but I didn't, I just swam slow. 2500 yards in 55:55.

Kickin' Off Week Four

Sunday was a scheduled rest day. I had planned to do the ab ripper DVD anyway but never got around it to. Totally lazy day. Love it.

Monday I ran for an hour around town then swam, remembered my suit this time. Lana was at the pool and asked what the schedule called for. I told her 500 warm up, 5 x 100 at T time minus something, and 500 cool down. My 5 x 100 I did as fast as I could but they were not T time minus much. When I got home I looked at The Plan again. Oops. The 5 x 100 were suppose to be done at a 6-7 of 10 effort level.

Today I met Don and Tracy at the Rec Center for a ride. We did the usual route. Ended up with 18.66 miles in 1:10. Tracy had a stop sign tip. Ouch.
After the ride I went inside for 3 set each of push ups, dips, pull ups, leg press, squats and jumping jacks. After work I did the ab riper DVD.

Forgotten Suit

This morning I got to sleep in. It was wonderful!!!!
I drove over to the rec center at about 8:30 for my scheduled run, weights and swim.
I ran the greenway and town. It was suppose to be a speed run but the plan called for planned marathon pace minus 30 seconds. I don't have a planned marathon pace! I just hope to finish the thing. So i just ran. I ended up with a 9:11 overall pace for just under 54 minutes. For the last mile I had to potty BAD so as soon as I got back to the Rec Center, I stopped my watch and ran to the bathroom.
I went upstairs and did the required weights. 2 sets each of squats, pull downs, leg presses, rows, leg extensions and leg curls. then I threw in 2 sets of triceps, I hate that under arm jiggle.
I realized I had forgotten to pack my swim suit. I thought about swimming in my running clothes but decided against it. I went home.
I have tossed around the idea of swimming in my pool but it is so short it makes doing laps tough. Now it is pouring rain so looks like I am just skipping the workout. Guess if I don't make it out of the water in 2:20 or less on Nov 1st I can blame this missed swim. :)

Happy 4th of July

Hope everyone is having a great 4th.
I have already gotten my 2 hour ride finished and put a coat of paint on the bathroom walls. Now it is time to make lunch and enjoy the holiday.

I rode this morning with Tracy. I left my house at 5:15 at first light and rode toward Tracy's house. I met up with her and we rode a 25 mile loop and then I rode home.

I am doing a 100 mile ride on Sept 6, the HOW10. It is a fundrasier for breast cancer research. I just got an email from them and they are offering a free bike jersey to anyone who can raise $500 by the end of the month. So if you can spare a couple of bucks and have paypal, go here and pick my name from the pull down. Thanks!!!

Arm Warmers in July

Here it is the second of July, I should NOT be using the word cold to describe my ride. But it was.
The Plan:
Bike-30 minutes easy spin in small chain ring, zone 1 only
Run-60 minutes on flat course, zone 1-2
Swim-2400 yards (300 Individual Medley, 3x150 free, 3x150 back, 3x150 breast, 3x150 kick board, 300 free easy)
I got up at 4:45 and was at the Rec Center ready to ride at 5:15. I was cold even with arm warmers on. I just did an out an back on the highway. Got in 8 miles.
Then I ran. The cold felt much better once I was on foot. I ran a few hills just because it is hard to find 6+ miles of flat road around here. I ended up with 6.39 miles.
Next it was inside to swim. This is the first time I have done the butterfly in YEARS. Man, that is one hard stroke. I had to skip 2 of the 3 sets of kick. I ran out of time, can't make Ronnie late for work.

Later

So far this week, I have been doing my training later then normal.
Sunday I met Tracy and Gary at 5:10 PM. We did a 20 mile ride then Tracy and I did a 30 minute run. I came home and did ab ripper.
Then Monday the pool didn't open until 2:00, so I had to wait until after work. I got to the rec center about 6:00 PM. I did the required weights very quickly then hit the pool. I ended up having to cut the swim a little short (I skipped the 200 yards of kick) so that I could get home and take my kids to the drive in. We stayed for both movies so it was after 1:00am when I got home.
I am off work today so I got to sleep until 6:30am. I got up and rode for 45 minutes (actually went to little long and got 47:30), ran for 20 minutes, then did ab ripper.
Now time to get some stuff done around this house.

McMinnville City Triathlon

My only goal for this race was to have fun.
Mission accomplished.
I got to the race site at about 6:00 Saturday morning and got a text from David right away. I found him and his wife parked right down from me.
I got my transition area set up. Then found Mike, Don, and Tim.
This race is a pool swim. Your start position is based on your estimated swim time. I used last years time and therefore was number 187. Mike had changed his time and as a result ended up number 27, right up front with all the really good swimmers and serious athletes. We got some good laughs about it before the race. Mike managed to sweet talk his way into moving back to 200.
The race started late and then it took forever to get everyone in the water.
Team Magic has gotten a new timing system and they now have a mat at the swim start. Therefore, you have to jump in when they say "Go".
My turn finally came. I stood on the mat and when they said go I jumped into the pool.
I don't know if it was all the pre race laughing or just the fact that I was there just to have fun, but I was very relaxed in the water. I caught up with the person in front of me pretty quickly. Then the next person and the next...I continued passing people and never got passed.

I ran out out of the pool and into transition.
350 yard swim = 7:15
T1-I got my helmet and bike shoes on, grabbed my bike, and was out of there.
The mat at the exit must not have been working because T1 time is lumped in with the bike times.
While waiting on the race to start we commented several times on the wind. It was strong. The bike course is rolling and the first half was into the wind. I noticed after the first several miles I was riding just over 3 minute miles. Hmmm...could I pull off a 20 mph ride?? I started to push a little harder. I continued to pass people and still had not been passed by anyone. After the 8 mile marker we turned and had a cross wind. I was able to pick up some speed but was still 2 minutes off of a 20 mph pace. We made another turn and got the tail wind. Time to make up the time. I pushed but was feeling Friday's run in my quads. I made the final turns, saw the 15 mile marker, did the math, and had my 20 mph pace.
15.25 mile ride + T1 = 47:22
I put up my bike and changed to running gear. I grabbed a Gu and was out of transitionT2 = 1:11
I was off on the run. I passed more people and then someone passed me!!!! It was the girl who went into the pool 2 people ahead of me. I had passed her in the pool. She came into T1 just behind me and must have been right on my tail the whole ride. So at about a half mile into the run she passed me. I checked out her left calf and was relieved to see that she was not in my age group. The run is more rolling hills. I drank water at each of the aid stations. No one else passed me. I made the turn into the park and made the final push to the finish line.
3.1 mile run 23:52 (7:58 pace).
I found Tim right away. He had forgotten to start his watch so had no idea how he had done but felt good about his race. I saw Mike cross the finish line. Then I found David and his wife. We chatted for a while then I went to see if they had results posted. I saw Don and he said they had Mike as the overall winner!!
Sure enough there was Mike listed at number 1. Don and I went to find Mike and congratulate him.
Too bad results were updated and Mike was no longer in the top spot.
We hung out for the awards.
Tim snagged 1st place beginner.
I got 3rd place age group.
Mike got 3rd place Mater Clydesdale.
My final time was 1:19:39
The overall female winner had a time of 1:13:42 and the first place female in my age group was 1:18:02. I was less then 6 minutes behind the winner and a minute and a half behind my age group winner. Not too bad! And I got a really cool mug for my trophy shelf.

Puppy

I am a dog person. I love dogs, especially puppies.
But when I am on my bike or running, I am not such a fan. On the bike I am worried about getting knocked over and ruining I worry about tripping on the dog (I have done this and it is not fun).
This morning I got up at 3:20. My alarm was set for 3:30 but for some reason I just woke up a 3:20. It wasn't worth trying to sleep for 10 minutes, so I went ahead and got up.
I ran the required 1:50. For the last 2 miles I was joined by a puppy. He was super cute, but he wanted to play. He kept jumping up at my hands and feet. I just knew I was going to trip over him. Lucky for both of us, we made it home without incident.
I went inside and changed then went to the pool. Puppy chased my car down the street to the stop sign.
I swam the required 1700 yards. I actually enjoyed this swim. Slow swimming was required for most of it.
When I pulled into my neighborhood, I saw Ronnie out running and guess who was tagging along?? Cute little puppy. He ran all 6 miles with Ronnie and still had energy to jump all over me when I walked down the driveway.
The puppy was gone by the time I got home from work. Hope he made it home safely.

Sunrises

I have seen some beautiful sunrises this week.
I have been up before dawn everyday. Sunday it was for a 43 min bike and 35 min run. Monday was a 3000 yard swim. Tuesday 40 min run, weights and abs. And today an 1:17 bike followed by a 2500 yard swim.
Tomorrow is finally a rest day. I will still do ab ripper but I am sleeping past sun rise.

Week One is Done

While I finished my first week of ironman training, there are others preparing to toe the line tomorrow. Good Luck! Look forward to spending the day tracking.

I got reminded this week just how bad my swim is. Wednesday I had to do a 1000 yard time trial. It took me 19:27 and I could NOT have gone any faster. Then Friday I had to do 4000 yards - 500 swim, 500 pull, 10 x 50 on 1:00, 5 x 100 on 2:00, repeat. The 50's and 100's just turned into 500s. I couldn't swim fast enough to get even 5 seconds of rest between sets. I know part of my problem is I don't do flip turns and I lose time at the wall. The only other problem is that I am just slow.

My other workouts have been uneventful, just the way I like them. I logged all the time the plan called for and did all the workouts. Ok some I had to improvise on like the stretching on Thursday. I didn't know what they wanted so I did the xstretch DVD and the ab DVD that came with Ronnie's P90X. I need to do more stretching. I am so stiff and unflexible.

This week was a high swim volume week and it looks like next is a little more running.

Looking Like an Idiot

I am determined to follow this plan as close as I can. I hope in doing so I will arrive at the start line ready and able to finish. I don't understand why I have to do some of this stuff but I am trusting The Plan.

So this morning I ran for 20 minutes nice and slow, keeping my heart rate in zone 1-2. Then I went to the pool to work on form. I swam the 3000 yards also nice and slow. But I felt good doing it.

This afternoon, I did the scheduled plyometrics. I felt like an idiot but I did it. 2 sets of 50 jump ropes. Nothing bad there. I did have to buy a jump rope to do it though. After that it got silly. First I had to skip. 3 set of 50 skips. Ronnie came outside and laughed at me and said I should have waited until dark so the neighbors couldn't see me. After skipping, it was hopping. Two foot hops then one foot hops. I hopped around the pool and was just glad I didn't fall in. After the hops it was bench jumps. I did them on the back step. The Plan said this all should have taken 45 minutes. It didn't take me anywhere near that long. Maybe I rushed too much for fear of being seen??? Next time I am doing them in the dark.

And the Fun Begins

Day One Week One, it has started. 20 weeks of training for the Big Dance on Nov 1st.
I admit I am a little freaked out. It is real now for some reason. Until today, this was something I was going to do but now...I am officially training for an Ironman!!!
So, I got up at 4:44 this morning (can you believe I hit snooze on my very first day of training?). I was on my bike at 5:00. The Plan called for a 75 minute ride and a 40 minute run. I over estimated how far I could ride in 75 minutes so ended up with 25.18 miles in 1:24:00 for an average speed of 18 mph. Off the bike and a quick shoe change then off on the run. I made it 4.51 miles in the 40 minutes for a 8:52 pace. I went right upstairs for 15 minutes of Ab Ripper fun.
So day one is checked off and I feel pretty good about it.

Bonnaroo is here!!!

Yesterday I met my friend Tracy at the Rec Center to ride. She lives on one of the main access roads to Bonnaroo so she figured getting out on her bike Thursday would be the best way to get a workout in. We rode one of our normal routes and other then a few cars and RVs on 41 going out of town??? there was no signs of a major music fest. That is until we got back to town!!! There the cars were lined up on the highway to get in. I dropped Tracy off at her street to fight her way home and I left the traffic again and head to my house. I ended up with just over 31 miles.

This morning I got up and ran the 5 miles to the Rec Center, swam 1750 yards, and then ran the 5 miles home. I was soaked from the swim and must have been looking really rough because one of the ticker scaplers at the interstate asked me if I wanted some ice water. I declined but was sure wishing I had it a few more miles down the road.

I am not going to Bonnaroo but it sure is fun having all these people in town. I love living in a small town but it gives us the "big city" feel for a week. That's enough for me.

Last Chance to Slack

Training starts Sunday so this is my last week of slacking. I took full advantage this morning.
I planned to swim. The alarm went off at 5:30. I got up, peed, took of my PJs, got on the scale, decided I was too tired, put back on my PJs, and slept for another hour.
I am so exhusted from the weekend. One of my friends had her 40th birthday party Saturday night in Memphis. The kids and I drove down Friday. Angie and I stayed up drinking beer and catching up til late. Then I got up about 8:00am with a hangover and ran 7 miles in the heat. Spent the day by the pool and the night drinking again. Sunday I got up early and went to my friend Dawn's house. She was nice enough to keep my kids for me while I partied. Dawn and I hung out and drank wine. We tried to play some Wii Ski but didn't do too good, could have been the wine. Monday morning I got up and drove home.
These two weeks aren't just about drinking and eating. That has been a large part of it but I have done some training too.
The Sunday after the race I did nothing.
Monday evening I did ab ripper and back/chest weights.
Tuesday morning trainer ride 13 miles
Wednesday morning 3 mile run and toning class
Thursday morning 1500 yard swim
Friday morning 10.5 mile trainer ride and ab ripper
Then it was the party weekend with only the 7 mile run on Saturday.
Monday afternoon when I got home I did a 25.12 mile ride. It was 94 and sunny but I loved it!
Tuesday morning 6 mile run and ab ripper that evening.
Today was the skipped swim. I still plan to do weights tonight, maybe.
Tomorrow I ride and Friday I run. Saturday is still up in the air, maybe a final rest day.
I have enjoyed the lack of schedule and just doing a little something whenever I feel like it, but I am ready now. Time to get back to business. I am back on track with my diet and ready to start "The Plan".

Rock 'n RollMan Race Report

I got up early, before my alarm even went off. I hadn't slept well. I ate a Prue Protein bar and some Fig Newtons.
I got to the race site plenty early. I got body marked and set up my transition. Water temp was announced to be 77.5, wetsuits would be legal. Finally some good news.
I walked down to the beach and found a table to sit at. I sipped G2 and talked to some other racers. Before I knew it the race started. I was going out in wave seven, the last wave of the half. We had a fairly small wave and when the gun fired we were off. It was a single clockwise loop in a lake. When I practice swimming I breathe every third stroke so I am breathing on both sides. But in a race I panic and breathe every other stroke, on the left. It makes it hard to site on a clockwise course. I am sure I looked like a turtle when I looked for the markers. But for the most part, I just counted on the other swimmers and sighted off of them. The good thing about going out last is I never had anyone coming up from behind and was really excited when I started catching people from the waves ahead of me. I finally relaxed and thought about reaching and rolling. It was full contact swimming but at least there were no jelly fish and the water was smooth as glass. I made the final turn and swam for the beach. I caught up with the sprint distance racers and it got pretty crowded. I got out of the water and saw a 38 something on my watch and knew I had a PR swim. It is a pretty far uphill run from the beach to transition, so final 1.2 mile swim time was 40:00.
Of course there weren't many bikes left in transition by this point so it made mine easy to find. I got out of my wetsuit and into my bike shoes and helmet. I grabbed my bike and ran for the exit. T1 time 1:46
I quickly discovered that another advantage of going out in the last swim wave and only being a so-so swimmer was that I didn't get passed on the bike. I did all the passing. I knew the course was going to be hilly. I am not a strong cyclist and hills are not my friend. So I just told myself to do what I could. I ate shot bloks every 10 to 15 minutes and drank water. At the 15 mile water drop I grabbed a water and filled my aero bottle. I was disappointed that the water wasn't cold. I continued passing people. I had my computer set to show cadence and time. I never checked distance or average speed but I could tell from the mile markers and my time that I was on my way to a PR bike. But the hills never let up, it was one after the other. I have never said the f word so much in my life. The 30 mile and 45 mile water drops went smooth, well except I dropped the first bottle at the 30 and had to grab a second. But it didn't slow me down any. I finally saw the 50 mile marker and by my computer had 6 minutes to get a sub 3. I just kept saying push and pull. I made it to the dismount line. 56 mile bike 2:58:53
I ran my bike back to my rack. helmet off. hat on. bike shoes off. running shoes on. grabbed my gu and was out. T2-1:36
I took a Gatorade as I started the run. Ewww too sweet. The race site described the run as "a one loop course with 3 out and back sections. A rolling course with no serious climbs, it is the heat that makes this course difficult." And boy did the heat make it difficult but the hills were nothing to ignore either. My plan was to "run" from aid station to aid station. At each aid station I stopped and got a fresh wet towel that I kept around my neck, water, and ice to dump in my bra. I got orange slices and heed at a few stations. I got heed once thinking it was water (it was clear too) and dumped it over my head. Great now I am hot and sticky!!! I walked while I drank/ate. My mile splits were looking good. Could I PR this run too??? The heat was starting to get to me. I was getting a headache and my face felt like it was on fire. My shoes were soaked and I could feel blisters forming on my toes. I ran past a guy and he said at least I had the frogs in my shoes to keep me company. The walk breaks at aid stations got longer and so did my splits. I final got to the park entrance. Up the final hill, then the finish line was in site. I got to the chute and crossed the line. 13.1 mile run 2:06:26

I got my medal, an ice cold towel, and a bottle of water. They had a sprinkler tent set up and I stood under it for few minutes then went and found the beer tent. Best beer I have ever had!!! I hung out and talked for a while waiting on official results so I could get my official time. Results were posted.

Official time 5:48:38
I was the 22nd female to finish. Hmm I looked at the ages. I was 3rd in my age group. I decided to stick around for the awards. I went and put my bike and stuff in the car and got a fresh beer (or two).
The awards started. They went 3 deep in masters. Hmm even better for me. They did age group awards and I started to wonder how I would fair. 40-44 females. 1st place...Michele Emerson. Shocked I went and collected my award.

I left after that and went back to the hotel. My room key didn't work!!! Took it to the front desk to get it reprogrammed. I took a quick shower then got a beer and went to the pool. After a few more beers I decided to order pizza (I forgot to grab an Outback chicken sandwich at the post race party).
It was a great race. Very well run with lots of great volunteers. The aid stations were well stocked. It was hot and the course was tough but it was a great time. The best part...there is a race for everyone. Don't want to run? They have an aquabike. Don't want to swim? They have a duathlon. Just want to do one sport? They have a relay. Don't want to go long? They have a sprint.
I will be going back to Georgia someday and I will be riding lots of hills before I do!!