Getting closer...

I have strung together some really good, hefty (time-wise) weeks of training. The only problem is that I have missed my regular massage over the past month. I just got out of routine for one reason or another and it's hard to get back onto her schedule since she is quite popular! Anyway, I was rolling along just fine until during the long run last week (8 days ago), had some pain upper hamstring which I had to ignore and finish my run. Ran again on the Monday and had some pain but figured it was nothing to worry about. Ran speedwork on Wednesday and had a little pain during cool-down but no problem running fast. Thursday morning's run I had to cut short and come home nearly limping (still got nine miles in). Did a lot of stretching between Thursday and Sunday and did all my other workouts without any issues. Sunday's plan was a 3 hour run which I was pretty sure I didn't want to attempt for fear of real injury. Ran five miles instead with no pain or limping. Have a massage today which will really help. Next run is Wednesday so we'll see how it goes. Training is going great otherwise. I'm pretty tired and looking forward to taper!! I am really confident about my fitness and the most important thing right now is to get to the starting line healthy! Cheers....

Yeah, the Dane is back.........for now.

Well, the Dane is back from lengthy Euro trip and I'm happy about that. I also get to assert my well-honed go-forever-at-a-good-pace fitness on him! It's not funny but it is nice to know all this consistent training has elevated my fitness level quite a bit which I can compare when he returns from each trip. Poor guy, he tries to jump right in to my training when he returns and it really proves difficult. He is a trooper and will toe the line in Panama City on Nov 3rd and give it a go as they say. Things are going fine overall. Really into the meat of it. Still with a lot of volume but added speedwork and weights. I'm pretty tired and looking forward to tapering in about 4 weeks but I know I have a lot of solid training efforts to put in between now and then. Not much else to report. I could blab about all the killer workouts but don't feel the need and too much to type out! Cheers.

big weeks - I love 'em

Didn't get a chance to post during the weekend, too tired, I guess. Fully back in the swing this week. Work was insanely stressful and training back on full bore from week's "vacation" (from work, not from training). Got the first seven hour ride in on Sat. I had some issues in the middle but finished strong, I think. Had a great brick, too fast on the run but, hey, if that's my problem, I'll take it! So, about 7 1/2 hours of training on Sat then long run on Sun morning. Got in a little over 15 miles, most of it felt pretty good. Pleased about that as this Ironman training period starts to get serious. The Dane is gone to Europe so most training, other than swimming and long ride, have been solo (great job out there Val). I work well solo which is great for Ironman. I have had a bit of time this weekend to refocus and motivate myself for my goals for IM Florida. I think I'm on track. Swam PR's for 100 and 200 yards last week (I won't say what they are because they are pretty slow)! I'm getting pumped and watching the race in Kona in less than 4 weeks online will really solidify my goals! I am looking forward to my Dane coming back home end of the week - gone too long! I'm gonna post some fun pics from our trip to God's country just for kicks! Go Broncos and Gators! Cheers..

mini altitude running camp

We had a blast in Colorado for Labor Day weekend. We did a really cool long run (3 hours) in Rocky Mountain National Park that was just amazing! I would say it ranked right up there with climbing Haleakala on the tri bikes two years ago prepping for IM Florida '05. I'll post some pictures which don't do it justice. I could have run for five hours out there it was so challenging and serene. I we did another run out there on Sunday on the trails just to check them out and did the long run on Monday. We spent Monday night in Denver at Hotel Monaco which was really cool. It was an amazing trip, wish we would have planned more time there because the training is incredible. The altitude at Grand Lake is about 8600 feet. The turn around on the trail we ran on was nearly 10,000 feet (the Garmin download is great). I actually was able to keep my average heart rate aerobic too. Can't wait to return there with bikes and wetsuits to do tri training, maybe next summer. Have to get back into the routine next week (have medical conference this weekend) which will be easier after having such a nice change of scenery and temperature. The temps in the morning were high 40's and low 70's during the day - such a nice break from Florida! Back to the heat and humidity now. I mind it less with the wonderful memories from God's country. Cheers!

Running with dolphins

Coolest experience on my long run on Monday. Running back from turn around after 1:15, running along Memorial Causeway, there was a huge group of dolphins swimming right along the water's edge. They seemed to be keeping pace with me and it was truly enjoyable, as much as a 2:30 run can be enjoyable. Still hot, about 93 degrees, add whatever for "heat index". I faired much better than last week, thank goodness! Anyway, off to Colorado on Saturday, yeah. Hope my sinuses don't act up, they're on the edge! Cheers.

On and on

Another solid week in the books. Just about same amount of time as last week and still in one piece. This week, the Dane left on Wednesday for a week in Europe so I got to focus on training and sleeping (and, unfortunately, work/cleaning/laundry/grocery shopping). I did manage to catch the Dane's cold before he left and am getting through that without any serious sequelae, thank goodness. The week started Monday with record heat. When you talk about record heat in Florida, that isn't fun for training. I know it's not Arizona or desert heat but, sheesh, it's humid here also folks. The record heat and a 2:10 run were staring me in the face when I came home from work Monday evening. The Dane was smart enough to avoid that long run and amazingly hot conditions. So, I was on my own. Time to toughen up and get going. I've stolen a motto for this Ironman training season which, anyone who is a CSC cycling fan will know.....HTFU. It means Harden the F#$% up! I normally, being pretty small in stature, handle the heat very well and am typically not bothered by it other than having to slow my run pace to keep the heart rate down. Well, I got about a half mile up the road and it felt like a blow dryer blowing in my face. I knew it was going to be a testing run. I knew the heart rate monitor was going to take a beating so paid a little less attention to it (sorry Luis). I got out a little over seven miles to the turn around point and wanted to sit down and cry. I never cave mentally in long runs like this so I knew these were special conditions. I looked across the Memorial Causeway and spotted a guy and gal running along at a really solid pace and thought, hey, I can do that. I began running again after a gel and some hot, watered down Gatorade from my fuel belt and my knees nearly buckled! Oh boy, who can I call to come and pick me up? But, of course, I don't have a phone. I had to go into survivor mode and make little goals for myself, which I did. Before I knew it, I was back to the golf course, 4.5 miles from home, with a cold water faucet, refilled and motored on. I made it home, negative splitted, no less. This was one of those days that will go into the motivational vault should I need it down the road (ie, IMFL). This really kind of put me in a hole physically for the week. I got a much needed massage on Wednesday which was wonderful! I did recover enough to ride 6 1/2 hours on Saturday with a 32 min brick which was a solid workout. We will be leaving for Colorado for Labor Day weekend and I am not upset that I might miss a workout or two! I think I need it for the final push into IMFL. I will be so happy to run in 70-something degree weather! Even if it is at altitude! So, HTFU and less than 10 weeks to IMFL! Cheers.

The fun continues...

Well, I've officially done the biggest training week of my life as far as my training logs go back. Nearly 23 hours in the log. And, I missed one easy run! I quickly realised Sunday when finishing bike/swim/weights at noon that an "easy" run wouldn't be so easy so decided not to do it. I have done all my other workouts. Logged nearly 200 miles on the bike this week which is my focus for this Ironman push - the key, for me, to building overall endurance is the bike. We rode 100 miles on Saturday and I didn't really feel that great but I got through it, practiced my nutrition strategy and just got 'time in the saddle', as they say. Today, another 3 1/2 hours on the bike and actually felt better than yesterday, weird. I'm amazed that, at 40, I can still recover from day to day. I think that is the beauty and secret of the MarkAllenOnline program, is the ability to get the volume and recover. When training aerobically, nothing is intense or "hard" to the outsider but if you do it long enough, it is difficult. The beauty is, in staying aerobic, you don't beat the body and it rewards you with a fresh outlook the next day. I know the hot weather is taking a toll on my run pacing because I have to slow to a crawl to keep under my MAHR (max aerobic heart rate) and it frustrates me greatly. I just hope this will improve as the weather cools. I have done a run in the am and my pace was about 50 seconds/mile faster just based on temperature.....amazing. There is hope! Cheers!

REAL Ironman training has begun!

Not that I have been goofing around for the past 7 weeks but this past week began feeling like IM training. Firstly, I had over 21 hours for last week in the training log which I haven't done since last summer! The legs are generally tired and it's hard to wake up in the morning but we get up anyway! The scary thing about it is, the long ride will get much longer! I'm not really sore or anything though, which is good. I usually only get sore from weights. Basically, did about 16,000 yards swimming, 170 miles biking, 35 miles running and about an hour total in the weight room. The only problem is that I also worked about 45 hours! I feel like I'm recovering pretty well - should be because all of the work is aerobic other than weights. We have a 2 1/2 hour long run after work tonight so I'm hoping for a thundershower to cool it off a bit but that's not likely today. One thing is for sure, I'm well heat-acclimated right now! The Dane is hanging in there like a trooper, trying to get as much training as he can before leaving for Europe the end of the month. We are then looking forward to our trip to Colorado over Labor Day weekend, should be nice and cool there! Cheers.

Top Gun Tri race report

Race went better than expected. When entrenched in ironman training and racing a sprint tri, one never truly knows how the body will respond. I do remember in my workouts on thurs and fri prior, I was breathing really hard with super heavy legs. I didn't expect anything great, just wanted to go out and give the hardest effort that I could. Woke up around 4:15am to get out of the house early and get to the race early (I'm anal about these things). Everything went fine, got our race packets then had to have one of the bike mechanics in the Outspokin tent run my gears because they were skipping with the race wheel on. No problem there, waited around a bit but got to catch up a bit with Donna S. Got to my rack which was filling up fast and found an acceptable spot. No racing Elite, I'm going for Master's victories now that I'm 40! There were only 3 girls signed up elite and, alot of times, my own age group is more competitive! We started with the men 40-44 which is always a clobberfest! I kind of got tripped up on the sand which slowed my entry into the water a bit but got my feet back underneath and headed for the turn bouy with everyone else. Getting around the bouy, I got a heel to the face and my goggles got popped off. I calmly stopped and emptied the salty water from them and sealed them back down and went on my way. I swam hard, only 1/4 mile so really a sprint! We had a bit of a current to swim into so the times were quite slow. I got out, didn't even look at my time just cruised into T1. I had no idea where I was place-wise because there were tons of other people exiting the water from prior waves. Got on the bike, gears working great, and tried to really hammer. I had my HR monitor on and, luckily, it worked on the bike (have Polar bike computer) but it didn't work the remainder of the race. Total waste! Oh well. It was the least windy day I can remember at Fort Desoto so really tried to keep my HR steady around 172 which was painful but it's only 10 miles! I really ride scared because the bike tends to be my weakest event and some of the girls in the age group are really fast riders. Got into T2 feeling pretty taxed but looking forward to nice, hot 5K run. Had my usual slow transitions - I just can't get my shoes on very fast. The run was 1/2 on sand and 1/2 on pavement; thankfully, the sand was first. I pushed pretty hard, probably too hard in the first mile (6:20-something) and really paid the next mile. I backed off a bit the next mile and tried to keep the tempo up in the last mile. I was really happy to see the finish though! I had no idea what position I was in but I did see who I thought was going to be my greatest competition in the age group behind me on the bike so hoped I got the win. I did win Master's (my first) and actually won overall the women with the fastest time overall. This was quite a shock to me because all of my training has been aerobic; my runs have been averaging over 9 minute miles to keep my HR down. I was really pleased how hard I was able to push myself while basically racing alone. The race was a lot of fun because we got to see a lot of people we haven't seen in a while. The Dane gutted out a top 5 in his age group which was one of the most competitive. Not bad for someone who hasn't gotten in any training in almost 2 weeks! We had a fun, relaxing weekend. Looking forward to getting back into voluminous training again this week in the final 12+ weeks to IM Florida. I can honestly say I'm pretty happy about my current fitness level. A good place to be at this time. Cheers!

More of the same...

I have been lazy in updating my blog recently. I guess because there is not much new going on and I don't think everyone wants to hear about my workouts week in and week out. I am happy to have the Dane back home - he was in Europe for the past week. Had a decent week of training last week. My runs are frustrating me a bit because I have to run sooooooo slow to keep my HR down to satisfy my coach. I have been doing my long runs on Monday after work and the temperatures have been in the low to mid 90's with heat index well above 100 degrees which jacks the HR even more! I have been getting it in though which is important. We have a race this weekend (Top Gun sprint tri)which will be interesting since we haven't raced since Florida 70.3 in May! I'm sure I have zero foot speed and am hoping I don't get thrashed. It's nice to change up the weekly training structure a bit and get in a race. I'm actually looking forward to racing and not being a slave to my stupid heartrate monitor. I'll update after the race. Ciao...

WEEKEND IN THE BLACK HILLS

We spent last weekend in Hot Springs, SD, for my nephew's wedding. My mother, aunt, siblings and various inlaws were there. It was quite fun but I'm only just now getting over the generalized fatigue which results from staying up way too late every night! I had planned to run a 10K in Chadron, Nebraska on Saturday morning with the Dane and my brother-in-law's brother. Got up just fine, gets light a little after 5am there! Drove an hour to the race site and started warming up about 20 minutes prior and had this really intense aching in both thighs. I couldn't even run through it and it was causing my knees to buckle. Weirdest thing. Hobbled back to the vehicle, sat down for 5 minutes and tried to jog around the parking lot but same problem. So, I took off the flats and decided I would watch (not fond of watching races). I stood on a corner with my Mother for about 30 minutes then decided to try and jog the course backwards to see where the Dane and Rich were and, viola, my legs felt quite a bit better. I decided to keep running and finally found them; luckily, there weren't very many running the 10K, most were doing the 5K, they were easy to spot. This course was quite hilly, no flats anywhere. As it turns out, the Dane went off the course and ran extra at the end because there wasn't much sineage out on the course (unfortunately, he was in 5th overall). I don't know what the problem was with my legs but it was fine after a few more hours. Oh well, I did get in a nice moderate hilly run in which was quite pleasant in dry heat and different surroundings. We got up early on Sunday morning to do an easy run through "town" and saw about 20 deer roaming around. Pretty cool. Got back late on Sunday night, had to run through O'hare to catch our connection, not fun in flip-flops but we and our luggage made it. Trying to get back into the swing this week, so far so good. I'll post some pics when I get a chance. The videos are hillarious but I don't know how to post that (probably just as well with this motley crew). Back to reality...

17 WEEKS TO GO

Had a pretty solid week of training this past week. Had five days of cycling, 4 swims, 3 runs and 2 weight sessions. I'm feeling pretty comfortable with running now and will add back the fourth run again since I don't feel any discomfort in the achilles any longer (although I'll keep icing, stretching, eccentrics). We have a bit of an abbreviated week this week as we'll be traveling to South Dakota for my nephew's weddding on Saturday. I haven't been there in quite a while, ?16 yrs. My sister found a 10K for us to run on Saturday morning which will be good but probably slow since most of my runs lately have been around 9 min/mile to stay aerobic in the heat! Well, I'll run as hard as I can and hopefully get a little fitness boost from the effort. We are strongly considering signing up for IM Austria next summer; have to sign up early because this one fills up pretty quickly. That would be a fun trip!

MARKALLENONLINE TRIATHLON CAMP REPORT

I signed up for this camp mostly, I'll admit, for the swim video analysis. I wasn't sure what I would get out of it otherwise but came with an open mind. Not that I know everything at all, but I am pretty familiar with the MAO training system after being involved with it for a little over a year now and having read a lot on the website. I already knew 4-5 of the people also participating which made it more fun. We met up Friday evening for bike fit lecture and actual fittings. I was the "demo" rider during lecture so that went by fast for me; plus Val had already done an excellent job with my fit last year I knew I didn't need any adjustments at this point. Saturday morning's ride started at 5 am for me as I wanted to be sure to get my long ride completed as the camp group was only planning to ride for 2 hours, I had >3 I needed to get in. I didn't sleep well on Friday night so my heart rate was elevated to begin with Saturday morning. No worries, nothing to prove here, I just let the front of the group go and rode on my own; afterall, I had 90 minutes in on my own prior to meeting up with the camp group. We rode South for an hour then turned around and rode back; I was able to hook back up with the front group and got a nice draft the rest of the way back, ahhhhh. Ended up with nearly 70 miles, a bit over scheduled time but rather over than under. After bike, we had swim lecture then a session in the pool. I figured this would be pretty low key but we ended up swimming fairly briskly for about an hour, I was ready for a break. We had another lecture in the afternoon then met up at a local track for run coaching. We were all pretty gassed by this point, especially considering the temp was well into the low 90's with a lot of humidity. We did a warm-up, some drills then some video taping which we viewed after dinner. That was a good session and informative as I haven't been videotaped running since high school! It turned out well, no real significant changes for me to make. Needless to say, I slept like a baby that night!
We had a long run scheduled for Sunday morning. Most of the group ran for an hour, I had 90 minutes on the program so did that. The Dane joined us and ran with the lone German participant which was good for both of them (they're in the same age group too). The run was slow, it was pretty warm even at 7am. I didn't blaze any trails but that's not the goal of the workout. I haven't felt any discomfort in the achilles this whole week so am pretty excited about that!! I did a quick 20-minute weight session after the run then we met back up for breakfast and more lectures. I was getting a lot out of the lectures and people were asking really good questions which Luis answered really well. We then headed back to the pool for swim videotaping. The taping was pretty comprehensive which was really informative. Luis could see a lot of us were making similar mistakes so had us work on some drills which we did Saturday as well. After lunch, we went back into the AC to review all the videos. I didn't have any major glaring issues, just some S-motion of one hand during my underwater pull - a big improvement from the last time I was videotaped 4/06! I had really improved on the things that I've been working on over the past year and hopefully it will pay dividends. We had one more lecture and then we were done. Overall, the camp was an excellent experience. I am planning to work with Luis a bit closer in my bid towards IM Florida in November because I want to get all I can out of the program and my body/potential. I think I will have a good go as long as I stay healthy and I'm doing better now with some TLC of my achilles. Back to reality now but much to look forward to.

18+ weeks

I haven't run since last blog, mostly because I am trying to keep the running to a minumum which will be 3 runs per week unless I get better. I have no pain in the achilles walking around or doing anything else (if I didn't run, I wouldn't even know I had a problem). I am doing stretching, massage, ice and eccentric exercises to pre-emp worsening. I find Donna and Rob's site very resourceful and have gotten a lot of info from there, thanks guys! We had our first official "long" ride of the IM campaign on Saturday. Went pretty well - four hours of aerobic nirvana. Sunday was my "moderate" ride of 2 1/2 hours and I felt really strong and recovered well from Saturday. I was glad to get back on the tri bike. I have done a couple modifications at the advice of the Dane and Val regarding my gearing and I think it will ultimately be a boost to my bike strength. I feel super confident that my bike will be good, especially since I still have 18 weeks to work on it! Hoping my body holds up for running! Later....
p.s. I got a cool little video camera (www.theflip.com) and plan to post some fun videos of training and what not. I'll have to figure out how to do it first but should be fun!

STARTING IM TRAINING........YEAH!

I love IM training. It's a chance to completely immerse onesself into long aerobic training efforts. The real challenge is finding the time for it all while working to pay the bills! I like the MAO program especially for IM training because it's systematic, appropriate and doable. I do have a few weekends this summer that I have to do other things (wedding, CME, etc) so I probably won't be racing very much because I want to get in as many long weekend training efforts as I can. I am nursing my left achilles a bit right now. I actually felt an ache in it after St Anthony's but didn't run a whole lot after that while tapering for Florida 70.3 so didn't think much of it. Took so much time after 70.3 too that I figured it would heal up. It's not a pain, more of a discomfort but bothersome nonetheless. So I am running, not a lot currently but doing the program. I'm icing, stretching and doing some eccentric exercises which I've read help. I have also scheduled an appointment with my podiatrist in a couple weeks in case it still is bothersome. I will say my chances at IMFL to place high in the AG are going to be limited if this keeps me from running for a prolonged amount of time but I'm thinking positively. Afterall, I qualified for Kona in '05 with limited running all year but it wasn't much fun! My basic training week set up for now goes as follows:
Monday - moderate swim am, long run pm->this may change back to Sunday
Tues - easy bike pm, weights afterwards
Weds - speed swim am, tempo run pm
Thurs - tempo bike, moderate run (will flip flop am/pm depending)
Fri - long swim am
Sat - long bike w/brick
Sun - moderate bike, moderate swim, weights (sun or thurs), easy run (or do fri)
You may notice a trend, 4 swims/bikes/runs, 2 lifts. All of the training at this point is aearobic, under MAHR of 146 (not easy when running in 90* heat!)

The Dane returns this weekend from a nearly two week stint working in Europe. I'll be happy when he's back! Happy summer!

We had a great time in Sarasota for Memorial weekend. Stayed at the Ritz-Carlton and were pampered which was really cool. The weather was perfect but the love bugs were annoying! I managed to get bronchitis shortly after that and have been dealing with that for the past week so no real training since before Florida 70.3. Not the end of the world but I hate being lazy! I think I'm coming out of it now so will try and get back in the pool tomorrow but will hold off running since that nearly killed me last night! Congrats to the folks who braved Hawaii 70.3! So, trying to get better and not get the Dane sick before he goes to Europe next week!! later....

FLORIDA 70.3 RACE REPORT

I had a good taper and really expected to have a good race. I didn't have the race I wanted but had some positives to take away with me. We got to the race site around 12:30 on Saturday so we could register, rack the bikes then check in to the hotel and relax. We stayed at the Contemporary Resort right across the lake which was nice. No issues with registration, went quickly. Glad we arrived early in the day because the bike racks were first come, first serve and a lot of bikes were already racked. I got an ok spot but the transition area seemed huge. We ate dinner at the hotel and I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible heartburn and didn't sleep well the remainder of the night. We walked to the race from our hotel which took about 30 minutes so that was a nice time to get the legs moving and get the motivational juices flowing. I was in wave #11 out of about 15 so way in the back of the pack. I put on my new Blueseventy Pointzero3 skin suit and toed the line with the other girls; we had the women 40-44 and 18-24 in our wave. I had an awesome start. Got out really quickly and felt good about that. I saw the girls on my left coming by and tried to stick to their feet but went too anaerobic doing this so I had to let them go - that was the demise of my race!! They got away from me and were too fast to catch up to later. I kept thinking how long the swim seemed but it went ok overall (everyone swam slower this year, ?long course). Since our wave was later, we had a ton of slower people to navigate through but I stayed pretty aggressive. I hit the beach and was shocked how slow my time was and immediately went into damage control. Got through transition pretty well and got on the bike and started hammering. It was quite windy, blowing about 10-20mph all morning. I have been doing plenty of speed work bike sessions in the wind at Fort Desoto and was glad for that. I rode really aggressively because I was so ticked about my horrible swim. The bike was pretty uneventful overall. A lot of slower riders to pass and some serious drafting trains coming around me from the men 30-39 AG's! I didn't see a race marshall all day but tried not to get concerned with other poeple not racing legally. I probably didn't drink enough on the bike but didn't have any real problems. I got into T2 and completely lost my rack! Eeeeek. I did find it right behind me eventually and got going on the run. I made sure to hit my watch out of T2 just to see how I was running the first few miles. I ran 6:47 for the first mile and felt pretty good, didn't feel too fast but I knew I would slow down. I quit looking at mile splits around mile 4 when I was averaging 7:05-7:10 pace. I had some good periods and some bad periods in the run but it went by relatively quickly. I knew the girl who ended up winning my AG was way out in front but I wasn't really aware of anyone else, just concentrated on my personal race. I ended up 4th which I wasn't happy about but I lost the race in the swim. The positive I took from the race was my bike, which was a little faster than last year under much tougher conditions (wind) and my run was a bit faster off the faster bike. I'm not going to lose sleep over a slow swim but will do underwater video session the end of June and try and improve my technique. I am really sore today and am glad I have only a four day work week before Memorial Day weekend! I'm going to take the next four weeks and get back into the gym a lot and try and ride a lot before we get into ironman training for IM Florida. I talked quite a few people about the race and most did around what they thought, not all. The Dane did pretty well, 10th in the AG and got a slot to Clearwater 70.3 World Championships (I declined my slot since IM Florida is a week prior). We had fun hanging out afterwards and trading war stories. Now, time for a little R&R!!

TAPER

We are well into tapering for Florida 70.3 this Sunday (be sure to tune in to ironman.com to follow along). I have a love-hate relationship with the taper. On the one hand, I'm happy to cut back on the training and not be tired constantly and worry about fitting workouts into my busy day. But, on the other hand I LOVE to train and I love to push myself in workouts. I will take the compromise of pushing myself in the race and be rested enough to do that. I will have my work cut out for me on Sunday but I plan to just focus on my race and not worry about those around me. I've had some really solid training with MarkAllenOnline and am confident in my fitness. In fact, I emailed Mark with some taper questions and he gave good answers to help me feel confident in what I'm doing. Imagine, the Grip himself answering all my neurotic questions! This program rocks! Hopefully, it will be hot but we're supposed to get a "cold" front today/tomorrow so who knows. Can't control the weather so I won't worry about it. Good luck to everyone who will be battling out there on Sunday. I got some nice Belgian beer from my surprise party to celebrate with afterwards (thanks May-Li)! Race strong everyone.....

FRIENDS...

It's late but I just wanted to say how completely grateful I am to have such wonderful friends. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now because the people I hold close to my heart were kind enough to show up and surprise me with a birthday party. I don't know what I did in life to deserve such wonderful people in my life but I do appreciate the fact they were there. Thanks to everyone and I was truly surprised!! Forty, here I come....................

HURRICANE MAN SWIM REPORT

Well, we hoped for better water conditions for this 2.4 mile open water swim, and we got them, sort of. The water was much less rough than last year, a little chop for the first mile then smooth. Unfortunately, the current was decent and going against us, especially the second half. I got out pretty good and got to the Don Cesar in about 26 minutes and thought I was going to PR here for sure. Well, I'm glad I never looked at my watch again because it would have killed my attitude as I ended up coming out of the water a little over a minute slower than last year. The good news is, so did everyone else I spoke with but most by more than a minute, more like 4-5 minutes. The good things I can take out of this swim are I kept pretty focused on my technique pretty much the whole way, didn't space out to much and stand up wondering how much further like last year. I got the household trophy back as I passed the Dane (who started 2 minutes ahead of me in men's wave) shortly after the halfway point. He jumped on my feet for a bit and I had visions of us coming out of the water together sprinting to the line in attempt to beat the other! Didn't happen, I put a little surge in after I passed him and he couldn't hang on to my feet. I navigated very well, swam pretty straight, to the point where I almost forgot I had to pop my head up every now and then to check where I was! I finished fourth again in my AG but don't really care about that. The Dane and I then embarked on our long ride which wasn't as long as it was scheduled because I got truly sick of doing loops inside Fort Desoto with a million vehicles whizzing by too close for comfort. We rode about 48 miles though, all aerobic, in the heat - good prep for Florida 70.3! After the ride we trotted out for 30 minute brick which was not much fun. It was a little after 1pm by this time, the sun high in the sky and baking us already. We ran pretty fast because I chose to ignore my "heart machine" (as Linda M. calls it!) and get it over with. Can I just say, it was pretty hot. Again, good prep for Florida 70.3 in two weeks. The good part comes next, celebrating Cinco de Mayo with a few Coronas looking at the beautiful Gulf with my favorite person. I love weekends here! Taper time is here......finally!

ST ANTHONY'S RACE REPORT

I haven't done this race in 6-7 years as far as I can recall but since I qualified for the elite amatuer division this year, I thought I would give it a shot. I knew there were going to be some blazing fast women in this group but didn't want that to detract from my goal of racing my own race. This was, afterall, a training race in my build up for Florida 70.3 in 3 weeks so didn't have any delusions of a high placing or anything. I wanted to get a good idea where my fitness was right now and compete as well as I could. Did a couple days pretty easy last week to allow my wrecked body chance to rest a bit for this race since I felt so bad at the last race two weeks ago. We spent a bit of time in Outspokin booth at the expo on Sat and this tired the legs out a bit but we wanted to help out since they sponsor us. Since I was in an early wave, we wanted to get down there pretty early to get set up and walk over to swim start. I ended up jogging to the swim start because I miscalculated how long it would take to walk over there! No worries. Wet suit on, lubed up, couple minutes in the water to situate the wet suit better and we were off. The weather was absolutely perfect for a race, we were really lucky with that! There were about 40 women in the wave so the start was super clean, no clobberfest like normal! I concentrated on my stroke mechanics and really never breathed hard during the swim, felt really good. I sighted well, swam straight but never got on any feet to draft so was pretty much on my own which would prove to be the theme of the day! I thought I could swim around 22 minutes if I was having a good day. If I hadn't had so much trouble getting up the steps, I would have broken 22! Very happy with the swim. Unfortunately, half the girls in my wave were already on the bike course. I basically did most of the bike all by my lonesome, worried about being on the right course at some points! This was nice but I would have liked to have a few people to pace off of! Oh well. Legs felt pretty tired on the bike but I really wanted to get under 1:10 and managed to accomplish that on my solo time trial (I was happy I did my speed bike workouts all by my lonesome at Fort Desoto)! When I got off the bike, my quads were cooked! I went into auto pilot for the first part of the run, even though I wanted to try and run with Cosgrove who was in front of me. I managed to keep the pace under 7:00/mile which wasn't fast but ok for how I felt. I finished in 2:16 for 15th in the elite category (placing went higher due to a couple DQ's). I am happy because this is a huge PR for me and I kept competing and pushing even though I had nobody to really key off of which can be difficult mentally. Today I feel really sore so I know I raced hard. I don't have the best swim, bike or run but I feel I'm getting to be pretty even in all three which is what I have been working on. I have a relatively hard training week this week then will start into 2-week taper for the half ironman on 5/20. We are planning to do a 2.4 mile open water swim race on Sat which should be fun, if that's possible! Congrats to everyone who raced on Sunday, it was a great day!

FEELING GOOD AGAIN

Well, I've gotten over the disappointing race at Fort Desoto and have had some good workouts since then. Most notably, during the past weekend. Rode in the hills Saturday for a little over 80 miles at a steady clip with a small group and felt pretty strong. I rode conservatively (because of St Anthony's triathlon 4/29) but felt strong on the climbs, flats and in the wind. I did a 30 minute brick solo afterwards and felt pretty strong there too, about 4.2 miles covered. I broke a cardinal rule of training with the MarkAllenOnline program and forgot my HR monitor but it was nice just to listen to my body and instead of constantly staring at my heart rate! On Sunday, I ran 1:50 aerobic run and felt quite good. I was able to hold much faster average pace with same aerobic heart rate as compared to previous runs this Spring. Things are looking up! Like I said, we have St Anthony's tri this coming Sunday which is a huge race. It is not my goal race so not much taper for this but I feel good about my fitness right now in build up for the half ironman in May. I have chosen to race in the new elite amateur division which is quite stacked so my goal is to stay within myself and race my own race and see what happens. The Dane is back from Denmark and all is right with the world on this, our six-month anniversary! It's sushi night! Yum..

I just want to say how disturbed I am for the families that have lost loved ones at Virginia Tech. I don't know any of them personally but feel terrible just the same. I have watched the video of the young man that committed these terrible murders and am saddened for all of them. Seems to me something could have been done as there were numerous warning signs. None the less, we deal with tragedy and, hopefully, move on. I am lucky to go on with 'life as usual' and do my work and my training and complain about races. I am lucky. Thank and hug the ones you love as much as possible because you can, while they're here. I do think of this often and try to do it as much as possible but get 'caught up', as we all do. So, to my friends and family, never forget I love you and think of you often. Peace...

N JOUR SANS

For those of you who don't speak French, like myself, I'll translate.........."A DAY WITHOUT". That describes my race today. I would end my blog there but then you all would hang at the ends of your collective seats and I don't want that. Yah, right! Kidding, of course.
I had a little, well, mishap, stupid kind of injury that occurred on my Wednesday run that affected the rest of my week and my mental psyche for this race. No excuses and I won't discuss this further unless it becomes an issue in my training for my actual goal race, IM FLORIDA 70.3. None the less, I decided to race in the elite wave for this race because, time-wise, I was third overall last year and won my AG by quite a bit last year and feel I'm in better shape at this time. However, I'm doing a different program this year with max-weight sessions and hard speed sessions currently. I am probably more fatigued than I like to admit to, being someone who enjoys training until I drop. Unfortunately, I will be 40 in a month and it's possible that my body is not hip to this to the same degree any longer......that doesn't stop me from trying! Anyway, I wasn't sure that I was going to race until I got in a good warm up run this morning and felt things weren't 100% but good enough for a C race. I had a decent swim (.5 miles), 3rd overall, which is quite an achievement for a former non-swimmer such as myself! I'll suffice to say it went all downhill from there. I felt absolutely horrible on the bike (10miles), worst ever, I can honestly say. Got passed by girls that shouldn't be anywhere near me and dealt with it, thinking all along, I'll see you on the run. Not happening..... I got off the bike and it didn't get any better, only worse. The run, for me, was more of the same.......LACTATE NIRVANA. The run is usually my strength but today was just a prolongation of agony. I had no race gears, no pep, no body. It was like my mind wasn't connected to my body. Asking for more power but the body said no with authority. So, I took what the day and body gave and was extremely happy that this was my C race and not my A race! I've beaten myself up enough about being beaten by those who normally don't beat me and will take this as a good workout and a good assessment of my current swim fitness, which I feel isn't too bad. Got to take positive out of every situation......even though I hate losing! I will regroup, recover, reassess, retreat (not really) and really get onto the business of getting my ass in proper condition for IM FLORIDA 70.3. Don't lose hope, I haven't.....and never will!!!!!!!

APRIL ALREADY?

Hard to believe it's April already. The unofficial beginning to the tri season in our area is one week away at Escape From Fort Desoto Sprint Tri. It's a big traditional first race for most around here. I'm looking forward to it for several reasons. For one, I enjoy racing, it breaks up the training and gives me some handle on where my fitness is currently. Two, I get a little break in training which I likely need! Swam 5000 yards this morning before work which is the most I've ever swam at one time! I calculated out, it's 2.84 miles of swimming. When I looked ahead in my MAO program several weeks ago and saw I had a couple 5000 yard swims I just laughed and thought, "no way am I going to be able to do that"! Note to self, never underestimate the program! Obviously, I've built the yardage up enough to be able to tackle this volume in a single workout which is one of the great things about this program. I never would have done this type of yardage on my own but, being a runner prior to my tri career, I understand about doing overdistance training. I never really did that swimming but did running and cycling. The great thing about overdistance swimming is it doesn't take a huge toll on the body as do running and, somewhat, cycling. And, it doesn't take a ton of time as the others. I finished the workout in less than 90 minutes, got ready for work in 20 minutes and out the door! Thank goodness the Dane makes lunch for me everyday! I'm so lucky! I'm on track for a 16,000 yard swim week, which is a lot for me. I need to improve my times out of the water to better compete with the girls that are at the pointy end of the age group! I think my cycling is improving and my run training is going well. All of this leaves me excited for the upcoming races. Unfortunately, we are getting a cold front this weekend so not going to ride in the hills Saturday because it's going to be too cold. Oh well, it's a swim-focus week anyway. I think the long swim for Ironman build with MAO is 6000 yards (which I never did in prep for IM Hawaii, mistake) and now I feel like I can definitely do that volume as long as I can find the time! Wish the days were about 26 hours long! LIVE FULL, DIE EMPTY! (my new favorite saying)

TOUGH WEEK

I looked ahead in my MAO program last week and saw that this week was going to be tough. Not only was I coming off a race but beginning speed work and power work in the weight room. We decided to try to do bike speedwork in Fort Desoto (instead of the trainer), site of many races and beautiful park to just spend time in. Did that onTuesday which was windy, almost as much as the race on Sat! Got going around 6:15 pm and rode hard speedwork for about an hour total then went for sushi after which was a nice treat. Did run speedwork on Weds PM which, for some reason, I found quite tough. I pushed myself probably too hard, which, normally, is not an issue. Went to the gym afterwards for weights and had a stiff/sore neck. Didn't really think too much of it since Advil relieved it. Actually, comparing to last summer when I did the same speed session gearing for IM Hawaii, I was running faster this time but suffered to do it! Got up on Thursday 4:30 for 1:15 run in the quiet of the early morning and felt not too terrible, just slow to keep the HR down. I started to notice my body not feeling right, neck sore and some blemishes on my face and knew I was getting some recurrence of the shingles I had the same time last year. I don't know why but I must be pushing things a bit and work has been a bit of stress, but I never use that as an excuse. So, we decided not to go to the hills Sat and rode here instead. Luckily, it was quite breezy for our ride so it was a good 3.5 hr effort with nice brick afterwards. Our long run today, 2 hours, felt quite special but we actually knocked it out better than the last one we did. This week proved to be quite tough and one that, if we recover well, will definitely elevate our fitness. I remarked to the Dane as we embarked on our 2 hour, 14.6 mile aerobic run this morning that, I never used to train this much for an Ironman, much less a half Ironman (before last summer and the MAO progam)! So, things are rolling along. My health is a bit on the razor's edge but that's training as working age-grouper. I'm feeling a bit better and expect to be quite well for the upcoming week. My Jayhawks are out, but the Gators are still in so Final Four is one to watch again this year. Go Gators!

FIRST TRI OF '07

Well, the first tri of the '07 season was interesting to say the least. I signed up elite because there was prize money and you never know who will/won't show up to contest it. I also wanted to get a chance to race out front in this new race (international distance tri at Ft Desoto) and, since I made the qualifying time to do this, why not? Anyhow, the weather was the story of the day. We had a front come through on Friday which made Saturday morning quite windy (20-25mph) which is always worse at the Fort. It was also quite chilly, around 62* at home. The good thing was that the water temp was near 70*! The race directors were trying to decide whether to cancel the swim and make everyone do a duathlon which is not what I wanted to do and I sure whined about it! The problem was the water was quite rough with serious current. The powers that be decided to cut it to 1/2 mile (from .9 mile) and just walked us up the beach so we could swim back with the current which I was happy with. So, we finally got going in the "swim". There wasn't much actual swimming for me as I was just getting clobbered by waves then trying to dolphin-dive back out into deep enough water to try and swim some more; this was killing my legs! Got out of the water, happily, with numb feet to take on the wind on the bike. I was happy that the Dane suggested using my Zipp 303 on the front because I was able to spend more time in the aerobars being able to control the bike in the cross winds. Out of the water behind 3 other girls, I had a sluggish start on the bike for some reason but rode the second loop much stronger, into T2 in second. I charged out of T2 with still numb feet in attempt to catch the next competitor. I was able to catch her just after the first mile split and didn't look back. I was able to catch up to the Dane on the second loop ( he passed me on the bike with an awesome ride) and we ran together for a bit. I tried to press on not wanting to be caught by anyone and was elated to cross the finish line as the first woman. The Dane was very gracious not to try and outsprint me at the end which was wonderful of him! We did hear from someone who GPS'd the run that it was closer to 7 miles than the scheduled 6.2 which explains the slow run splits. I was really happy to win this race and feel my fitness is in a good place with a lot of room for improvement still having not begun speedwork yet. I didn't get to see where my swim was too much because of the conditions but it was good enough. We start speed work this week in the build up towards Florida 70.3 and hopefully this will give a further boost to the run and bike fitness. I feel stronger than I did at this time last year and have the MarkAllenOnline program to thank, it's paying off already! We were able to celebrate a bit with friends for St Paddy's Day and slept in today which rarely happens! Thanks to everyone who gave me words of encouragement it all helps! Next race is Escape from Fort Desoto on 4/15 which is the traditional "beginning" of the tri season and one of the funnest races of the year. Hope everyone had a fun St Paddy's day, we sure did.

BACK TO THE FORT

Seems like the weeks are just flying by. Pushing the clock ahead one hour doesn't help this perception! Anyway, last weekend we did a ride to Fort Destructo (also know more commonly as Fort Desoto). We enjoy this ride because we can get in some true solo TT (Time Trial) work in the Fort without fearing being run over or stopping for lights! The TT loop is about 10 miles, flat and always windy. Not much "true" TT work due to my HR restrictions as I am abiding to my Mark Allen Online HR zones, but still some good work into the wind. When I finished the TT loop, I stated to the Dane and Marky Mark that that was the most enjoyable loop I've ever done there! I can say that only because I'm usually only racing (and in pain) there and it isn't pleasant. We have done other training there as well but I haven't been back since seriously following the HR ceilings in my program. I will say that I felt a bit stronger and didn't mind the wind as much and, consequently, had a much more positive experience as a result. I would call that progress, mentally if nothing else. We'll see this weekend as we have a race at the Fort on St Paddy's day. It's an "almost" Olympic distance race (the bike is 23 miles, not the standard 25). I am looking forward to racing in my new 2XU wetsuit which I just got; did an short open water swim on Monday with it and loved it. So far, so good. Water's cold but not too bad, 67* now. We do have a front coming through the next couple days so the weather could be interesting. It'll be windy, always is. The water may be rough but it's rough for everyone. I'm looking forward to racing and leaving my HR monitor at home! Happy St Paddy's Day.....and GO JAYHAWKS & SEMO (in womens NCAA Tourney (and Gators)!

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE.....blah, blah, blah

Last weekend (I'm getting lazy with this blog thing), we went back to the hills for 3 hour scheduled ride. It was finally not too cold so decided no time is too early to start riding out in the sticks, plus we are getting sick of our local sites, or lack thereof. Anyhow, haven't been to the hills since probably September of last year so this was going to be difficult, for me anyway. We had a nice, small, sane group (I know, hard to believe) so that was nice. I didn't obey my MAHR because this is truly impossible for me going uphill with any speed. I also don't know my way around and it's easy to get lost so getting dropped from the others was not an option. We took a different way back to add on about an hour after about 30-something miles and it was really fun. The wind was howling and the hills were solid with some steady climbs. I was jacked because it reminded me so much of Kona, without the heat. Here, I dropped back from the main group to have, invite if you will, the wind into my face and actually enjoyed it. Riding into the wind is a skill and attitude has everyting to do with how you approach it. It can be very defeating if you let it get into your psyche and taunt you, however, it can be powerful to look at it in a different light and embrace the fact that you are getting stronger just for the wind being there. This will only really make sense (or not) to those who ride and especially to those who have ridden in Hawaii. 20-30 MPH winds here are a "nonwindy" day in Hawaii, in my experience. So, I've gotten into a new place in my psyche (scary) and plan to work on that and embrace the wind with this newfound joy. Wonder how long this will last! I truly feel my experience in Kona last October will strengthen me in many ways. I look forward to our trip to the hills this weekend, weather permitting. Like the Dane says "the wind is your friend".....unless it's in the form of a hurricane, tornado, blizzard, etc!

BRRRRRR WEEKEND

I know, it's nothing compared to you sorry souls north of where I am but for us, it was downright cold. Coldest ride of the winter on Saturday. If you dress right, it's not so bad but my poor feet always suffer no matter how much protection I give them. Anyway, did 3.5 hour ride with a 30 minute brick on Sat which was pretty good. Sunday was a 11.2 mile (1:35) run in the 20-30 mph winds, then a short swim (cut short because I was freezing) then weights. All in all, a good training weekend. Feel pretty tired but that's what's supposed to happen. The Dane was with me for all the workouts as usual and we suffered the cold together! So anyhow, more base training to come and hopefully, not much more cold temps! We'll be following the Tour of California on Versus for the next couple weeks, itching to watch some good bicycle racing again! Stay warm.....
P.S. I'm really not that heavy! All those clothes are not flattering to the figure!

CHILLY WILLY DU

Did Chilly Willy (www.chillywillydu.com)again this year and was able to squeek out another overall female victory but it wasn't easy. I figured I had a big target on my back this year and really wanted to defend my win from last year. I had a good opening run (5k) and went onto the bike (10 miles) with a lead but not very much of a lead. I lost that lead at around 6-7 mile mark (can't remember exactly when) and lost it bad! I have been riding the trainer quite a bit (see last post) and this leaves my legs quite tired which showed on the bike! I can run just fine with tired legs but pushing over big gears into the wind I don't do so well with tired legs! Anyway, the girl who passed me got a bit of a gap (probably 30+ seconds) which I had to deal with on the second run (another 5k). She is a good runner too so I really had my work cut out for me. The run route is on pavement for the first half and sand (some soft and some packed) for the second half. I'm not a very good sand runner so my plan was to run hard the first half of the second run and hold on for the second half in the sand. I managed to catch her just as we hit the sand and she held on pretty well. I went into the well pretty deep to hold the lead and won by only 6 seconds! Close battle......again! I hope this isn't how the whole season is going to go! I'm glad I was able to defend from last year. I think my fitness this early is pretty good and right about where it should be for mid-Feb so I'm happy about that. The Dane came in 5th overall (I was 12th overall for the whole field of 200++) which he did mostly on the bike because he came off the first run right behind me and rode like a madman on the bike! He did very well and I'm proud of him. Overall, a good race for both of us I think. The next race will be a new Olympic distance tri (1.5k swim/40k bike/10k run) at Fort Desoto on March 17th (one of my favorite holidays, St Pattie's). Looking forward to getting my new wetsuit (2XU) and trying it out on a few open water swims before then. Until then, will continue to slog away in the aerobic training zone! Looks like it's paying off!

WEEK OF TRAINER RIDES

Last week did all of my rides (only did 3, not 4 as scheduled) on the trainer. I used to be the person who would never ride the trainer because, for one, it's harder physically (no breaks) and also because it's tougher mentally (staring at the walls). I have become at peace with my Tacx Flow trainer and we are now quite friendly. I have to say, if not for Spinervals (I must have the entire library) I probably would never be able to write this! I'm starting to really feel recovered from last season and motivated for 2007. Sounds crazy that it took a few months but I think that's normal considering the level at which I competed at the end of the season (age is also a factor). Anyway, I get good quality rides on the trainer and I can be sure to stay under my MAHR because I control the intensity every moment. I did 2:10 on Sat due to rain outside and really didn't have a problem being on that long. I did feel it in my legs, of course, but mentally handled it well. Good signs. This weekend, we have the Chilly Willy duathlon which is fun. I have won it twice and would like to win again but it all depends on who shows up! Either way, I will compete as hard as I can and do the best I can. I found a new triathlon on St Patrick's Day at Fort Desoto, Olympic distance, which I think I will put into my schedule as a good prep for Florida 70.3 in May. Long run Sunday was 1:35 and my avg HR was good and low. The Dane got back last Friday so that was excellent to have him home! I'll report back after Chilly Willy.

NOTHING NEW

Nothing special going on this past weekend. The Dane left on Saturday for Europe for a week so on my own for this week. We had a nice ride Sat, 3 hours in the saddle. I kept it under my MAHR except for the brief spike when we almost got sideswiped by some old guy in an SUV! For those wondering, MAHR means Maximum Aerobic Heart Rate which is the basis of most of the Mark Allen Online training. I'm trying to be more compliant with it this winter. Not as hard on the bike as it is on the run! I ran 9 miles in the cool wind on Sunday which was pretty boring by myself. By mile 5, I could feel the soreness from the 1/2 marathon last weekend - not totally recovered yet! Swimming was chilly this morning. I had one good session last week where I felt things were coming around in the water but now I feel back to slogging away mode! Need to add more swims but don't have the facility or time this point. We're working on that for February. Stay warm....

JANUARY HALF MARATHON

http://www.clearwaterhalf.info/

I wanted to write this while I still had the fresh sting of pain in my legs. Let's just say any worries I had about losing my mental toughness after last weekend's 10K are gone. We (the Dane and I) always treat this half marathon as a catered long training run. We're typically not prepared, ie. no long runs, for it and just want to measure anyway. Unfortunately for us, others are quite prepared for this "race". I use the term "race" losely however, I raced until the last inch of this one. You see, I ran toe to toe, shoulder to shoulder with one of my biggest tri AG competitors Sharon B. for whom I have the utmost respect. We started the race and ended it together and pushed each other the entire way and took no prisoners the whole time. I would not have pushed as hard if it wasn't her on my shoulder but I felt the need to represent, if you will. She is one classy competitor and neither one of us wanted to "win" over the other after the 13.1 miles we covered together but,someone had to outsprint the other and I have clearly lost any footspeed I once had!! The best part is we both had a big smile at the finish and she actually apologized for winning this battle. Class act in my book. The reason I mention mental toughness is that we began the race with a solid 7 minute per mile pace which I, personally, knew I wasn't prepared to handle but was willing to stick with my racemate as long as she was willing. We held this until about mile 11 when the stiff headwind and final bridge became a cruel reality and we both were suffering and slowed. The final stretch was pretty funny because I tried to actually sprint but I am far from the days of 58 second 400meters and it showed. We took one and two in the AG so it's all good. In the end, after talking to her, we both elevated our effort above what we felt was possible on the day and we will both improve for the effort in the long run. So, thanks to Sharon B. for pushing me today. I still believe so greatly in the aerobic training that I'm doing through Markallenonline.com and will continue to swear by it. I ran almost one minute faster than last year with less actual running mileage and ALL of it being aerobic other than two 10K's. Props to all who showed up today and bettered themselves on a tough, windy day. The Dane was the proud winner of his AG.......I'm not worthy! So, will try and recover from this and move on to the next challenge, Chilly Willy Duathlon which is super hard/fun. I hope that everyone gets to challenge their own previously determined barriers, it's painful but well worth it.........

I MADE THE TEAM!!

I was so happy to find out this morning that I was accepted (or invited, if you will) to the MarkAllenOnline.com elite triathlon team for 2007. I really wanted to get on this team but didn't know if I'd make it because they have so many really fast girls in/around my AG. I really believe in the coaching system they have put together and am using it again this year. We'll see how everything goes. Yipee!

ANOTHER 10K

This one didn't feel very good. Ran in the St Pete Beach Classic 10K on Saturday hoping to see some improvement in my fitness although I haven't done anything other than aerobic work the past month or so (running-wise). I did run a little bit faster than the 10K in Dec but really had problems with side stitches again which really slows me down. I ran 41:19 but really didn't feel very good. I was 8th overall woman but only fourth in my AG, tough going! I did run a little faster at a lower average heart rate so I guess that means my engine is improving, who knows. I'm starting my Peak Performance program with Markallenonline.com this week, 18 weeks out from Florida 70.3. Decided to scrap IM Coeur d'Alene due to the Dane's heavy work commitments and will do IM Florida in Nov which we're already signed up for. We may do Buffalo Springs 70.3 in June instead which is pretty competitive and does have a few Kona slots. So, I have a schedule to follow now but am quite sore today so today's run will get moved to tomorrow. We have a 1/2 marathon this coming Sunday which I'm looking less forward to after this 10K but it's just a long-run workout.

THA SISTAHOOD

So, you are curious about the title of this blog, you should be. The Dane and I are watching his favorite program, NOVA. They are showing a program about Great White sharks in the so-called red triangle off the California coast. There were two female great white sharks who seemed to hunt together which is unusual for the species. They were referred to as the 'sisterhood'. This struck me for some reason. As a fierce competitor, I envy the predatory nature of this animal and would love to mimic my racing in this fashion. I then decided I should coin a phrase, if you will. "The sisterhood" came about in my mind as catchphrase for 2007. Girls, jump aboard if you dare. Seeking only those who wish to fulfill the predatory racing spirit of the Great White. It's all about the spirit, not necessarily how fast you race. Just race and live with passion to improve yourself, as I do on daily basis. I hope to see more of my Sisters down the road.... Let's all improve ourselves in '07 and have our best year ever!

HOLIDAYS 2006

We just got back from spending 3 fabulous days in Ponte Vedra Beach (near Jacksonville) relaxing and spending time with some of my favorite people. I got to spend time with my old college roommate/best girlfriend and her husband/sister/mother and the Dane got meet these great people. We had a wonderful time there and the place that we stayed (Ponte Vedra Inn & Club) was really pleasant. It's hard to describe when you meet back up with people that you haven't seen for some time and it's like you were never apart! We really had a nice time and a "honeymoon" of sorts as the Dane's father stated, funny! We had a really nice week off (work) between X-mas and New Years and did some good training. I am starting back with Markallenonline.com Jan 1st, so had a chance to crank up the miles/yardage this last week of '06. Swimming four days straight last week was hard but essential in getting "back into the program" so to speak! I look forward now to getting back into a healthy training/eating routine! Went a little off track with the eating/socializing the past couple weeks but it was fun and well worth it! My toast on New Years was to remembering a great '06 and to a better '07. 2006 will be hard to top in my book but I have a lot of things on the schedule and really look forward to having an enjoyable and successful time in '07. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays even half as much as I did and looking forward to wonderful things in '07! Happy New Year to all, set your goals high!

EARLY MOTIVATION TO BECOME STRONGER!

On the trainer already after, what, about 6 weeks from 70.3 World Championships (add three weeks from Kona). I always feel this is a good time of year to, first, relax and second, work on weaknesses. One of my major weaknesses that I always seem to be behind on (even though I DO improve a little every year) is bike power/strength. So, my goal for now is to do the big gear work at least once per week on the trainer. It's very difficult physically but my motivation is coming back around after a successful '06 race season. I got a good tip from Lisa Bentley's husband about one of my fav short course athlete's (Emma Snowsill) workouts so I'm pretty focused on this type of training. I haven't ever really stuck to big gear work so I'm more committed to it this winter. I will continue longer, aerobic miles on the road since the weather is usually cooperative, unlike Colorado! Glad I'm not there right now! Swimming is hard again. It's amazing how quickly swim fitness goes down the drain but that's what I get for being a runner! We'll get in a good week next week because the Dane and I will be off and can get to the pool four days, at least.
I hope everyone has a safe holiday weekend and gets to spend it with someone they love, I will!

10K'S ARE HARD!

Can't remember the last time I ran a 10K (open, not in a tri) but I think it was 5 years ago. I ran the same race this year, although the course was a bit harder because the little draw bridge from 5 years ago was replaced with a monster bridge. So, I guess I should be happy that I ran faster this year than in 2001! You won't see my name in the results though because this is an annual bandit race - I like to say I just didn't get there early enough to register, sounds good. Anyway, leading up to this race, I have only been running 3-6 miles at a pop at around 8:30 pace for the most part, which is my aerobic pace right now. I didn't place myself up front at the start as I didn't have a race number on and didn't want to get lectured by the race management. This ended up being a real pain because when the gun went off, I was stuck behind a large group of joggers and had to meander around them for the first several minutes up the bridge. I finally was able to get in a good pace by the top of the bridge. My only goal for this race was to try and break 43 minutes. I don't know what I was basing this on, just sounded like a good number. Anyway, I had some pretty bad side stiches after the first couple miles which I was clicking off at 6:36/mile pace so had to slow down a bit. I ended up running about 41:40 which I was really pretty happy with. My average heart rate was 177 which was a solid tempo effort. I was happy with the fact that I competed well also. I ended up running the last mile or so with a couple of really fast girls and toughed it out pretty good. I was limited mostly cardiovascularly but my legs felt pretty good the whole way. It's a long way off my PR, but I'm pretty sure I won't be getting anymore run PR's! The next thing on the schedule is another 10K and a half marathon in January. Looking forward to these because it's nice to run hard every now and then during base phase which gets a little boring. Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU!

Ok, so I've just watched the NBC coverage of IM Hawaii. I am passionate about this sport so it touches me. I am not normal. Nobody who knows me will argue that!! It's now safe to say, watching this coverage, the first one I've competed in, I am more motivated to return than I was to get there in the first place! I didn't think that was possible. That is hard to believe because I was hellbent on getting to Kona and didn't care what happened after that! Words mean nothing, action is the only thing. In this sport, that is a cruel reality. I am so inspired by stories that I hear. I think that is what will keeps me in this sport as long as my body will allow! I love Desiree's happiness, Michellie's readiness, Natascha's professionalism, Jo's candidness and Lisa's absolute determination. I've had the pleasure of meeting Michellie and Lisa and have had conversations with them. I don't know if any other sport allows that closeness to the elites as triathlon and that's part of the sport that is so cool. I also have met a few other pro's but these two individuals stick out in my mind. They are really nice, "regular" people I've really rooted for them and they are awesome! I appreciate that Desiree is a college runner, as am I, and only "just" learned to swim seven years ago! Wish I had that kind of talent!
The Dane has left for Europe for a week and I am alone to fend for myself, yikes! I realize how much he means to my whole life now, more so when he's gone. We have had a good week of run frequency, swim technique and bike when we can. The goal in December is to recover and have time together, training is sencondary. But...
I am sappy, I am inspired by the stories that are shown. I think, you have to be dead if you aren't inspired to be better than you are! I hope that we all can be better than we already are now. I'm already planning on it......are you???....

All I can say is that the Gators should get a chance for the national championship. I can pontificate on why I come to this conclusion but the Dane is tired of hearing it so I'm sure others will be also! We rode the mountain bikes today locally (no real trails) which was fun. We saw a fox den and a hawk hunting a smaller bird (they almost ran into me) and some other cool birds. We want to do more mountain biking on more trails when the Dane gets his whole set up squared. It's so much fun! Ran six miles off the mountain bike and felt pretty good. A little impatient with the "aerobic training zone" since it was unseasonably warm (sorry for those of you freezing in the Northing states) but got through it fine. Ended up running five days this week, started back swimming and with the weight room - I have some serious issues in leg strength! Plan to fix that! GO GATORS!!

OH, THE SORENESS AND SWIM DREAMS

Amazingly enough, I still have some calf soreness from Turkey Trot a week ago! Wow, didn't think I ran all that hard. At least I don't have the quad soreness also like the Dane! That's why I bailed from the 10K! We started back in the pool today also, 5AM. ughhhh. It wasn't too hard to get up this morning though because I was dreaming about the swim at St Anthony's! More like a nightmare, you'd think! I actually bit the bullet and signed up for St. A's. I haven't done that race in several years due to concerns I have over massive congestion on the bike course. For 2007, however, the RD created a new division, "elite age group division". I happen to have a qualifying time for this division and, since this wave goes off before the masses, congestion shouldn't be a problem. So, I no longer have any excuses. I will likely get my rear end handed to me but it will be a B race, afterall. I will be prepping for Florida 70.3 race in May and, hopefully, Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June (if I win an entry from Florida 70.3). We'll see. More on the 2007 schedule to come.

TURKEY TROT REPORT

We decided we were not too sore anymore to do the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. Didn't do anything all week prior except a 3-mile run on Weds morning for a quick quad check. Nope, not sore anymore. I decided to run the 5K because I don't think I have the motivation for a 10K at this point. It was chilly at the start, low 50's, but perfect for running. Lined up at the front with the rest of the mob and off we go. The first mile is mostly a gentle down hill which levels off in places but is a straight shot. Went through there in 6:05. What! What am I doing running that fast when all my training all summer and fall was slower than 8-min/mile pace. Oh well, my legs felt pretty good but I was starting to breathe hard around mile 2, 12:35... slowing down now! Figured at that point I could break 20 minutes if I don't slow down anymore, easier said than done! I did manage to come in at 19:56 which I was very happy with. I haven't gone under 20 minutes for a 5K in a few years. Yipee, another coffee mug (award for top 100) to stack in the cupboard. The Dane ran well also, getting close to going under 19 minutes. He decided to run the 10K also and I figured I would start it really slow and stop if I didn't feel great. I got injured two years ago getting greedy with both races to I'm pretty cautious about that now. I turned off the jets after going through the 2-mile marker and ran back to the start in time to see him finish. All in all, another fun event to kick off Turkey Day which we spent with the Tavenese crew, feeding us awesome food as usual. I'm pretty sore in the calves now so we will just be riding through the weekend, no running until Monday. Then, I'll start just doing some shorter (4-6 miles) runs most days of the week. Have to get back in the pool eventually, probably not this week though. December training will consist of running frequency to keep the legs durable, weekend riding, and back in the pool in another week or so. Gotta go and work on the garage, our project for this weekend. GO GATORS!

POST IRONMAN/IRONMAN 70.3 WORLD

So it's really weird to take five full days off and just go to work every day like regular folk. I have actually accomplished a few household chores with all the extra time. Nothing exotic, just things like laundry, hanging some little curtains, replacing old flag pole holder, etc. It's the small things sometimes! We did ride about 24 miles yesterday followed by a 3-ish mile run which wasn't terribly pleasant due to deep seeded quad fatigue that reared it's ugly head. It was cold this morning, about 48*, but we got out for a 40-mile ride anyway and tried running again. No surprise there, the quads are still sore/tired. Lucky for me, I have a massage tomorrow after work. I may get in one short run before Turkey Trot on Thursday but who really cares. I'm not going to have any running PR's for some time now, I think! Turkey Trot is just for fun though......that's what I keep reminding myself! Can't wait for the long weekend upcoming! Stay safe!
p.s. the picture above is from the Mauna Lani resort just north of Kona

MY CLEARWATER IRONMAN 70.3 RACE REPORT.

The three weeks leading from IM Hawaii and Clearwater 70.3 were pretty dull. Hardly any workouts, lots of eating and trying to recover from Ironman to do a half - something I've certainly never done nor would volunteer for if it wasn't so close to home! I did do a couple sharpening workouts the week leading up to 70.3 and whenever I tried to go hard/fast, I felt fatigue pretty much immediately. Safe to say I'm glad this race wasn't an Olympic distance tri! The atmosphere in Kona will never be beat in my mind but it's a special place that cannot be replicated. I will give the organizers for 70.3 credit in that they really did put on a show for the world. Other than sleeping in my own bed before the race, it really seemed to have the feel of a big time event. It was rather hard to motivate nonetheless due to peaking (physically and emotionally) 3 weeks prior. But, my goal was to enjoy the experience and go as fast as I possibly could. I accomplished both.

Race morning was pretty normal except for the fact that I must have seen a million people that I know which made it less of a serious thing for me. I did try to focus on the fact that I was going to experience something different for me (doing the double) and would handle my body as well as I could in the moment. It was pretty cool that they had a jumbo-tron out on the beach by the start so, being in the last wave, I could watch the pros throughout the entire swim. Very motivating. I ended up getting carried away watching this before I realized that my wave (all age group women, approx 430 of us!)was already lining up on the beach. Duh. I pushed my way through a bit but could only get as far as third deep from the front. No worries, this would separate out a bit on the run in to the water. It did. Nowhere near the brutal start of Kona, actually rather pleasant considering the number of women in the wave. I figured I could swim under 32 min but truly had no gage for this. Swam alone for the most part but found some quick feet to ride some of the way back which was nice because we were on top of the slower men 45 + wave that left 5 min before us. Navigating that slowed us down a bit but I got out of the water sub 31 minutes which was a new PR for me. Revenge for the horribly slow swim in Kona! Into transition, memorized where my gear bags and bike were and got to them pretty quickly. There was very little wind on the bike course but plenty of traffic, bikes and cars. I do have to mention the draft packs were to worst I've seen in any race, including Ironman. I, personally, didn't see one draft marshall on the road but I heard from others that they were out there. It was actually difficult NOT to draft as these huge groups would come up on you and pull you along until you could just coast off the back. I was pretty paranoid of crashes with the large packs and narrow lane we had to ride in so I really made an effort to stay out of the groups.......also, it's illegal to draft. Enough about that except that the Dane had a few of our AG girls in some of the packs up near him and he had a hard time dropping them trying to ride off the front. Other than that, the bike ride was uneventful. It was a fast course, mostly flat with no wind, so I managed to PR on the bike as well. I had no idea what this would do to my run but I just wanted to go as hard as I could and if I blow, then so what...I could always walk! T2 went smoothly also, volunteers were truly awesome. Out to the run course. Took a bit until the legs came around but ran a surprising 6:58 for the first mile but felt slower. Was very excited to see Craig Alexander coming in for his win finish as I was heading out on the causeway as the Dane and I were lucky enough to have dinner with him, Lisa Bentley and her husband the Thursday night before the race. Anyway, I really felt close to a full body cramp at many points on the run due to the hard bike ride and really had to manage the aid stations well. I hit them perfectly and barely needed to slow, much less stop - for me walking through is a killer because my knees like to buckle when going from 7:10-7:20 miles to walking then trying to restart at that pace. I never walk through 1/2 Ironman aid stations if I can help it. I had a GU flask with me and timed that out perfectly, tossed it after finishing the contents at the mile 10 aid station. I didn't feel good most of the run. I had a good stride for the first loop but really had to chop it down and increase my foot cadence the second loop and the bridge was tough to go over 4 times and took the snot out of my pace. I managed to finish pretty strong and my run split was second fastest I have had for a 1/2 IM. What a shocker, had a PR for the distance and placed in the top ten in my age group. I was pleased because I know I couldn't have gone ANY harder than I did and I truly enjoyed the day, except for some of the bike course when it got so congested. Hard not to have that when your wave is 400+!

Things I learned from this race and the double (IM Hawaii/Clearwater 70.3) in general: I learned that my aerobic fitness is better than it's ever been as I only really was breathing hard when biking and running up hills, otherwise, it plain muscular fatigue limiting my pace. Also, I think I managed my time between the two races pretty well and recovered pretty well even though I didn't get any massage or anything like that between. I didn't gain any weight either between which was good considering I wasn't doing much physically and eating more than normal for me. The mistakes I made in Kona (nutrition, start placement, etc) I didn't repeat in Clearwater because I made a conscious effort to try and do things right and this paid off, I think. The Dane also had a good race considering he peaked for IM Canada in August (but wasn't able to go) and tried to build up again for this but took time off with me before and after Kona. It's also pretty amazing the fitness you can gain from doing an Ironman, I hope it's true also for a 1/2 and can be carried through the Winter. I'm still incredibly sore four days later, much more so than I was after IM Hawaii. Weird.
Anyway, won't do too much physically this week because I'm so sore. Will try and do Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving just because it's so much fun. Will leave the rest of November pretty unstructured and will likely stay out of the pool until December. I had my road bike overhauled and changed to 10-speed from 9 so I'll be pretty excited to get back on that and give the tri bike a rest. Thanks to everone who encouraged me, it really helped push me and I appreciate it. It was fun and I hope to do it again next year.
Later