Great Clermont Oly tri

This race was kind of weird. I haven't traveled solo to a race since being with the Dane. I had no support crew or literally anyone I knew that was racing. Put that on top of being racked with the men, being numbered 313, having significant bad weather all night prior, I wasn't really sure about this. I got up at 3:30 am to make the drive to Clermont, not sure how bad the weather was going to be. I had a little oatmeal which I'm testing out for race day breaky, working well I'll say. The drive was wet but not raining, good. The weather was quite still in Clermont which was a nice surprise. Got my packet, made sure they knew I was a female (was originally registered male) and got transition squared away. One reason I like doing early "c" races is because you're reminded of all the silly things you seem to forget about since the last major race. I brought no towel to "mark my territory" amongst the men but, no worries, I have the plastic bag my wetsuit was previously in. Took my token 10 minute run to open up the body and the hamstrings were arguing but I didn't care to listen. We, the women, were the last wave, as usual. Got a good start but just didn't feel terribly comfortable the entire swim. Didn't get into any good drafts, just swimming along on my own but not super hard. My swim split represented that, not happy and hopefully will be better come St. Anthony's. Onto the bike after novice transition - couldn't get my wetsuit off and my glasses and helmet on. I liked having the SRM for a few reasons - I wasn't a slave to it but it kept me honest when I wanted to soft pedal a bit. I changed my bike position a bit last week (trying to get more aerodynamic) and am not comfortable on it at all at this point so all my descending was done out of the aero bars - ugh, slow. I did feel comfortable and strong on the flats. Kept my head in the game though my legs were not very rested. Off onto the run and felt immediately, I had left my legs on the bike course. I didn't head out like a bat out of Hell like I normally do and this proved to be a smart move with my current fitness level and advanced age. My hamstrings were killing so I jogged up the hills and tried to push down. Finished in 2:22 something and this is actually a PR for any Clermont olympic course for me. They moved transition also so much longer run to T1 than previously. I ended up 4th overall female which was a nice surprise since I didn't expect to have an overall result. Swim was not great, bike was definitely better and run was better than I expected with the injury issues since Jan. I actually felt stronger as the run went on, with the exception of the hills which really killed my hamstrings. I have diagnosed myself with a high hamstring tendonopathy which is basically a problem where the hamstring attaches to the pelvis. I have a massage tomorrow and my first ART treatment on Friday, hopefully this will help. If I don't get much relief, I'll have to reassess my spring races, the goal is Kona, afterall. Overall, I feel really good about the first race even with all the mistakes and pains I've had. One thing I love about this sport is there is always a learning curve!
Kia Kaha

New ride for '08

PICS NOT SO GREAT, THEY'RE FROM MY PHONE.

Thank goodness for rest week!

I've had a solid training week last week and am thoroughly tired and sore. I did all my workouts, plus extra swimming. My long run is still not long but I'm trying to gradually extend that. It'll affect my early races but hopefully I'll have it long enough for half ironman in June. I'm dealing with some really strange pains in my butt/hamstring area so have stopped the power weights - may have been too much to do while training with power on the bike. I'm gonna see how a week of rest does then persue opinions if these pains don't resolve next week. Being over 40 is a drag. I do have a race on Sunday 4/6, olympic distance tri in Clermont. I'll get to shake out the race cobwebs and open things up for real. I feel good about the swim and bike but the run is lagging due to time off from the injury. I'm really only doing this race because I don't like to have St A's being my first Oly distance tri. I look forward to racing with the power meter, not for instant in-race feedback but more for reviewing afterwards. We'll see. My legs are currently toast, hopefully I'll get a little spring back by Sunday. I have whirlwind schedule planned for April - Clermont 4/6, sprint tri 4/12, then St A's 4/27 (this being the most important of the three). I'm getting a new '08 P3C frame this week, my trusty '06 frame is on it's way to Sweden - I hope it's ridden fast! I'll be sure to take pics!
Kia Kaha

Bend and snap

Yeah, remember that from Legally Blonde?? Or something similar to that anyway. Funny movie. But, the point is, I'm trying to grasp the two-beat kick. It sounds really simple but, for one who did not grow up swimming, it is far from simple. Seems that learning to swim properly and efficiently has taken up more time than training the other sports! Anyway, Coach Seth was on deck demonstrating the two-beat kick dryland style and got into this rhythm and the word snap popped out of his mouth and Val and I busted up laughing (especially after Val blurted out "bend and snap"). Guess you had to be there! Keep in mind, we're swimming at 5AM, it doesn't take much to get giddy. He was making up drills for me to do and I felt like a wounded animal. I got to swim this morning with all of the lesson fresh in my mind and feel I have a mild grasp on it. I don't know if it's a runner thing but I didn't think I did that much kicking. We swam some 300's this morning and I really tried to concentrate on NOT kicking, just doing two-beat and dragging my legs. Amazing how much less tiring it felt! I didn't swim faster necessarily but it felt more efficient. Not sure I was doing it right but I'm working on it (different coach on deck). And, if you should see me running, yes I'm wearing compression socks. Not trying to be a Euro wannabe, just nursing my lower leg from the injury Jan/Feb and these really seem to help. They just look really dorky! Oh well, the price for better perfomance!
Kia Kaha -> my new slogan

Swimming and power lifting

Ohhhhhh, can I say painful combination! I have been on this strength training program for 3 1/2 weeks now, it's more based somewhat on power lifts and the remainder on moving your own body weight and dynamic resistance. It is killer and I'm spending more time in the gym than I ever have. I hope it's getting me stronger because I am truly sore after each session. The exercises change every session so the body doesn't adapt so easily and one can continue to make strength gains. Anyhow, I'm doing all this while ramping up my swimming, biking and running. Training on the bike with the power meter is becoming like another weight session and is quite demanding but every session is quality - no junk miles here! Running is coming along slowly. Did almost 7 miles yesterday with 3 x 7 min tempo in the middle. I'm not fast but I'm working on it. Swimming is challenging when paired with the weight training. However, I'm getting faster, I think. Had a 1000y TT in the pool this morning (done solo) and averaged 1:25 pace for the distance. I think that's some sort of improvement for me. It's not fast by any stretch but it's not so long ago that I was using 1:40 as my aerobic "T-pace". And, the fact that I'm in to middle of massive weight training AND able to swim faster is really positive! I think the technique work I'm doing is really helping me to not always try and muscle through the water. I am pumped that once I go to a maintenance phase on the weights in 6-7 weeks, I'll swim way faster. It is really fun because I used to be such an aweful swimmer. Just shows what dedication, consistency and drive can do to turn a weakness into a potential weapon. Now, if I can just ride the bike faster and not lose all that wonderful time I'll gain in the water, I'll be all set!
cheers

Running again

I didn't want to jinx myself and post last weekend about running again. I'm a bit superstitious I suppose! I did run last weekend off the bike Saturday and Sunday, just 20 minutes each day. Wondered who's legs I was running with - certainly not the legs I stopped running with 3 1/2 weeks ago! Anyway, no pain or injury issues, just suboptimal run fitness. Amazing how fast it goes away! Ran again on Weds, 40 minutes. I was supposed to run again on Thurs but thought I'd be better off just not running so just swam in the am and did serious power lifting in the evening. I've been swimming 4 days per week, 2 days technique and 2 days just regular masters yardage. I think this is going well. Riding with power meter which was broken and needed replacement which was done very quickly - thanks to SRM and Outspokin!! Lifting power weights three days per week and this is wicked hard! Sore after every one hour session because it is full-body workout!! The drive home from the gym, about 8 minutes, is an effort! The weights are slowing the other workouts but even so, I felt stronger in my Friday swim. Strange.
I'm getting HUGE! Hee hee. I will post pics of new brick route, it's killer - along the waterfront, then up to the golf course. Tough living. Change of race plans too, nixing St Croix 70.3 due to injury and don't want to go in there with subpar run. Planning instead to do IM Kansas 70.3 Lawrence in June, perfect timing and it'll be great to get back to KU country. Haven't been back there since I took classes in '90-'91. Go Hawks!
Ciao

Hey Ya'll

When I qualified for Kona '06 race, I gifted myself with a much-needed new tri bike. It was a really good move for me and I've enjoyed riding my P3C immensely. When I qualified for Kona '08, I decided to commit myself to cycling more (and more specifically) in '08 to prep for Kona. I felt the best way for me to try and make another leap forward in cycling was to train with power. I finally got my new SRM mid-January. I'm still playing around with it, trying to figure it out but I can see where more information will help me improve my cycling. I'm also doing a training program which is power based instead of heart rate based. It's hard and there is no hiding and not much "easy" mileage but I want to give this a shot. I did my first test on Sunday, functional threshold power (FTP) test. Drove out to Fort Desoto since there are no stop lights or any distractions there to do the test. My cycling program is pretty much based on my FTP so it was important to get this info. I actually was right around where I guessed I might be based on wattage readings I had gotten from my Tacx trainer over the past year or so. So now, I'm ready to embark on my training with specificity in increasing my FTP. We'll see if it works. Had a wrench thrown into my overall training with a running injury I seem to have aquired in Maui and also we have moved. The move has taken a bit away from training as I have been prioritizing going back and forth between houses to get our stuff moved and organized. The injury was a bit worse than I felt initially and I probably shouldn't have run the last 10K race but cest la vie. I did see someone about this and he confirmed my initial fear, probable "stress reaction" in my right leg, which is just short of being a stress fracture. The bad news is this takes 4-6 weeks to heal if I don't run at all (which honestly, I cannot currently). The good news is, it's starting to really feel better now after 2 weeks of no running. I figure 2 more weeks tops and I should be back pounding the pavement. I have been swimming 4-5 days per week, working strictly on form 2 of those days (swimming 101, Bree Wee style!). Getting back on the bike now that the house is getting a bit more organized. Besides, when the Dane gets back from his 10-day stint in Europe, he can finish up! Doing 1-2 trainer rides during the week then riding Sat and Sun with some specific power sets all days. So that's it. Hopefully, I'll be able to get my Spring races in but already having to cancel on Chilly Willy duathlon which is one of my favorites. We'll see....
Cheers!

St Pete Beach Classic 10K

Let me just say that this race is done extremely well. Spoke with Wendy, the race director, and she is a really nice person. Normally, I do a half marathon in January but they were on the same weekend this year and I chose to do the 10K because I love this race. I chose well as we had nice foggy, calm conditions on Saturday morning while Sunday morning (for the half marathon) was cold, windy and plain ick! Most know how much I hate the cold! So I dragged the Dane out with me for the 10K. To back up a bit, the last day in Maui, we ran a five miler and I had some pain in my right lower leg, didn't think much of it. It has continued to bother me so I haven't really run all week. I'm not quite sure what it is but it's becoming quite bothersome and I may have to see someone to get diagnosed. Anyhow, I was already signed up for the 10K so decided to warm up and see how the leg was. Injury pain seems to totally subside with racing, weird. I did run every day in December and felt my run fitness was ok but took it a little too hard in Maui so I didn't know how tired I would be from that. Gun goes off and six women take off and I am stuck in no man's land - I was afraid of going out to hard not having any speed or tempo work of any sort for several months, good decision. Went out in 6:3x and stayed there for a couple miles. I passed the Dane in the second mile, he wasn't having a good day. Nonetheless, the 10K household trophy is mine! I was also doing a lactate threshold test and had to run the second 5K as solid as possible. I really kind of died the last couple miles and barely squeeked under 42 min (although I think official result shows me at 42 even). Anyway, I only ran the second 5K about 17 seconds slower than the first which I thought was pretty good for me at this point. I won Masters and got nice swag for that! I also got my lactate threshold tested and now can plan my run program. I do need to solve this injury and hope I can do that without missing too much. We did sign up for St Croix 70.3 in May instead of doing Florida 70.3 which I have done every year since it started in '04. St Croix is a very tough course and will definitely be a challenge but I'm looking forward to it. All build up this year is for Kona and getting stronger for that. St Croix will give me some good feedback! Cheers.

Fun in Maui

Only two days left in Maui, enough to make you want to throw a tantrum just to stay. We have had an awesome week. It stopped raining which was really huge. It rained every day when we arrived then stopped a few days ago. We went deep water fishing on Monday, a trip which began waking up at 1 am to catch the boat leaving at 3 am. It was well worth it (as was the puking I did from sea sickness). I caught, with the Dane's help, a humongous Bigeye Ahi tuna, had to be over 40 pounds. It was a blast, see pics. We ate sushimi from our catch for dinner last night and it was the best ever. We went surfing yesterday, took lessons again just to refresh ourselves since we haven't surfed since our lesson in Kona. It was fun also but I'm really sore. We going to rent surf boards today and do a half day. Still training, riding and running. Haven't been swimming because the bay we like to swim in is packed with snorkelers. That's alright, I'll catch back up. Hope I don't break my ass today! Cheers.

Epic rides in Maui

Whew, we did an epic ride a couple days ago. The sun was shining and the hills were steep. I'll post some pics but they don't even begin to demonstrate some of the climbs. We rode over the north hills to the other side of the island with some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. Wound our way back thru Wailuku town then to Maalea where the tradewinds are ferocious, to say the least. It was super fun. To show how difficult it was, it took us nearly 5 hours to go 62 miles - crazy. It was scary and fun at the same time. The road got really narrow, the winds were howling and the descents were super scary. Other than that, have been getting some really good runs in too, I love running here! Going to the Mercedes Golf thing today then hopefully to the beach - I'm still just as pale now as when I arrived. The weather hasn't been great but hopefully will improve.
Cheers!

Kona winds in Maui

Whew, was it windy today!! We rode to the "point" which is basically a scenic lookout a short 23 miles or so from our camp station (sounds rough) in Kapalua. The winds were reported to be 20's mph sustained with gusts into the 40's. Well, we found that these type gusts are really scary! I was only more scared in this type of wind once, on my practice ride in Kona before IM World Championships in '06. I had a couple mechanical issues today, put my rear derailer on incorrectly then got a flat tire shortly thereafter - I should be caught up on mechanicals for a few days. The problem with mechanicals is that there is very little shoulder at some points in the highway and huge trucks are buzzing by at 55 mph - it's unnerving! Anyhow, as we got closer to the point, the dreaded crosswinds were howling! I was getting tossed about and I'm the lightest one of the group. Everyone else was getting buffeted as well and it was a real challenge to keep the rubber side down, as they say. We got back safely though with many prayers being said between the four of us! We then embarked on a brisk 30 minute run after the ride which was challenging because nothing is flat out here. The Dane and I were battling like Mark and Dave of old Ironman Hawaii days! It was classic but we got a really good, enjoyable workout for sure! I'll try and post some pics regularly but nothing can portray the beauty and wind! Enjoy and cheers!
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Ahhhhh, Maui!

Got to Maui safe and sound. Still waiting on the bikes but the rest of the luggage came with us. No worries, we are officially on vacation now! I will put up some pictures when I figure it out on my the Dane's new laptop. Anywho, it was a rather long day of travel but always worth it when the destination is Maui! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I can't wait to share our stories from the Islands. Cheers.

Say No To Drugs 5K

Ok, so this race was last Saturday but I've been really busy! Busy at work, busy trying to prep to leave for Maui, busy getting ready to get ready to move next month. I haven't been busy Christmas shopping though - one thing my family counts on is that they likely won't get squat from me for X-mas. I've always been that way. However, if I find something for someone later in the year, I won't hesitate to give. Evens things out. Sort of...
Anyhow, back to my "race" report. I ran the 5K because, frankly, I haven't run as long as 6 miles since Ironman Florida and don't feel like torturing myself at this time of the year! I went really deep into the well at IM FL and I need the well to fill a bit again before even thinking about digging that hard. Anyhow, a really fast crowd of gals there, scary. Couldn't really tell who was running 5 or 10K, we started together. Chatted with Sharon B. for a bit at the start - always nice to run into her! Luckily for me, she was running the 10K! The race starts at the bottom of the Memorial Causeway bridge, up and over to Clearwater Beach then finish at Pier 60. Nice course but brutal if you start too hard up the bridge, which I likely did. I spent the next part of the race trying to recover from the bridge! I was getting serious challenge by a few of the girls running the 10K (guess I couldn't keep up with the 5K girls from the gun)! Anyhow, I ran my slowest 5K of the offseason but I ran more evenly across the board so that counts for something! I am ready for vacation, a change of scenery and a rest.
We will ride and/or run and swim every day in Maui (plus snorkel, surf, boggie board) and it will be thoroughly enjoyable. Can't wait. The plan for January is to run a 10K, off-road half marathon and get back on the bike. By the way, I've kept the daily run going, only missed one day due to massage appointment three weeks ago.
Cheers and Merry Christmas!

Beautiful Day

Since the weather is so, well, inclimate, in most places in the country today, I thought I would rub it in that we had an absolutely beautiful day here in Florida. Started with a nice, easy 3 hour ride which was about 67 degrees at the start. Stayed in the little ring all morning, spinning the legs working on, well, nothing. Just recovering still. Then a warm 30 minute run in the sun. Doesn't get much better than this. I will confess that I'm attempting to run every day in December. Won't discuss where I got the idea but going to give it a shot. Just 30 minutes and as easy as desired. Sounds easy. Hopefully, I'll end up in January with the ability to do some longer runs without too much turmoil to my old body. Plus, the Dane is in Europe for a 12 day journey and forgot his running shoes. I can smell the household running trophy.........
Only 16 days to Maui. Maui No Ka 'Oi (in October, Kona No Ka 'Oi)
Cheers

five things....

I was blog-tagged by Bri Gaal a while back but never got to list five things most people don't know about me. I guess I've been lazy and well, most people know a lot about me by now. Well, I'll try to come up with a few:
1. most people don't know that I was accused by my college cross country/track coach of not being competitive.
2. I used to consume tons of sugar
3. I love wicked roller-coasters (but am afraid of heights)
4. If I wasn't a physician, I'd like to be a dog-walker
5. I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon (couldn't bear the thought of more medical training and deferrment of my loans any further).

There you have it, not very exciting. I would imagine most of this comes as no surprise to anyone.
I'm enjoying my "exercise if I feel like it" program....
cheers!

Jingle Bell Arthritis 5K

Another 5K yesterday. Val's idea to ride bikes to the race (21 miles), race, then ride back home. It sounded like a good idea until Saturday morning. We got up there about 30 minutes prior to the start, got signed up, changed and ready to go. Never gave a thought on how I might place or anything - just a fun race 4 weeks out from Ironman. The gun goes off and the pace felt really quick but I followed the young girl who went out like a rabbit and it nearly killed me! The race was out and back over the causeway in Tarpon Springs. This causeway is typically quite windy with nothing around to block the wind. It happened to be a pretty breezy morning so this was getting wound into my spontaneous race plan. I went into the lead (for the women) after the 1/2 mile mark and wanted to try and stay there. A couple guys came up to me at this point and I really had to try hard to stay with them to have a draft on the way back into the headwind. The Dane was up ahead and I had to, once again, conceive the household 5K trophy unless he really popped (he didn't). The way back was tough into a pretty stiff headwind so I tucked in and enjoyed my draft - I did try and go ahead but found that too tedious so stayed where I was. Once we got closer to some cover and the wind lessened, I tried to give a decent kick the last 1/4 mile or so. Wow, I won the race! My first 5K win in about 10 years. I didn't run fast but fast enough. About 20 seconds faster than Turkey Trot which was good (the time listed in the results is wrong by about 10 seconds). The ride home was a slow slog but the weather was warm and I had the sweet feeling of a solid effort, 2 tickets to Busch Gardens and a $50 gift certificate for a running store in Tampa for my prize! How cool is that? I was glad to do this race because it went for a good cause, the arthritis foundation. Being a sufferer of rheumatoid arthritis, this was gratifying. I am also going to try and run every day in December just as a fun little challenge. Not long runs, just 30 minutes as slow as I wish. Maybe it'll make the time until we head to Maui go faster!! I can only hope....
Cheers.

Giving thanks, and all that

I have been lazy about updating, probably cuz I'm not doing anything worth writing about! We did do Turkey Trot 5K on T-day morning - my slowest in a few years but it was a good effort anyway. The Dane beat me as usual but I'm closer. Have been riding the road bike which I enjoy doing in the offseason. Can't imagine riding the tri bike right now, ick! Rode in the hills today on a beautiful day weather-wise - couldn't be any nicer! Only did a couple hours but it was enough since we hadn't been out there in so long. We are planning tenatively to do St Croix 70.3 in early May instead of Florida 70.3 so need to get strong in the hills. We are riding pretty relaxed for most part. I got officially registered for IM Hawaii 2008 which is exciting! Hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey day. Only one month til we go to Maui!! Cheers.

Clearwater 70.3 World Championships

NO,I did not race! I'm crazy, not stupid! I witnessed some very impressive and motivating performances out there today. And, completely enjoyed watching my teammates perform on today's great stage in triathlon. Linda M., you are the badger and my idol forever, please don't stop. Donna S., you showed some serious moxey and class and I hope to witness this again in my future, please don't stop. Lisa P., keep pushing girl and you WILL be and Ironman! Sharon B., you are one of the toughest competitors I've come across. Ladies, you rock! I get soooo much motivation from watching my friends/competitors/pros perform on one of the greatest stages in triathon. I feel lucky to witness it all! I'm feeling lazy and out of shape one week from IMFL and ready to get it together for Kona '08! Not too soon, I know. I wish that the Dane was here to share this with me because he always supports me in every measure, which I'm learning is very treasured. Never give up on your passion people, some may find it's all they have. I'm blessed, that I have my passion and support. Thanks to everyone who competed today, you gave me inspiration and I hope we clapped for you all! (we tried!!!) Cheers.

IMFL race report - no room for error

Whew, glad that one is over!! Let's just say that there was absolutely no room for error on Saturday. Once again, the AG I happen to be competing in was the toughest on the day for the women. The days leading up to the race were pretty uneventful, which is good. Tried to stay relaxed and off the legs as much as possible. Didn't sleep well the night before the race which is annoying but no big deal. I knew this was my first real try at "racing" an Ironman and I knew this would likely involve a lot of pain. Got out of bed about 3:30 AM to get in some calories for the day. Did couple bottles of boost and couple pieces of toast with PB which I really had to choke down because I don't like eating at that hour. Walked down to transition and dropped special needs bags and checked the bike over. My tires needed some air so stood in line for about 20 minutes for the pump guy. He tried to get some air into front tire but my valve extender was stripped. No problem, go stand in another line for 15 minutes for the mechanic and he changed my valve extender, filled the tire and I was on my way. Luckily, we got there early enough to account for this delay. Wetsuit on and standing on the beach ready but nervous for the day. This feeling prior to the cannon going off is one of the most intense moments I can recall. I'm aware that I'm going to get into some contact with others trying to find some open water to swim but this was a full rugby scrum. I actually felt at a few points that I could truly drown out there! Pretty scary! I spent the first 800 meters defending myself, avoiding direct kicks to the head and drinking copious amounts of salt water. Not much actual swimming going on here, just getting pulled along by the masses and defending myself. Got into some rythym after hitting the bouys to return on the first lap but swung way wide to avoid anymore beatings fully aware that anymore salt water consumption may be detrimental later in the day. Got out of the first lap in around 30 minutes which was a surprise since the first half of that lap was mayhem! The second loop was uneventful, stayed wide again to avoid contact. Probably swam a little extra but comfortable, still came out in 1:02 and change, a PR. Got through the change tent a little slow but onto the bike. I had a bit of a high heart rate on the beginning of the bike but went more with perceived exertion at this point because my legs felt good. The ride was kind of boring. Got passed by a ton of guys and a few gals and multiple packs. As tempting as it was to attach myself to the back of a pack, I didn't do it. The wind was a bit snotty the entire ride and it seemed to change every time we made a turn but I tried to embrace this and keep pushing and riding within myself. I kept my HR pretty good and kept hydrating. It was pretty cool once we first got on the bike and this was nice. Warmed up some toward the end but the weather was really perfect. Managed to hit T2 with a PR for the bike, 5:24 and change. Got through T2 pretty well and off on the run. I didn't have any idea what to expect here because I missed my long runs the past 5 weeks or so. I just didn't want to have any injury issues and felt I could deal with fatigue issues. I ran out of T2 in 7:24/mile but felt like I was running slower than 8-minute pace - this is a good sign. Kept slowing to make sure I didn't kill myself on the first loop. The first loop went pretty well, kept the pace pretty good and felt I was going along well. Got out to the second loop and learned that I was in 6th in the AG at this point. I felt we would have 3 Kona slots going in, maybe 4 if we were lucky. I managed to bridge up to and pass two of the girls ahead of me before the last turn around in the park, about 10K from the finish. By that point, I had run through all the aid stations but I knew I couldn't continue this because my quads were nearly in complete failure in the last 10K. I knew the two girls I had just passed were running the aid stations and I knew if I walked it had to be quick and short. I started on coke and anything else I could get my hands on and kept running. I felt at about mile 22 that my legs could buckle at any time and my dream would be done but I constantly forced that thought out of my head and replaced it with, "keep pushing, keep pushing, all the way to the line". Must have worked because they never came back to me. I figured I was fourth and felt content that I couldn't have gone any faster. My marathon was not great but what I expected with the lack of long run training the previous 6 weeks. I knew if I didn't get a Kona slot, I still PR'd by quite a bit, ended up in 10:24 which would have won 40-44 most years. Hobbled back to the condo with the Dane (who also PR'd with inconsistent training, amazing), showered, ate then returned to the finish line to watch Val finish. She was incredible, finishing under 15 hours. Proof that the MAO program is effective! We toasted our great journeys with pizza and a glass of champagne and hit the bed. Didn't sleep well due to so much muscle pain but it was nice to relax and reflect on a pretty complete effort. We got up Sunday morning, wrenched our sore bodies out of bed and limped back to the expo area to find out about Kona slot distribution. I was suddenly really nervous to look at the board and then saw a "4" next to the W40-44 column and my knees got weak. I got a Kona slot and didn't have to wait for roll down! This was a very exciting feeling. Needless to say, I paid the $500 and took my slot. Good thing because the slots didn't roll this year. We are on our way back home now and still really sore.....but happy! It's a really gratifying feeling to give everything and more in the race and get to return to Kona in 2008. What did I learn from my fifth Ironman? I learned that my swim training is spot on and will continue with this and hopefully continue to improve there (a long way from being last out of the water in my first several tri's). I learned that even though I lost this race mostly on the bike, I continue to get stronger but it's a slow process (I should learn to race in draft packs but wouldn't feel right doing it). I learned that the last several long run sessions in training are critical to remaining strong on the marathon, can't fake it. I also learned that even when you don't know if you can keep pace, you have to keep pushing and believing because amazing things can happen and the pain is worth it! I'm going to take a little break, run a lot this winter, work in the weight room and try to get stronger. In the meantime, I'll be out in Clearwater for the 70.3 World Championships cheering everyone on. Best of luck to everyone there. Cheers!

More hurry up and wait

So, we're within 15 hours of starting IMFL. It's not glamorous, just sitting around waiting for the big hour when we get to reward ourselves with the race we've prepared for for so many weeks. Today consisted of a 15 minute open water swim right outside our condo. Then onto the bikes for a loop of the run course which went well. Then a quick 10 minute run with a few pick-ups. Nothing extravagant, just keeping the pipes open for the big day tomorrow. We dropped off the bikes and gear bags earlier this afternoon so all we have to do now is eat a healthy dinner, sit around some more and the try to get some sleep. I, surprisingly, slept really well last night.....good sign. I read that there are over 1,100 first-timers (also affectionately known as "iron virgins") in the race tomorrow - that's a lot! The weather continues to be "Chamber of Commerce" weather - absolutely beautiful! So, thanks to all who have sent well wishes, they mean a lot to me! I'll try and get a race report out quickly. Until then, ciao.

We've descended upon PCB!

Ironman fever is alive and well in Panama City Beach! The tri geeks are out in full force and ready for action. We did a short swim in the beautiful Gulf of Mexico this morning and it was clear and calm. The weather is warm and gorgeous, couldn't ask for more. As for me, the body feels pretty good. We did a short run after settling in to the condo which was good. We get to registration later this morning then sit around a wait. My sister and her clan come in sometime today so that'll be good to visit with them some. I'll try and keep updated. Ciao.

LET THE TAPER BEGIN!!

I have realized that after my 10 1/2 hours of solid sleep last night, I guess I am ready for taper. I was going to do my Tuesday swim this morning, but could not get out of bed. That's ok, supposed to take today off anyway (something I'm not good at, days off training). We had some inclimate weather this weekend so had to juggle workouts a bit which isn't really a big deal. We've been lucky not to be rained out any weekends since beginning this training cycle 18 weeks ago. We have had some rain on the long rides but nothing to cut the workouts short. I ran a couple times last week without any problems. I will just do normal running during taper and hope I don't have the pain in my right glut area return during the marathon. We'll see. I feel good overall. I am tired with some accumulated leg fatigue but that is normal at this point. Nothing a good, focused taper cannot fix! I'll keep trying to get really solid sleep, nutrition and stretching the next couple weeks as well. Go Rockies!!!

Kona week!

Firstly, I want to wish all those lucky soles in Kona best of luck. I, for one, will be glued to my computer watching all day. Can't wait. I also want to admit I'm quite jealous after having been there last year. But, I didn't do a qualifier for this year so I guess I can't complain too loudly. I love reading all the blogs of the pro's who actually post, it's quite fun. I especially enjoy Michellie's and Rutger Beke's.
Well, the work continues on this end trying to get back to Kona! We did the final seven hour ride last Sat (actually ended up with 7:16, but who's counting) and logged 132 miles. Then a four mile brick in 90+ temperature which I took out way too hard and the old glycogen-depleted body made me slow down the last couple miles. It was hard but got it done. Still shortening some of the runs due to a little upper hammy pain but this is improving. My swimming is going really well. I'm always amazed how much yardage I'm able to do week in and week out along with some solid speed sessions. Hope it all pays off! Looking forward to taper in another week and a half. Go Rockies!!

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)