IM Celebration Party

The last installment of my IMFL race report will be posted soon, but I want to take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to acknowledge a couple of fellow triathletes and do the weekly rewind.

Going Iron
First, Brittany kicked serious butt at IM Arizona today by finishing in just over 11 hours! She was 9th in her Age Group! She is one hell of a triathlete and an Officer in the Army as well. I had the opportunity to meet her at Redman and she is as nice as she is fast. Brittany was supposed to race IMFL but one of her soldiers was killed in the line of duty. I am so proud to have women like Brittany serving our nation. Thank you for your service and congrats on a fantastic race!

Second, Trishie is racing IM Cozumel this weekend and she is going to totally rock it! I absolutely love her blog and know that we would be fast friends if we lived in the same state. She is one of the few people I "know" that is more organized and even more of a planner than I am, and she is funny to boot! Good luck this weekend, Trishie!

Weekly Rewind
I am struggling to reconcile my need and desire for recovery, the guilt I feel when I skip a workout and my desire to do a trail race this winter. Plus, I love to eat, so I need to do something not to gain 5 pounds!

This weekend Doug threw me a purposefully belated 30th Birthday and Ironman celebration party. It was s much fun to celebrate with friends and indulge in margaritas and Mexican food. Check out this awesome cake Douglas made me too!

My Iron Sherpa
Birthday / MDot Cake
Mileage for Week Ending 11/22/09
Swim: 2500 yards in 1:00 [1 workouts]
Bike: 28 miles in 1:30 [2 workouts]
Run: 22 miles in 3:15 [3 workouts]
Total Time: 5:45

Stretching / Foam Roller: 1:00

With the weekend festivities behind me, it is time to end the bender!

IMFL – The Bike

What a beautiful day for a bike ride! The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the wind was blowing (so I don’t really know if the birds were singing, because I couldn’t hear them because of the wind!) …

The bike exit was surrounded by cheering spectators – I felt like I was starting a leg of the Tour De France. Of course, Douglas was there holding a sign based on my fortune cookie, “In Dreams and In Life, Nothing is Impossible”. It was a good reminder as I was setting off for what turned out to be nearly a 7 hour bike ride!

Starting my 112 mile tour

The first half mile or so is on S. Thomas Drive where many condos are and the main staging area for the race, before turning onto Front Beach Road to start the first real stretch of the ride. I knew that the rest of my family would be waiting for me at the Shores of Panama so I took this short section nice and slow so that I could wave to my boys and to my mother-in-law, Kate. It was great to see them as they were sleeping when I left in the morning and I didn’t know if I would see them again before the finish line.

When I turned on to Front Beach Road, I attempted to settle into my bike and get mentally organized for the ride. I didn’t feel quite right on the bike, but I couldn’t put my finger on what the issue was. I felt like my power was slightly off, but I was holding a good pace at the right effort, so I stayed positive and kept pedaling.

About 15 miles into the ride I got worried because my right leg was starting to feel like it does when my sciatic nerve acts up. It hasn’t done it since the Gulf Coast Tri, ironically enough, on the same course. I remember thinking to myself, what is it about this course?!?! Thankfully though, I shifted my aero position a bit and after another 10 miles or so, the feeling was gone, never to return. I was also thankful that despite swallowing a bit more salt water on the second loop of the swim, my stomach felt fine. My power still felt just slightly off, but nothing to get worked up about.

I took my first porta potty stop at the second rest stop and also used the time waiting in line to stretch a bit, which I think helped my right leg pain. I hated that I had to stop and wait in line, but this girl just can’t go on the bike.

By this time, the head wind was really rearing its ugly head and my average mph was dropping considerably. I was pretty disappointed by this at first, but I reminded myself that it was a beautiful day and that I was fulfilling a dream, whether I was riding at 16 mph or 18 mph (or sometimes into the wind, well below that …). I was also getting hungry, something that I was not expecting, so I ate 3 Clif blocks to help stave off the hunger. The Clif blocks and the Infinit worked like a charm.

Special Needs snuck up on me around the 50 mile marker (conveniently around 3 hours into the ride) and I debated about whether to stop. However, by this time in the race, it was obvious that I was going to be going longer than 6 hours, so I pulled off to grab the extra Infinit powder I put in my Special Needs (“just in case”) and dumped it into the concentrated bottle that I had just finished. I also dropped off my arm warmers. Just as I was about to dump the bag back into the pile, I felt a piece of paper.

I didn’t remember putting anything in the bag, so I pulled it out to see a sign from Douglas and the boys that read, “Keep Moving Forward.” It was exactly what I needed at that moment! The quote is from the Disney Movie, Meet the Robinsons and it is about overcoming adversity. I cried the first time I saw the movie and I love the quote – I didn’t realize at the time that the quote would play an integral part during the marathon that was yet to come.

I assumed that the course would mark the halfway point with a timing mat and I was getting really nervous when it felt like I had been riding forever without seeing a sign or a timing mat. I ride with my computer on time, not distance, so I was relieved when I hit mile 60! I also had my first emotional experience of the day because for the first time since the bike exit, handfuls of cheering spectators were on the course. It was so neat to watch their excitement, especially as their athletes were approaching. Shortly after this, I stopped for the third time (2nd potty stop) and had 3 more Clif blocks to help keep the hunger at bay.

At mile 65, on a slight downhill portion of the course, I was surprised to see my family waiting for me! I was not expecting them out on the bike course, so it was a major pick-me-up. I actually had to turn around and ride back to them because I had passed them by the time I realized who it was! Had Douglas not called me back, I probably would have kept going, mostly because mentally my brain was locked in the “Keep moving forward” mode. It was great to gets hugs and kisses all around and to tell Douglas about the wind. They decorated the Suburban as Lightning McQueen, which I am sure was fun for the other riders as well! So creative! After one more kiss from all of my boys, Douglas told me where to expect the out and back and I was off.

Lightning Suburban (Tyler is crying)

Turning around to greet my #1 fans

And I'm off ... again!

Douglas later apologized for holding me up, thinking if I had not stopped I may have broken the elusive 13 hour mark, but as I told him then, this race was not about a couple of minutes and I was happy to have my cheering section on the bike course.

I rode on in a just-saw-my-family high until I turned into the wind on to the worst stretch of road of the entire course. There were cracks/bumps every 3 feet that jolted me for miles. I rode on the edge of the road on the white line (there was no shoulder) in an attempt to get away from the shocks. The wind was really just adding insult to injury at this point. When I saw the turn around and the timing mat (finally!) I was beyond thrilled. The road conditions on the ride back out were just as awful, but with the wind at my back it just didn’t feel as bad.

At this point, I was starting the countdown to get back to transition. I was still in a good mood , despite my readiness to get off the bike, and I chatted with people I passed and with the many people who passed me . When we got back to the Intercoastal Bridge (the only real hill on the course), I was thrilled to see the 100 mile marker. 12 miles to my running shoes! In training I did a lot of 45 minute spins / 15 minute runs at work on the spinner and treadmill at lunch. I always marked these workouts as 12 miles on the bike (to be conservative), even though there is not a distance computer on the bike, so I was confident that in a mere 45 minutes I would be handing my bike to a volunteer!

The last stretch back on Front Beach Road was physically tough with the wind and my feet were killing me (not something I had experienced in training either) but it was also very exciting. The anticipation of starting the LAST leg of the race was nearly electric.

I had worried for months about experiencing some sort of mechanical failure on the bike that would take me out of the race, so to be so close to the bike finish without having experienced any bike issues at all was a major relief. I definitely thanked God for looking after me and keeping me safe on the bike course. I later heard about an incident where a car hit a cyclist and several crashes – there was nothing like that near me, thankfully!

When I made the turn back onto S. Thomas we were again surrounded by throngs of cheering spectators. I had the biggest smile on my face as I searched the crowd for Douglas. He was waiting right near the bike dismount with a sign that listed each leg of the race with the respective distances, with the swim and the bike legs crossed out. The bike ride had taken longer than I thought it would, but it was done and I was ready to run!

Bike split: 6:52:08
16.3 mph

So happy to see the bike finish!

Side note: It wasn’t until much later that evening that a possible reason for my lower than expected MPH came to light. Douglas picked up my bike from transition and rode it back to the condo and promptly informed me that I had been riding with a slight brake rub. Rookie mistake. It was an ever so slight rub, just enough for me to feel off but now I possibly know why. Did it affect my bike split? Who knows, and I am not going to dwell on it because I still enjoyed every minute of that windy ride! For the record, I did check the brake in transition, but it was only after braking that it shifted too much to one side and created the rub.

I got off my bike, handed it to a waiting volunteer, trotted over to the T2 bags, called out my number and received my bag from yet another volunteer. Then it was off the changing tent where another extremely helpful volunteer opened my bag and handed me everything that I needed. I did a quick change of my socks and shoes, changed out my helmet for my visor, picked up my Garmin and grabbed my nutrition before exiting the changing tent. I made a pit stop at the porta pottys in transition because there were no lines and I didn’t know what I would find along the course … and then I was off to run a marathon!

T2: 5:37

IMFL – The Swim

I got a great night’s sleep the night before the race and woke up feeling rested and ready to race. I started the day with 2 packets of maple flavored Quaker instant oatmeal with cinnamon sugar and managed to eat two-thirds of it. Then it was off to body marking, dropping of my bike nutrition and my Special Needs bags before heading down to the beach for the swim start. I even volunteered to take someone else’s Special Needs bags (he was waiting in the long porta potty line) to the drop off area – nothing like starting the day off with some good karma!

At Body Marking

I ran into several people race morning, including IronBob, Raymund, Kimberly and Augie. It was great to see familiar faces and share in the pre-race excitement.

After getting everything situated, I put on my Body Glide and sunscreen before putting on my wetsuit. It was giving me a hard time, but I finally got comfortable with a little help from Douglas. Then it was down to the beach to prepare for the swim start. I was surprised at how calm I was as we took a couple of photos and as I made my way to the athlete corral. There was a lot of nervous energy on the beach and I kept waiting for it to hit me, but as I stood there all I felt was ready.

In Athlete Area


Waiting for the Swim Start

We listened to the National Anthem, I ate 3 cola flavored Clif Blocks and I got one more good luck kiss from Douglas before the cannon fired and the race clock started. I lined up on the far right of the beach and swam diagonally towards the last buoy. This definitely added to my swim time, but I was happy to not be fighting with other racers for space in the water. It was also nice that there were still enough other people who also took this path that I never felt alone (imagine that with 2500 other athletes in the water!).

The first lap of the swim felt awesome! I kept thinking to myself, “You are doing an Ironman today!” … and it was not in an oh crap! voice but in a giddy school girl, excited voice. I was shocked when I reached the first turn buoy and managed to avoid the cluster that invariably occurs there. Before I knew it I had made the turn to head back to the beach. I felt like a rock star in the water!

It is no secret that I am not the best swimmer out there and I was apprehensive about swimming in the Gulf, but I was actually really enjoying myself! The water was beautiful and clear and I even saw a school of fish before I hit the last sand bar. When I hit the beach I saw Douglas screaming for me and holding a sign that said, “Just Keep Swimming”, which of course made me smile from ear to ear. Unfortunately, the end of the first loop also marked the end of the feeling good in the water sensation.

Exiting the water after the 1st loop

Everything the first lap was, the second lap was NOT. It seemed to take forever to move down the beach to get back into the water to start the second lap and start swimming again. I was happy for the opportunity to have some water in between laps, but I had not swallowed much salt water at that point, so it was really just to rinse out my mouth. The racers in front of me seemed to be taking their sweet time to move along the beach and I felt like a sardine in a school of fish, stuck and not able to break away. I was frustrated because I felt like I was losing precious minutes. I took a more direct line along the buoys for the second loop, hoping that the fasties would be gone and that there would be fewer people in the water to wrestle with. There was more contact on the second loop, but nothing traumatic.

The big issue on the second loop was the surf and chop that had come in and I felt like I was swimming in a choppy Endless Pool. So, not only was I starting to swallow more salt water but I felt like I was making zero forward progress towards the buoys. I kept my spirits up though and tackled the buoys one at a time because it was very important to me to enjoy every moment of my day.

Sure enough, I slowly but surely passed each buoy and before I knew it I was on the beach. I started removing my wetsuit and running up the ramp to the transition area. The ramp was crowded with people on both sides and I was almost overwhelmed by the mass of people and the noise … so much so, that I nearly missed the wetsuit strippers. Thankfully, they found me and had me lie down to remove my suit. It was definitely organized chaos. They had my suit off in no time and I was off to T1.

Swim Lap 1: 42:19
Swim Lap 2: 44:51
Total Swim Time: 1:27:09

Our transition bags were laid out by number and I was told to scream my number out as I approached, but there were so many racers that the volunteers were too busy to help everyone. I finally made eye contact with a volunteer in the right area and got my bag. Then it was off to the super packed changing tents.

Volunteers searching for T1 Bags
The tents were standing room only and had it not been for a volunteer who saw my overwhelmed look as I was searching for a place to sit and asked what she could do to help, I probably would have gotten frustrated. Thankfully, Kathy from BT (although I didn’t know it at the time), helped me into my arm warmers and handed me the rest of my gear while also packing up my swim gear. I was so thankful for her help!

My T1 time was pretty long for me, considering I did not change clothes, but I am not sure what I could have done differently, given the crowding and the long run from the beach into transition.
After leaving the changing tents, I had to run all the way to the back of the transition area, only to turn around again, grab my bike from the waiting volunteer (that part was super cool!) before heading to the bike out exit.

My bike rack with volunteer at the ready ...T1: 8:46

And just like that, the swim was done and I was off for a little bike ride …

One Week Post Ironman Musings ...

... and yes, I promise a full race report will be up this week!

In the mean time, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on Ironman, a week later.

I think that one of the reasons that I have delayed writing my race report is that I don't want the Ironman journey to be over. The entire experience has been surreal and I feel like the whole thing has been a dream and I am going to wake up and have to do the race again. I am actually a bit sad that it is over and I may even actually have a taste of what is commonly referred to as Post Ironman Blues.

To be completely honest, crossing the finish line was almost anti-climatic, in part because the race was not as hard as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, it was extremely challenging, but it was not the impossible feat that I once that it would be.

It took about 12 hours before I came to the realization that it is because of this amazing journey that I was able to cross that line. In April 2008 when I started down this path, Ironman was a dream, a seemingly impossible dream.

Somewhere along the way I lost perspective about how far I have come. Somewhere in the process of Ironman training, 15+ hour training weeks became the norm and I forgot that just a year and a half ago I couldn't swim 25 yards. Perspective is exactly what I needed to appreciate the magnitude of what I have accomplished.

I now believe, like many others, that the training is harder than the race itself. In my experience, the consistent training, focus on race day nutrition and pacing my race to my ability level allowed me to execute what, for me, was nearly a perfect race.

I was probably the happiest athlete on the IMFL course on Saturday and more than one person commented on my constant smiles. What I have learned from Ironman is that the journey is the reward. So, yes I am a bit sad that this leg of the journey is over, but Ironman Florida is just the first leg of what I hope is long and fun journey in triathlon and endurance sports.

The other big surprise for me has been how great I feel and how easy the recovery has been. I think I expected to feel like I was hit by a train, but after the initial tightness directly after the race, my body has bounced back like a pro! I woke up Sunday morning feeling like a new woman and was even chasing my kids on the beach by sun down.

I also feel very fortunate ... I am not sure if you all were following the weather, but Hurricane Ida brought some serious surf into Panama City Beach on Sunday and they even closed the beaches. By Monday, it was windy and rainy, a far cry from the clear, sunny skies we had on race day!

Finally, this post would not be complete without the Sunday report:

Mileage for Week Ending 11/08/09 -- Race Week!
Swim: 8836 yards in 3:12 [3 workouts]
Bike: 146.5 miles in 9:01 [4 workouts, 2 bricks]
Run: 37 miles in 6:10 [4 workouts, 2 bricks]
Total Time: 18:23

Mileage for Week Ending 11/15/09 -- Recovery Week
Swim: 1500 yards in 0:30 [1 workout]
Bike: 61 miles in 3:30 [2 workouts]
Run: 4.5 miles in 0:45 [2 workouts]
Total Time: 4:45

Stay tuned for detailed a race report and photos this week, plus an update on Team Trakkers 2010!

IMFL by the numbers

$550 - race registration fee
2423 – number of triathletes that started the race
1239 – number of first timers that started the race
18 – DQs (most like penalty was drafting)
41 - DNFs (did not finish)
5 - bathroom stops (3 on bike, 1 in T2, 1 on run)
24 - Cliff Blocks (3 before swim, 6 on bike, 12 on run)
1,494 – calories consumed of Infinit on the bike
2 - chafing spots (wrist from Ironman wristband on the swim, armpit)
8 – number of family sightings
11 – number of personalized signs
-- Just Keep Swimming (Swim Loop 1)
-- Anne Moore – 2316 – Go Mommy Go! (Bike Start) - Tyler
-- Anne Moore – 2316 – Ride Hard IronMommy! (Bike Start) - Andrew
-- In dreams and in life, nothing is impossible (Bike Start) - Douglas
-- Keep Moving Forward (Bike Special Needs)
-- I’m so ‘cited Mommy! (Bike – Mile 65)
-- Lightning McMommy (with eyeball posters on the Suburban) and racer # 2316 (Bike – M. 65) -- 2.4 Mile Swim, 112 Mile Bike, 26.2 Mile Run = MDot! (Bike Finish)
-- Run Forrest Run (Run Start)
-- We love you! See you at the finish line. (Run Special Needs)
-- Next time we see you, you’ll be an Ironman! (Run half-way)
3 - pairs of socks (1 went unused)
15 (give or take) – number of Ziploc bags I used on race day
2 – number of times I was hit in the face on the swim
5 (give or take) - swallows of salt water
1 - lost item (sunglasses on the run)
3 - hours running in the dark
Countless - Number of times I repeated, “Just keep running, keep moving forward” on the second loop of the run
22 - hours in the car to/from FL (1600 miles on the GPS)
$240.07 - amount spent at the Ironman store
13 - numbers of items I now own that say IMFL (4 gifts, 2 finisher shirts, 1 finisher hat, water bottle, pint glass, stickers, socks)
10 -Number of MDot purchased (2 hats, trailer hitch cover, race belt, 3 magnets, 2 tattoos, and 1 decal)

Receiving an Ironman Finisher Medal .... Priceless!

Ironman Florida – Quick Race Report

13:03:52

A full race report is forthcoming, but I want to spend some time on the report so that I can really capture how I felt on each leg of the race. Stay tuned for all of the gory details …

In the mean time, I am in a surreal bubble right now … I can’t believe that the race is over and that I am officially an Ironman! IMFL was the perfect first Ironman and nearly a perfect race.

The highs:
- The first loop of the swim -- no mosh pit, just clear water and what felt like a great stroke (starting down the beach made all the difference)

- Getting a surprise note in my bike special needs bag from my family, “Keep moving forward.” This is a quote from the Disney movie Meet the Robinsons that I love and it was exactly what I needed. Seeing my family on the bike course about 20 miles later was a great treat too!

- Running the entire marathon … and doing it in 4:30!

The lows:
- The second loop of the swim – the chop started and it was not nearly as “easy” as the first loop. My splits were almost even though, considering the run along the beach required to start the second loop.

- The headwind on the bike and my pace. I know I am a stronger biker than my bike split and the only thing that makes me feel better (or worse) is that I realized after the race my brake was slightly rubbing. Not much, but enough to make a small difference. Maybe.

What I wish I had done differently:

- There are lots of places in my day that I could find 3 minutes and 53 seconds to break 13 hours … skipping a potty stop, not putting on arm warmers, trying to adjust the brake, etc. I am NOT going to pick apart my race though.

- Slow down near the grand stands, walk if needed, to find my family. I looked but was overwhelmed by the number of people and the noise. We didn’t coordinate ahead of time where they were going to be and I couldn’t hear them screaming for me over the crowd. I didn’t hear Mike Reilly say my name, but I heard him say, “from Houston, Texas” and Douglas told me that he did say it. I am looking forward to video so that I can hear it myself.

- Raise my hands and smile when crossing the finish line. I was thrilled but I had a deer in the headlights look.

- Coordinate with Douglas where to meet afterwards. Athletes get shuttled off in an athletes only area and the crowd made it difficult for Douglas to quickly get to me. There were so many people and I spent 10 + minutes looking for him and not knowing if he even saw me cross the finish line. It was a major bummer at the time.

Overall...

I am cloud 9. I hit 2 of my 3 goals, and got very close to the third in my first Ironman.

Goal 1 – Finish: Did it!
Goal 2 – Run the entire marathon: Did it!
Goal 3 – Sub 13: Next time!

I was planning to post something the evening of the race, but when I got online to login I was so blown away by the sweet note from Douglas that I decided I wanted to keep it as the top post for a couple of days.

I got emotional several times during the day, but I never cried … but I was overcome in reading my husband’s sweet note. His unending love and support made this journey possible.

Race Stats

Overall Place: 1423/2423

Overall Time: 13:03:52

Division Place: 49/95

Swim Overall Place: 1755

Swim Division Place: 65

Swim Lap 1: 42:19

Swim Lap 2: 44:51

Pace per 100M: 2:18

Total Swim Time: 1:27:09

T1: 8:46

Bike Division Place: 68

Bike Overall Place: 2026

Bike Pace: 16.3 mph

Bike Time: 6:52:08

T2: 5:37

Run Division Place: 33

Run Overall Place: 807

Run Pace: 10:19

Run Time: 4:30:14

The Gushing Pride of a Husband.....

Anne Moore, you are an Ironman!!!!! Let me say that again, ANNE MOORE, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!!!! I can’t really say that I am surprised; you told me years ago that you would like to try this some day. What I heard when you said that was; I WILL do that one day. I never had a doubt in my mind that you could or would do it; it was just a matter of time.

Baby, I can’t tell you how proud of you I am. You are the most driven person I have ever known. When you set your mind to something, you have this magical way of making it happen. It didn’t matter how many 4 and yes 3 o’clock mornings, rain or shine, you got your training hours in. I know I have complained some about the hours and tried to guilt trip you once or twice (wink, wink) but I will always be your biggest fan, bar none. I love that you make things happen, it is the one thing I admire most about you.

I think the most amazing thing about this whole endeavor is that neither I nor the boys have felt neglected the whole time. You have juggled your work, training, and home responsibilities flawlessly. And I have been bragging on you to anyone who will listen for the entire time.

So anyway, congratulations! You will never know how proud I am of you. You are the best at everything you do and I still can’t believe how lucky I am that you picked me. I love you so much, My Ironman.

--Douglas

Follow Me On Race Day!

If you want to track my progress on race day, go to www.ironman.com and look for the live event coverage for IMFL and go to the Athlete Tracker. You can search by name (Anne Moore) or bib # 2316.

Bike is in transition. Transition bags have been dropped off. Pre-race pizza dinner is done. Clothes have been laid out. Special needs bags are packed. Morning bag is ready. Infinit is cooling in the refrigerator. Timing chip is on my ankle. Sunscreen is ready to be applied. Practiced changing two tires. The only thing left to do is get a good night's sleep ...

Tomorrow is going to be a long day, but I am committed to enjoying every moment of my 140.6 miles! There are 1239 first timers on the course tomorrow, so I will be in good company.

Ironman is as much about the journey as it is about the race itself. I have logged the hours and I am ready to finish this challenge!

Good night, everyone!

Strange Sense of Calm

It was a beautiful day in PCB today. The seas were mostly flat and I had a great 1.2 mile swim on the course. The surf report shows there may be more swells on Saturday.

While I was hoping for calm seas, I know I can swim in the chop and that was one of the reasons that I did the Gulf Coast Tri in May here ... I wanted to compete in rougher conditions to be mentally prepared if those conditions presented themselves on race day.

Other than choppy seas, the weather forecast is perfect! I am looking forward to biking 112 miles under patchy skies in 70 some-odd degree weather and then running as the sun is setting and as the air cools off.

I picked up my packet today and saw the finish line and my heart skipped a beat, knowing that the next time I will be there I will be an Ironman. There was only excitement, no nerves as I got my race number and transition bags. I have a strange sense of calm for the time being.

I went to the race meeting this evening and had a raging headache, which made me feel a little nauseous, especially when I saw the size of the crowd and imagined the swim start. With the headache thankfully gone now, I have reminded myself that I can control my surroundings by starting down the beach and waiting a minute before entering the water.

Tomorrow morning I will do my last short ride and run before Ironman and packing my transition bags. I plan to get up early to get that out of the way so that I can spend the day relaxing with my boys, trying not to think about Saturday.

Be present. Live the moment.

Thank you for the good luck wishes, I will race strong knowing that I have so many people rooting me on, near and far!

Crowded Athlete Meeting (and that is the people you can see, there were a ton more to the left and right of the frame and in the hall with me)



I'm Official


This Morning ...


Andrew, playing on the beach


Tyler was running around like a mad man ...

I'm Here!

I've arrived!

10.5 hours in the car and 3 stops later, we arrived in PCB yesterday around 4 pm. Got into the room as the sun was setting over a FLAT gulf! The weather was warm but not hot and it cooled down with the sunset, but it was not cold.

We went to Iron Bob's for dinner and I got to meet a couple of fellow bloggers, Kendra and Melissa. It was neat to meet in person people I have been following online. Then it was to Walmart to stock the condo -- it had been decimated by the Ironman community.

The forecast this week is the same every day, so here is to hoping that race day is as beautiful as it is this morning. I am headed out shortly for a swim where I hope to meet a large Beginner Triathlete crew and then I will hit Ironman village to pick up my packet and check out the expo.

I am looking forward to an afternoon on the beach with my boys!

View from our condo:

PCB, Here I come!

I am officially on vacation!

Work was super busy and productive today, which was good because I didn't have any time to think about the race. I went straight from work to a parent-teacher conference for Tyler (my 2.5 year old), who, small mom brag, is doing very well and is "one of the most advanced in the class". I then raced to the polls to do my civic duty and made it with only 15 seconds to spare. Talk about a full day!

So, now it is 8 pm and we just finished dinner. I am going to be up all night packing, but come 5 am we will be on our way to Florida!

I am really looking forward to meeting Iron Bob , Kendra and others tomorrow night.

Our condo has wifi so I will definitely be updating the blog every day with my Ironman experience. PCB, here I come!

Bouncing off the Walls!

I have to be honest, I have been wondering what this “taper madness” everyone refers to was all about, because it really hadn’t hit me. The last two weeks I have been tired and even the shorter hours didn’t seem to be helping.

Well, I woke up this morning after a very restful weekend feeling well rested and energized – with more energy than I have had in weeks, make that months! I can’t remember the last time I was not struggling for energy at 3 pm, but not today. I am bouncing off the walls. I am perky, positive and upbeat … and I think I am annoying everyone around me, myself included! It is Monday after all …

I had a great swim this morning (my last with my Masters group before heading out) and a good spin on the bike at lunch. I am making an effort to hydrate too, something I have not been great about the last several weeks. I am not sure if the renewed energy is the excitement of race week (can you believe it is really here?!?!?) or the results of a good taper, but either way I will take it! The only good thing about working Monday and Tuesday this week is that I am staying off my feet and being forced to rest and not stress. If I had taken Monday and Tuesday as vacation I think I would be climbing the walls at the house!

I have already double checked my reservation this morning, verified we have wifi, finalized my travel folder, and added to my list of things to pack.

Bounce, bounce, bounce!

I am also getting lots of emails wishing me luck and people stopping by to see how I am doing … I know that these are small gestures, but they mean the world to me!

If anyone has any last minute advice, I would love to hear it too!

Oh, and I have to mention that my best friend Allie sent me the most thoughtful birthday gift! She scoured my blog to see what I needed and sent me the halter style cycling jersey that I have been wanting! I can't wait to wear it -- incentive to get back on the bike this spring!

October in Review

Even with the taper, October will go down as my largest month in IM training.

It's funny, because I seem to be training all.the.time, but all said and done, my training made up only about 10% of my available time in October (75 hours vs 744 hours in the month).

October's Totals:
Bike: 38h 14m - 652.5 Mi
Run: 25h 19m - 166.25 Mi
Swim: 12h 00m - 28,800 Yd

Total Time - 75h 33m

I keep waiting to get nervous but so far I am pretty calm ... anyone want to bet how long that lasts?

Aging Up

Well, it's official.

I have been racing all year with "30" in sharpie on my calf (thanks to the USAT rule that you race as your age as of 12/31) and as of today the age on my driver's licence will match the age on my leg in Florida.

I think doing an Ironman is going to be an awesome start to my 30s!

I started this morning by sleeping in until 9:30 -- with falling back, that was like sleeping until 10:30! I am going to spend the rest of the day relaxing (a pedicure is on the agenda) and celebrating with my family, oh, and getting organized for FL too!

Happy Birthday to me!

One Week

I woke up this morning at 7:00 a.m. and as I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for my bike ride I had a realization ... that exactly one week from that very moment I would be getting into the Gulf of Mexico to complete this journey.

A journey, that fittingly, started nearly a year ago (November 2) when I registered for IMFL. I remember shaking with nervousness when trying to register, not fearful of what I was about to embark upon, but fearful that I would not get into the race!

So, with my last workout of the week behind me (Sunday is a rest day), it is with great pleasure that I look at my training plan and see only one thing left on my schedule -- RACE WEEK!

Mileage for Week Ending 11/01/09
Swim: 6800 yards in 3:00 [2 workouts]
Bike: 80 miles in 4:45 [4 workouts, 2 bricks]
Run: 22.6 miles in 3:18 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Total Time: 11:03

In keeping with the theme of mental preparation, I took a look at my log totals to remind myself that I have logged the miles, followed the plan and I am ready!

In the year since registration, I have:

Logged 305,026 yards or 173.3 miles in my Speedo.
Spun 3742.5 miles on my wheels.
and
Run 1,538 miles in my New Balance

I am ready!

What do I write about?

Trishie blogged about Wordle and I thought it was really cool ... it makes a random image with the words from your own writing, whether it is a blog or a paper.

Here is the Wordle art work generated from Iron Dreams (click to enlarge):



Oh, and even more exciting than that - single digits to race day! Woot!

2316 is ready to race!

Bib numbers were assigned for IMFL today and I am #2316!

There is always a lot of excitement around this announcement ... not that the bib numbers themselves are all that exciting, it is the excitement of knowing that the assignment of bib numbers is just another sign that race day is almost here [as if the countdown clock approaching single digits didn't scream that fact to me already!]

Next week at this time I will be double checking my lists and finishing up my packing for Florida. There is much to be done in the next week, but once all of the packing is done (packing = stress) I am going to make a deliberate effort to take a deep breath and enjoy every moment of our vacation and the Ironman experience.

I am sure there will be butterflies, but I am ready to race!

Mental Preparation

This was the conversation at my house at 6:00 am today:

Doug (Iron Sherpa)- How long are you riding today, when do you expect to be home?

Anne - 4 hour ride, 30 minute run. I should be home by 1:00.

Sigh.

Next weekend I am riding Saturday morning though so I can sleep in on my birthday (Sunday).

Doug - And the Sunday after that you will be an Ironman!

Anne - Wow (major goosebumps)!!

My goal this week is to get organized -- it is time to make packing lists! I will be packing before I know it and given that it takes me forever to pack for a 3 day business trip, I can only imagine how long it will take me to pack for Florida! I think it is going to be a challenge to fit stuff for 5 people for a week's vacation plus tri gear in our Suburban -- thankfully, we won't need to take strollers this time, so we can save some space there!

To celebrate the first week of taper, I attended an IMFL Taper Party and I got to meet several people that I have raced with or chatted with online / through Yahoo Groups. It was great to put faces with names and I hope to run into some of those familiar faces in FL!

I also spent some time focusing on how far I have come (literally, in mileage!). Kristin (The Lazy Marathoner) did a post before IMWI in which she counted how many times she had done the Iron distance in each sport in training leading up to the race.

I remember thinking at the time that it would be a major confidence builder to think of the cumulative training in those terms. So, I did a little Excel magic and discovered the following:

I have swum the IM distance nearly 62 times, I have biked the IM distance nearly 33 times and I have run the IM distance nearly 45 times in training.

When I think about it in those terms, what is one more time? :)

I have also been fighting a bit of a head cold, mainly congestion, so I went to the doctor on Friday to make sure it was nothing more serious. I didn't see my regular doctor, but I was lucky that the doctor who did see me was an athlete himself and was understanding of my situation. He confirmed that I do NOT have the flu and told me to take Mucinex ... but he also gave me a prescription for a Z Pack, just in case! I am happy to have it as insurance.

Mileage for Week Ending 10/25/09
Swim: 7200 yards in 3:00 [2 workouts]
Bike: 116 miles in 6:45 [4 workouts, 2 bricks]
Run: 31.7 miles in 4:47 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Total Time: 14:32

Oh, and Happy (early) Halloween!

Bring On The Taper!

What.A.Weekend!

I think that this last weekend was the busiest weekend that I can remember in a long time. What does the weekend of busy mom and triathlete look like?

Friday night: Meet friends at pumpkin patch. Take photos of all of the kiddos in their costumes. Dinner and ice cream. Home after 9 pm.

Saturday: Up early to run 20 miles. Straight from run to company picnic with whole family. Spend day at picnic, run errands and then dinner with training buddy and his family. Home after 9 pm.

Sunday: Up early to do a 7 hour brick (6 hour bike, 1 hour run). Home in time to shower before babysitting for friends and making dinner for my parents, who come over every Sunday to see us and the boys. Asleep right after boys.

Whew! [Note: this would not be possible without my incredible husband who is also an amazing father!]

Needless to say, my closet is a mess, the mail is piling up and I am so ready for this taper! The good news is that I feel ready. I know in my bones that I can finish this race. I have “seen” the finish line on many runs and bike rides. I have practiced my nutrition. I have logged the hours. All there is to do now is let my body recover by dialing back the hours so that it can be at its peak performance in less than 3 weeks.

I am going to do my best to not worry about things that I cannot control (like weather, although good vibes for good weather would be greatly appreciated) and spend this time in a productive way – packing lists, spending time with my family, sleeping, and not gaining 5 pounds by still eating like I am logging 20 hour weeks, etc.

What does a perfect race day look like to me?

One where I cross the finish line.

Preferably with no injuries, no mechanicals, no rain and the wind at my back!

Mileage for Week Ending 10/18/09
Swim: 7000 yards in 3:00 [2 workouts]
Bike: 167 miles in 9:56 [5 workouts, 1 brick]
Run: 46.7 miles in 7:19 [4 workouts, 1 brick]
Total Time: 20:15

I heart nice people

Let's face it ... most people I know are tired of hearing about Ironman (except my Iron Sherpa family, who is just tired of me being MIA!). They have heard about it for months (and months and months) and most people have stopped asking how training is going, etc. That is one of the reasons that I blog and that I love Beginner Triathlete ... safe places to drone on about triathlon!

I completely understand that this race is important to me but that other people find it slightly crazy. I try not to talk about it with people who are not really interested (like my poor co-workers) and I try not to go overboard with details when someone does ask me about it (although, I admit, sometimes I have a hard time reigning it in ... the random person at the gym does not need to know about the number of calories I consume per hour!).

With IMFL just around the corner now though, more and more people are coming out of the woodwork on a daily basis and are starting to ask me about the race again (and no, not because I reminded them). One of my customers asked me today to remind him the specific date of the race -- he wanted to be sure to put it on his calendar so that he could send prayers and good thoughts my way on the day of the event. I was blown away by this nice gesture!

... and thank you to those of you who "listen" to me vent/obsess on this blog and on BT and provide endless advice and encouragement, it is all very much appreciated!

One Week Until Taper!

Well, this week of training did not quite turn out as expected, and while I was disappointed at first, I made the most of it and am happy that I managed to log all of the hours, despite the weather. We triathletes have to flexible, right? The good news is that the bad weather did bring Fall weather to Houston! Now, let's hope the cooler temps sticks around -- minus the rain, that is!

I ended up breaking up my long ride into 2 rides, although I still logged a respectable 3:15 straight on the trainer on Friday after my rain out ride. I don't know how some of my IMFL buddies log 5+ hours straight on the trainer! Mr. Iron Dreams was happy because I managed to clear the DVR of all of my sinful teeny bopper shows like Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, 90210 and Melrose Place.

One more big week until the 3 week taper begins. My taper hours are still respectable hours, but coming off these 19+ hour weeks I think 14.5, 11 and 5.5 hours respectively will leave me feeling rested and ready to race! With Kona behind us, IMFL is the next IM on the calendar.

I ordered more Infinit (again!) this week, as well as a new tri top, arm warmers and a box of Clif Shot Blocks. I also paid for the PCB condo in full since we are less than 30 days out now! Next on the to do list -- packing and transition bag lists!

My Pei Wei Fortune Cookie: "In dreams and in life, nothing is impossible."

Right before my youngest son was born, my older son, Andrew (2.5 at the time) got a fortune cookie that read "a small gift can bring joy to the whole family" ... I saved it and it is framed with his memory box of hospital stuff. I am definitely saving this fortune as well!

Mileage for Week Ending 10/11/09
Swim: 7800 yards in 3:00 [2 workouts]
Bike: 156.5 miles in 9:15 [6 workouts, 1 brick]
Run: 44.75 miles in 6:53 [5 workouts, 1 brick]
Total Time: 19:08

Have a happy and safe training week!

Athletic Gear by Women for Women

One of my favorite bloggers, Kelly (aka TriMommy) is doing a give away for a $30 GC for Whooha Gear. Go to her blog and check it out!

Seeking Cover

So, I took a vacation day today to get in my long brick and was disappointed that rain was in the forecast. I figured I would get in as much as I could and brave the weather, if needed. Well, 1:20 into my ride I made a quick pit stop to fill my water bottle at the Monaville General Store (small town 30 minutes outside of Houston). I got back on my bike with intentions of riding back to my car, so I wouldn't be too far from it if the weather got bad. Well, not 2 minutes later, the temperature dropped 20 degrees and the wind gusts started, and with it a light rain.

I immediately got nervous. I was 20-something miles from my car with not many opportunities to seek shelter. The die-hard in me wanted to brave the weather and be a bad ass, but my sensible self who wants to make it to the IMFL starting line decided to turn around and call my endlessly supportive husband for a ride back to my car. It was absolutely the right decision today. The rain and wind only got much worse and I can only imagine how that wind would have knocked me around.

So, I am sitting in the comfort of the Monaville General Store waiting for my Ironsherpa to save the day. I think he was so just happy that I made a smart decicion. So, it looks like I will be spending some quality time on the trainer this weekend to make up the difference. I will log the hours, but I don't think I will be able to make myself sit on the trainer for 4+ hours straight. We'll see ...

No matter what happens, I know in my bones I made the right call and this one ride is not going to make or break my training. It is the consistency over the last year that will make the difference come race day.

Guess What?

One Month until IM FL!

Yeehaw, I can't wait!

Call Me Crazy

A new personal best for me this morning … I started my run at 3:55 a.m. this morning. While the rush of trying to get ready for work and the kids to school on time immediately after my 18 miler pretty much sucked at the time, I feel so freakin great now, knowing my long run for the week is behind me! Now, I might need a Red Bull or a wake up call this afternoon, but I will cross that bridge this afternoon.

I am actually planning to take Friday as a vacation day to do my long brick for the week as this weekend is packed with soccer, a baptism and a baby shower! The epiphany that I could use a vacation day to do this ride lifted all the weight off my shoulders of trying to figure out how to fit in everything in such limited time. Plus, it will be nice to spend the entire weekend with my family, instead of spending nearly an entire day (e.g. half of my weekend) training.

One Lucky Girl

I am one lucky girl - and someone even told me as much on Saturday (more on that later).

I am lucky because ...

I have the most amazing and supportive family. It takes a lot of personal sacrifice and commitment to train for an Ironman, but even more than that, it takes a lot of family sacrifice and commitment, especially as the hours ramp up. I work full time and my training hours are like having a part time job on top of that. Come November 7, I can say without hesitation that while I might be doing the 140.6, when I cross that finish line, I will not have done it alone. Thank you Ironsherpa Family!

I had a minor bike crash on my long ride this weekend and was able to get back on the bike without a scratch on me. My bike survived ok as well, with a couple of scratches, but nothing serious and I was able to get back on the bike and finish the 35 some-odd miles I had left on my 100 mile ride as though nothing had happened. The crash happened as we were approaching a light and I looked up at the traffic (to make sure the cars saw me) that was trying to turn left into the shopping center I was passing on the shoulder. My bike wheel veered into a joint in the concrete and the next thing I knew, my bike was on top of me. I didn't even have time to think or brace for the crash. The guy I was riding with told me at the end of our ride that I was seriously lucky and that crash damage could have been much worse. He kept checking my arms for scratches that were not there!

I am overcoming a case of Laryngitis that I developed on my trip this week, but nothing too serious. In fact, I was able to get all of my workouts in while on the road. I am so thankful for my health and the ability to train and race. I am also proud of myself for getting my workouts in, including doing 250+ laps in the short hotel pool and running a total of 41 half mile laps (multiple runs) around the hotel property.

That there are single digit weeks to IMFL! That's right, we are down to counting weeks on one hand! I am also thrilled that there are just 2 weeks until the taper!

Mileage for Week Ending 10/4/09
Swim: 7500 yards in 3:00 [2 workouts]
Bike: 165 miles in 9:33 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Run: 43.5 miles in 6:35 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Total Time: 19:08

Here is hoping that my hard work has properly prepared me for IMFL and that my luck continues to help me get to the finish line.

Happy days and safe training to all!

September in Numbers

Wow. What a month! With taper just around the corner, I think this will go down as my biggest training month in preparation for IMFL, although October will be close.

There was a time that I would have said this sort of volume was not possible, but gradual increases and consistent training over 2 years has me in what I feel is the best shape of my life.

September's Totals:
Bike: 35h 43m - 622 Mi
Run: 23h 09m - 152 Mi
Swim: 15h 16m - 39,624 Yd

Total Time - 74h 08m

Weekly Rewind

Another big week is in the books. This upcoming week will be quite a challenge as I am traveling most of the week, but I have already done my recon and found the local gym for spin classes and a 25 yard pool. Yes, I know, I am OCD.

I do have a confession to make though, these long Saturday workouts are starting to getting old. I started my bike ride in the dark (my hubby added a headlight and tailight) on Saturday and still had to cut my run short to make it to Andrew's first soccer game on time -- and it was at 1:00 p.m.!

All of the time in the saddle is paying off though as I was not even a touch sore from my nearly 6 hour workout. I did ride a bit slower than normal as I was riding with someone who rides a bit slower than me, but I appreciated the company and didn't mind saving my legs.

Double Standard

I have done 2 centuries in training that were not on the schedule, so I just added the time to the bike hours those weeks. This week, I feel guilty for cutting my brick run short to make it to Andrew's soccer game on time. If the schedule is so important, then why can I add to the workouts but not subtract a bit when I need to? I know it is not a big deal because I have been so consistent, but I still feel guilty. The good news is that I haven't lost sight of my priorities ...

Mileage for Week Ending 9/27/09
Swim: 6800 yards in 3:00 [2 workouts / 1 recovery]
Bike: 146 miles in 8:33 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Run: 40 miles in 6:07 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Total Time: 17:40

Redman Aqua Bike Race Report

Pre-race
Doug and I drove to OKC early Friday morning and arrived around Noon and were able to check into the hotel early and drop off some of our gear. After grabbing a quick bite to eat we went to the race site to pick up my packet and do a short brick. There was a crazy long line at packet pick-up to check IDs and USAT cards, but after about 30 minutes of waiting they figured out they needed several more people helping and the line sped up considerably.

There was not a lot of information about the Aqua Bike race so I had to hunt someone down who could tell me how the finish was going to work (rack bike, exit transition and turn left to run to the finish line, IM and HIM athletes turn right to run the run course). Once I got that straight, Doug and I went to clean up and hunt down my pre-race pizza dinner at Hideaways after a side trip down Route 66. The pizza at Hideaways was perfect and then it was off to bed for me.

Race Morning
We packed up my gear and had breakfast at a hole in the wall place called Beverly’s Pancake House since it was open 24 hours. I had oatmeal while my dutiful Iron Sherpa hubby enjoyed eggs with biscuits and gravy and sausage … I wasn’t at all bitter about having to stick to my pre-race diet! :)

After breakfast we had to hunt down a parking spot at Lake Hefner, which meant getting a little creative, but we ended up with a great spot in the grass on a median. We checked with one of the race officials and he said it was ok to stay there – perfect!

All the while, I was somewhat surprised because I was really not nervous at all about this race. I guess I was successful at convincing myself that it is just a long, well supported training day at race pace. (I sure hope I can convince myself of that in November!)

I also ran into Brittany race morning too – even in the dark, the red hair and Army tri top could not be missed! I was so glad to finally meet another IMFL / Blog World / Beginner Triathlete friend in person!

Next stop, transition. I decided not to utilize the changing tents or special needs bags for this race in an effort to keep things simple. So, I laid out my towel, bike shoes and socks and then put on my wetsuit. Then the skies opened. So much for the weather forecast. It was actually pretty chilly with the rain, so I was happy to have my full sleeved wetsuit on.

It's raining, it's pouring ...

Athletes gathered (and shivered) for the pre-race meeting, while spectators did their best to huddle under tents to stay dry. I never thought that the rain was that heavy, but it was significant enough that one of the roads on the bike course was impassable so they chose to delay the start of the race. The first update from the race director (RD) didn’t sound much better when he said the contingency plan was to do a swim – run – swim. I felt terrible for those who were doing 70.3 or 140.6 for the first time, as I would have been freaking out. As it was, I was freaking out about what to do about my long ride for the weekend if the bike leg got cancelled.

Thankfully, the RD decided the race could go on with a mandatory dismount at mile 6 of the bike course to walk through / around the standing water and the race start was moved to 8:00 a.m. (45 minute delay).

Swim

I had a banana Hammer Gel and then I entered the water with everyone doing the 140.6 race. At 8:00 a.m. exactly, the shotgun went off to signal the start of the race. The first couple of minutes were nerve racking and I felt awkward in my wetsuit. I had a hard time finding my stroke and wondered to myself how it would feel to swim 2.4 miles like this. Thankfully, I quickly fell into a rhythm, found my stroke and started swimming buoy to buoy. I was very pleased with my sighting and was happily surprised when I completed the first lap and my watch showed a time of 36 minutes and change. My HIM swim times have all been closer to 43++ minutes, so I was stoked. Several of the people near me stood up for just a moment and raised their arms in victory for completing the first lap and the watching crowd went wild.

I was very confident about the second loop, given my time on the first loop, how easy my stroke felt and how well I was sighting. I was not expecting the physical contact that came next. I thought that once the crowd thinned, I would be clear from contact, but there were a handful of us all swimming about the same speed and I got kicked in the face several times, even after I made an effort to move away from the other swimmers. I actually had my goggles knocked loose once and I had to stop to put them back on. Everyone was incredibly nice though, and the guy that kicked me on accident actually stopped to make sure that I was ok. I tried to imagine how much more contact there would be in FL with so many more athletes in the water, and I realized that I was thankful for the experience at Redman so would know what to expect in November.

When I rounded the last buoy to start the home stretch, I was happily surprised at how great I was feeling, despite the fact that the rain had picked up again. I reached the swim exit, stood up to wobbly legs (only momentarily), smiled and started taking off my wetsuit.

T1

The wetsuit strippers did a great job of quickly getting me out of my “super suit” (as Andrew and I call it, thank you, Incredibles) and I was off to my bike. At this point I regretted not using the changing tents and T1/T2 bags because all of my stuff was soaking wet. Fortunately, just then I saw Doug and that cheered me right up.

I managed to put on my wet tri top (I swam in a sports bra), rung out my socks, put on my bike shoes, sunglasses (maybe rain glasses would have been more appropriate) and helmet and I was off. I was at the back of the transition area, which made the bike out a bit tedious as you had to go up and down a curb (and they made you go this way), but I still managed to attempt a run out of transition. I saw Doug again as I was exiting the bike exit and starting on the first of two 56 mile loops.

Bike

It was still raining at this point and all I could think about was how unprepared I was for the weather. Thankfully, I was not too uncomfortable, considering I was soaking wet from head to toe … in a sleeveless jersey … in the rain … in coolish weather.

I got settled in after 2 miles or so and I was starting to get comfortable when I reached the first turn of the ride and the first down hill. Hmmm, my brakes don’t seem to want to work in the rain, so I took it pretty easy on the turns and descents until the rain stopped. This course was a lot hillier than I had anticipated, but nothing too horrible and it was actually a nice distraction. I still managed to stay aero 99% of the time.

I drank concentrated Infinit every 20 minutes and drank water from my aerobar water bottle. I knew that I was going to have to stop at the porta pottys because I was not sweating as much as usual and sure enough I ended up stopping once each lap. The volunteers at this race were incredible. Each aid station had tons of volunteers, all eager to make sure you had everything you needed. They even had a volunteer at the beginning of the aid station area asking what you needed so that the volunteer could yell to the other volunteers what each athlete required. When I stopped to use the facilities they held my bike for me and restocked it while I was in the porta potty. Talk about service with a smile!

The first loop passed fairly quickly and I used the aid stations as markers along the way. There course was more crowded on the first loop as the HIM athletes were still on the course. I actually saw Brittany kicking some ass on the bike as I was on my way out and she was on her way back in. As I was reaching the end of the first loop, I saw the leaders starting out on the second loop. I think I figured out that the leader was about 20 miles ahead of me on the bike :).

At the turn around at the end of the 1st loop:
I made it back to the turnaround and was relieved to see Doug. He asked if I was ok, if everything was going alright and I think I replied “yes, fine” – then we did a virtual fist bump and I took off for the second loop. There were a lot fewer people on the course at this point, but I was never alone and never felt lonely. I surprised myself by being content in the fact that I knew where I was going and what to expect along the course in the way of hills, aid stations, the turn around point, etc. It rained off and on during both loops but thankfully, the sun finally came out towards the end of the second loop.

To say that I was happy to see the turn around on the second loop would be an understatement – I actually almost got emotional! There is something about knowing that you are on the home stretch that is very powerful to me during a race. There was another section on the main drag, right before you turn to ride the last couple of miles on the dam, that was lined with volunteers who were all cheering, clapping or offering words of encouragement and I nearly cried again there. In both cases I felt great but it was just a bit overwhelming and magical at the same time.

The last couple of miles passed in a blur and I was thankful that I had not had any mechanical issues and that I was finishing my second loop as I saw folks who were just starting theirs. I was thrilled to see the dismount line!

T2 & Finish

I ran my bike to my rack, took off my helmet and bike shoes, not bothering to take off my socks, and high tailed it out of there to the finish line. The Aquabikers had to run a little less than a quarter of a mile to the finish. As I rounded the corner, the announcer called out my name and some personal information about me, I saw Doug (of course!) and then I crossed the line. I had so much momentum that I nearly collided with the person in front of me that was just standing there (oops!). I have to say it was pretty cool to cross the finish line in my socks!

In socks!

So happy!

Results

2.4 mile swim - 1:15:53 (pace 1:59 per 100)
T1: 3:33112 mile bike - 6:25:25 (17.3 mph)
T2: 1:20Run to Finish Line - 1:05
Total Time - 7:47:16
16/30 overall
3/8 Gender
1/1 AG

Post-race Run

After getting my gear out of transition and hitting the porta pottys, we took everything to the car so I could change for my 30 minute run. My legs felt great on my short run to the finish and I wanted to see how they would stand up after a couple of miles. I started my run, careful to avoid the run course itself, and was very happy about how I felt overall. My legs felt strong, my stomach felt fine and I was not hungry at all. I took one serving of cliff blocks with me and ate them over the first mile. They are so much more satisfying to me than eating a gel, and I like how I can eat them slowly over time instead of forcing down and entire gel.

I ended up running for 3.6 miles over 32 minutes (2 short out and backs, there was not a lot of non-race course real estate to be had). I saw Brittany on my run and she called out that I was looking good, which definitely put an extra spring in my step. I ended the run feeling confident that I could have finished a marathon and a little jealous that I was not on the run course completing my 140.6.

Overall, I think that the Aquabike was a great pre-IM, race environment test to evaluate how I felt about my pacing and nutrition and it was a huge confidence booster for me for IMFL.

Post-race Revelry

Doug and I got cleaned up from the muddy race site and decided to go back to Hideaways for fried mushrooms and pizza – so good! We also stopped for a visit at the National Memorial, which was simply incredible, especially all lit up at night, then it was off to Marble Slab for dessert! Sweet cream ice cream with fresh strawberries and chocolate chip fixins in a chocolate dipped waffle cone. It was divine!

118 miles down, 22 to go!

Recovery – What’s That?

I was perusing one of the issues of Triathlon Life (USAT’s magazine) that I had laying around and I stumbled across an article on recovery. This being my second serious season in triathlon, I still have a lot to learn about nutrition, recovery, speed work … well, let’s just say I have a lot to learn about a lot of things related to triathlon! The one thing I think I have been fairly successful at doing is fitting IM training into my already hectic life, without feeling like any big balls are being dropped or like I am completely neglecting some other area of my life.

Then I read about all of the other things I should be doing (e.g. recovery) to ensure peak performance, and I feel like it is a lost cause. There are simply no additional hours in the day! I did my long run this morning and instead of taking an ice bath I took a shower and went to work. I did eat oatmeal right away – does that count for something? Saturday I will do my long brick for the week, and again an ice bath and nap should be on the schedule, but I will be rushing to make it to my son’s first soccer game, still covered in sweat. I will have a change of clothes, but I imagine, I still won’t smell very good. Thankfully, at 5, Andrew will not be embarrassed by my attire or by the fact that I stink. On both accounts, I couldn’t start my workouts any earlier to build in time for proper post workout recovery.

This is when having a coach would be so helpful – having someone knowledgeable to help me prioritize my workouts, nutrition and proper recovery, all the while understanding that my employer does not have afternoon nap time and that my children want to see their mommy. I am not downplaying the importance of recovery in anyway, in fact, I have a day off every single week and I do try to utilize my hour of TV time before bed to stretch with the foam roller and most importntly, I listen to my body… but let’s face it, the average age grouper is living a life similar to mine. What tricks do you all use to maximize your recovery?

Another article I read suggested that the lack of recovery (post workout meal, massage, nap, etc) is one of the key differences between the FOP (front of pack) and MOP/BOP (middle/back of pack) athletes.

All said and done, performance is important to me, but I am racing against myself, trying to do the best that I can do and of course, have fun! Oh, and if you see a stinky mom or dad at soccer this weekend, be kind!

I really have trained my body …

I am a sleeper. I love to sleep. I mean, I really love to sleep. Naps were invented for people like me. Some people think that it is a waste of time (e.g., my husband), but I am usually an 8+ hour a night kind of girl (although IM training has cut into that a bit). On the weekends I can sleep for 12 hours straight. I also can fall asleep anywhere. Literally. Car? Yep. Plane? Yep. Boat? Yep. Standing up? Probably! This is normally a GREAT thing, but it has been known to be problematic (e.g. trying to stay awake in class, business meetings, yawning while out with friends), but I digress.

Wednesday mornings I get up around 4:30 – 4:45 a.m. so that I can get to the pool by 5:30 a.m. for Masters. This morning I stirred and checked my watch and it read 4:47 a.m. Hmmm, I don’t remember hitting the snooze button. I checked the alarm, and sure enough, I set the time but did not turn it on.

Needless to say, I was thrilled that my body knew what to do all on its own and got me up at the right time to make it to Masters in time. Sunday is normally the only day of the week that I do not set an alarm and I never get up before 8:00 a.m., and I only get up that early because my boys wake me up, so I am still a bit shocked about this morning’s events, but very, very happy! I hate trying to reschedule missed workouts!

……

On a totally separate topic, have you ever noticed that taking a couple of flights of stairs makes you feel incredibly unfit? Seriously, I have been averaging 16 hours a week of training for the last month and yet my heart still races and l feel out of breath from taking the stairs. What gives?!?!

4 Big Weeks Until the Taper!

With my last warm up race behind me, the countdown to IMFL is on (ok, as if it wasn't already)! Now, more than ever, with the hours continuing to ramp up, I think I am actually looking forward to the taper (please remind me of that when I am going taper crazy).

Mileage for Week Ending 9/20/09 (including race)
Swim: 9475 yards in 3:16 [3 workouts]
Bike: 163.25 miles in 9:26 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Run: 21.6 miles in 3:11 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Total Time: 15:53

This was a lighter run week for me so my legs should feel fresh for the miles next week. This week also marked my longest ever OWS (2.4 miles), longest bike ride (112 miles), and longest continuous workout (8:15, race + post race run).

Quick Race Recap (full race report to follow):

I am thrilled with my race performance on this wet (so much for the forecast) and hilly (well, hilly for me) course!

2.4 mile swim - 1:15:53 (pace 1:59 per 100)
T1: 3:33
112 mile bike - 6:25:25 (17.3 mph)
T2: 1:20
Run to Finish Line - 1:05
Total Time - 7:47:16

Results:
16/30 overall
3/8 Gender
1/1 AG

47 days to IMFL -- What's left on the list?:

1. Purchase Garmin 310xt -- debating whether I really need this
2. Practice using Garmin 310xt in multisport mode -- see #1
3. Sell my Gamin 305 -- see #1
4. Practice changing tires -- I have been practicing, but I need to practice several times a week
5. Get a massage -- I need another one! Next one is scheduled for October 1
6. Order more Infinit – I am running out already! -- I ordered 2 bags and already finished 1!
7. Buy an end of season pair of flip flops to keep in my car/tri bag
8. Start wearing my Heart Rate Monitor
9. Buy a Tanita scale -- again, do I really need this?
10. Order new halter style cycle top (my tan lines need help!) -- I decided I didn't need this top this year, since my tan lines are bad already. I might put this on the Christmas list.
11. Order and read “Going Long”
12. Push myself on the swim (my weakest sport)
13. Sign Hubby up for a Twitter account so he can tweet race progress on race day (hubby doesn't mind providing race updates but has an aversion to "tweeting")
14. Take Indy (my chocolate lab) for a run -- I took her for a walk, does that count?
15. Pick a Spring / Summer marathon for 2010
16. Decide what to wear for the big day (funny, most people would assume wedding when you say "big day")– am I going to change for comfort?
17. Thank my amazing hubby for being so supportive, especially as the hours ramp up -- need to do this again, every single day
18. Swim on average 7500 yards+ a week -- in progress
19. Run on average 30 - 35 miles per week -- in progress
20. Bike on average 125 - 150 miles per week -- in progress
21. Finalize nutrition formula/menu for the bike
22. Finalize nutrition formula/menu for the run
23. Try to go one full day without saying the word Ironman
24. Find/make matching shirts for my family to wear on race day
25. Write a pre-race plan (what can I say, I am a planner)
26. Write a race plan (like a birth plan, but longer!)
27. Think about Special Needs Bags (do they fit into the race plan?)
28. Determine back-up plan (plan B)
29. Determine back-up, back-up plan (plan C)
30. Find new audio books for the drive to/from FL
31. Give back to the tri community in some way (volunteer, help someone new) -- trying to be helpful to beginners and I definitely plan to volunteer at a local race next Spring
32. Read race reports for IMFL from 2008
33. Thank my family, friends, co-workers and any/everyone else who has provided an encouraging word along this journey
34. Find a temporary tattoo to wear on my arm during the race for a little inspiration (maybe Spiderman, my boys would love it!) -- tried this in a recent OLY and it didn't stay on, so I am scrapping the idea
35. Make a packing list (I love lists!)
36. Take my boys trick or treating, eat too much candy
37. Turn 30 and celebrate (yes, that is right, I turn 30 six days before the race!)
38. Pick up magazines / other reading material for the trip to FL
39. Make the long trek from Houston to FL with a car full of gear and children (I am so excited that my boys are going to be there!)
40. Enjoy the (hopefully) beautiful FL weather, do a practice swim in the Gulf, and takes lots of photos of the experience
41. Hit the expo
42. Meet fellow IMFL athletes from BT, Houston, Blogging world, etc. and share in the excitement of what is to come
43. Eat pizza at the Mellow Mushroom (my fave pre-race food), get a good night’s rest (is that possible?) and say prayers for the upcoming day
44. Fulfill lifelong dream of becoming an Ironman
45. (You have to have one to grow on!) Buy loads of M-Dot gear and start the recovery process

Mid Week Ramblings

What is the #1 thing that athletes do the week of a race? Check the weather, of course!

I am happy to report that the forecast for Saturday is perfect (well for a Texan at least!). Partly cloudy… highs in the lower 80s and lows in the lower 60s!

I am enjoying a slight taper (15ish hours planned this week vs 17ish last week)this week, which means that I have been getting to sleep in … and funny how sleeping in until 5 something instead of waking up in the 4 o’clock hour now sounds incredible!

I also took care of a bit of housekeeping and took my bike to the LBS for a quick tune up and got a new pair of goggles. I was shocked at how much clearer my view was with the new goggles. If you haven’t replaced your current pair, consider doing so (with the same make and model that you have) before your next race. The anti-fog and clear view are totally worth the $15, plus now my old goggles are my back-up pair.

The Motherhood Effect

“Stretch marks, weight gain and overwhelming fatigue are the side-effects of pregnancy with which most women are familiar. But for some, motherhood appears to leave the female body better able to cope with extreme physical demands than ever before.”

I came across a great article that that speaks to the effects of pregnancy and childbirth on competitive and endurance athletes. I’ll save you the trouble if you don’t want to read the entire article and say this: results are inconclusive and it is a tricky thing to scientifically study, BUT the likes of Kim Clijsters (Belgian tennis player that defeated Venus Williams), Liz McColgan and Paula Radcliffe (distance runners), and Catriona Matthew (Scottish golfer who won the British Open 10 weeks after giving birth) seem to suggest that “becoming a mother somehow spurs an already high-achieving body on to even greater things.” All of the mentioned women claim that “the demands of pregnancy and childbirth made them stronger of body and more willful of mind, suggesting that in some way the rigors of the process heightened their athletic powers.”

And the changes are not just physical, there are definitely psychological / emotional changes that come with motherhood.

“Women re-evaluate where they can anchor pain and many psychologists believe that woman’s pain threshold is effectively reset so that when she resumes or takes up training again, nothing ever seems as uncomfortable.”

It makes me wonder, maybe there is a shred of truth to my son’s idea that I am a super hero after all … it is the motherhood effect!

What A Difference A Week Makes!

I could not have asked for a better long ride/brick today to give me a major confidence boost going into the Redman Full Aquabike next week. Everything that was tough last week felt *almost* easy today.

I did the Tour De Pink Century, but smartie Anne, somehow missed the finish line and ended up logging 101.75 miles in 5:42 (moving avg of 17.7 mph). I followed that with a 5 mile, 45 minute run. I never got truly uncomfortable on my bike today and I can tell that all of the time in the saddle is starting to pay off.

I was really nervous when I started my post-ride run, but I could tell immediately that my legs felt great, especially my calves which bothered me last week. My knee felt great too, so I think the time on the foam roller is making a difference -- I highly recommend spending some QT on a foam roller while you are watching your favorite TV show.

The second best part about today's ride was that because it was an organized ride I did not wear my iPod and yet, I managed to keep myself entertained, despite the fact that there were long stretches where I didn't see anyone (at least in a race there is a lot to look at). That also meant I did my run without my iPod too :)

Oh, and my legs feel great tonight!

I am excited and nervous about Redman next week, this will be my longest race yet, plus the short run I plan to do should be me at about 8:00+ hours on the course. This is my last race before IMFL and I am hoping it will be a good exercise to prepare me mentally for what I will feel like coming off the bike in Panama City Beach.

Finally, congrats to all of the IMWI finishers! IMFL is the next Continental US IM! 8 weeks to go!

Mileage for Week Ending 9/13/09
Swim: 7400 yards in 3:00 [2 workouts]
Bike: 150.2 miles in 8:29 [4 workouts, 2 bricks]
Run: 37.5 miles in 5:47 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Total Time: 17:17

Team Trakkers 2010

Team Trakkers is now accepting applications for the 2010 team!

I have really enjoyed being a member of the inaugural Team Trakkers and I am looking forward to an even better year in 2010! Team Trakkers is seeking to create a diverse team of athletes from podium fixtures to average AGers like me, so if you are interested in being a part of a family friendly, technology driven team, send in your application TODAY!

Trakkers will be a fixture at all of the Rev3 races next year, including the new full iron distance race at Cedar Point. These races are going to be phenomenal!

Thrifty Triathlete

My legs have been feeling great throughout training, but a twinge of knee pain on my run this morning reminded me that part of being an endurance athlete includes taking care of myself.

I took immediate action on the knee pain (ice, advil) and I decided that I needed to take a more proactive approach to taking care of myself and to stretching.

For a mere $20, enter one foam roller ...



I had no idea how tight my IT band was until I used the roller this evening. Holy cow! I now see why so many people swear by these. It hurt like hell, but I could tell an immediate difference. I highly recommend it!

Thankfully, all of the TLC I have been showing my knee seems to be working (fingers crossed)!

Brain Waves

Have you ever noticed that when you are focused on something, no matter what it is, you see things everything related to whatever said focus is?

For example, when I was trying to get pregnant, I saw pregnant women every time I turned around and when I was pregnant and was choosing car baby gear, I became hyper aware of strollers. I checked out the make and model of every stroller I saw while on walks, at the mall, etc. and I even noticed when I saw one on TV (what was Rachel using for Emma on Friends?!?) or in US Weekly (always Bugaboo!).

Well, yesterday I was on my way to a movie and I pulled up behind a Chevy Impala with a bike rack and I immediately tried to take a closer look. What kind of bike is that? Ohhh, are those aerobars? Hmmm, Scott Speedster, I wonder if that is full carbon?

Then, I passed the vehicle (I felt like saying “On your left!”, but I didn’t) and I had to check out the driver to see if he was a kindred spirit. This is humorous to me because a year ago I would not have given that bike a second glance!

Swimming, biking and running are on the brain!

2 Months!

You knew it was coming. I couldn't let the day pass without acknowledging the date. I have watched Ironman Live with palpable excitement and anticipation as IM CDA, Lake Placid, Louisville and Canada have all come to pass this Spring and Summer. I will be watching Wisconsin and of course Kona in the next 2 months as I wait for it to be my turn to experience the pandemonium and spectacle that is Ironman. When I get to Florida my mantra will be simple -- this is what you have trained for and you are ready.

I spent some time converting my Excel training spreadsheet so that I could more easily summarize my training and in doing so I realized that I surpassed my running volume for 2008 this week and I have doubled my bike miles and nearly doubled my swimming yardage for 2008 as well. What a year it is has been and it just keeps getting better!

Happy Labor Day, hope you are enjoying the extra day off from work!

Single Digits, Tough Brick, Sunday Report

We are officially in the single digit weeks counting down to Ironman Florida. 9 weeks! That means 6 weeks until the taper. Some days that sounds like no time at all and other days it feels like it might as well be years away!

I had a great week of training, although my long brick on Saturday did test my mental fortitude. I did 5 hours on the bike, which was just over 90 miles, followed by a 45 minute, 5 mile run.

I have discovered that after about 85 miles on the bike I start to get uncomfortable. I shift around more, my feet start to hurt and I start to get the itch to get off the bike. I am sure it is because I have been consistently riding 75ish miles so my body has adapted to that distance. I have no issues at all running off the bike after a 75 mile ride, but Saturday after 90 miles, my legs (calves especially) felt heavy and tight. I noticed the same thing after the Katy Flatlands Century.

What I am trying to determine now is:

1. Am I pushing too hard on the bike for these longer rides (18 mph avg)? My 75 mile rides are at the same pace and I do not have the tightness in my calves on my runs.

2. Will my body adjust over the next 6 weeks as I ride 90 - 112 miles each week, followed by a run? Is it a matter of gradual adaptation?

3. My bricks are usually done at my stand alone marathon pace, not my anticipated IM marathon pace. Would running slower feel better? It didn't seem like it would ...

The good news was that even though the run was tough, I was able to mentally get myself through it. I did a 2.5 mile out and back and I broke the run up by section and reminded myself that the tightness would pass, and it sort of started to. When doubts started to creep in my mind (like how in the heck am I going to run 26 miles feeling like this???), I pushed them out and tried to focus on positive thoughts. I also reminded myself that this workout came at the end of a big training week. My body was not rested, properly pre-ride hydrated or tapered. My training partner reminds me all of the time that these workouts are supposed to be hard and the race itself is dessert!

I am riding the Tour De Pink Century (raises money for breast cancer) next weekend, followed by the Redman Full Aquabike the following weekend. I really want to use Redman to practice pacing and nutrition, trying to nail down the right pacing combination to ensure my legs feel good enough to run the marathon. I will have 4 weeks after Redman to dial in my race pace.

Mileage for Week Ending 9/6/09
Swim: 8450 yards in 3:00 [2 workouts]
Bike: 145.6 miles in 8:15 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Run: 39.9 miles in 6:01 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Total Time: 17:16

Motivation, Part II

Ok, Bob called me out for not having fun so I need to clarify something ...

I AM having fun. The last 1.5 years that I have been chasing this dream have been incredibly rewarding and I am having a wonderful, challenging, exciting time and I am enjoying every moment of this life changing experience.

That doesn't mean it is never hard, it is. Or that my motivation is always at its peak, it's not. Or that sacrifices are not being made to chase this dream, they are.

I have a second Iron Distance race on my radar for 2010, the Rev3 race at Cedar Point. I was talking to my husband about this race and I told him that I thought training for it would be very different than training for IMFL. I think the first time that you do anything, it is hard. You don't know what to expect. You don't know exactly what you body and mind are capable of. You take everything very seriously and you prepare in earnest for the challenge ahead of you. Once you have proven to yourself what you are capable of, it is easier to relax about the process for subsequent challenges.

In school, I always studied to make 100, never just to pass or to make the grade I needed on the final to make an "A". When I commit to something, I give it my all. Thankfully though, I adapt. In school, by the end of the semester, I had gotten to know my professors and their testing style, so I was able to study smarter and not harder.

I hope that I can say the same about IM training next year. For now, I will keep my game face on, just know that underneath is a giddy girl jumping up and down with excitement.

Motivation

Motivation
Pronunciation: \ˌmō-tə-ˈvā-shən\
Function: noun
Date: 1873

1 a : the act or process of motivating b : the condition of being motivated
2 : a motivating force, stimulus, or influence : INCENTIVE, DRIVE

I thought a lot of about this word during my swim this morning. I definitely didn’t feel motivated when I got out of bed after hitting the snooze button a couple of times (I set it early on purpose because I have to be able to hit snooze at least once!).

I even joked to a fellow swimmer that my motivation was still warm in bed as I was getting in the water for my warm up. Yet, I still managed to get up and to the pool by 5:30. If it wasn’t motivation that got me there, what was it? Force of habit?

Habit
Pronunciation: \ˈha-bət\
Function: noun
Date: 13th century

applicable definitions
6 : a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior
7 a : a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition or physiologic exposure that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance
b : an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary
c : ADDICTION

Habit is definitely a part of Ironman training. You condition your body to expect certain behaviors, including waking up well before the sun and swimming/biking/running for longer than you once thought possible. I think habit is what got me out of bed, but what actually got me to the pool and into the water for an hour and a half?

Don’t get me wrong, I have learned to love swimming (when I am not hating it) and I always (well, almost) enjoy the time I spend in the pool, but it wasn’t my love for swimming that got me in the water.

Desire. Passion. Sacrifice. Commitment. Drive. Dreams. Fears. Goals. A training plan … and ultimately yes, motivation (now that I have looked up the definition).

I had a great 4100 yard swim, even towards the end when this “shorty got slow, slow, slow, slow” (thank you, Flo Rider). It is clear to me that IMFL is definitely my “motivating force” even though I picked up couple of wonderful "habits" along the way. I can’t wait for race day!

August Is In the Books!

Another big month in the books and I am exited to see my volume growing each month. Seeing my workouts in numbers really puts my effort into perspective - it really is nearly a part time job!

August's totals:
Bike: 30h 57m - 540 Mi
Run: 21h 18m - 142.6 Mi
Swim: 12h 05m - 30,640 Yd

Total Time - 64h 20m

Year to Date Comparison



Have a great September!

Confessions ...

... and other random tidbits about me.

I have come to really appreciate my blogging world friends and so when I realized there is very little personal info about me outside of my training on this blog, I decided to fix that by creating a list (but of course!). With 68 days to IMFL, here are 68 things you probably don't know (and maybe didn't want to know or don't care) about me, plus one to grow on:

My name is Anne and …

1. I turn my music up as loud as I can in the car so that I can sing (ok, shout) without having to hear my own voice. In fact, it is like a personal concert in my car, and I am embarrassed to admit that Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA in on that play list.

2. When I find a new song that I like, I listen to it repeatedly until I know all of the words.

3. I dance around the living room with my kids like I did when I was 8 years old, only now it is to the Black Eyed Peas and not Paula Abdul. It is because of this that my boys now know the words (well, some of them) to songs like Boom Boom Pow (BEP) and So What (Pink).

4. I eat dessert every single night and I have a serious weakness for ice cream, in particular, Strawberry and Mint Chocolate chip.

5. I don’t like to share my Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches with my boys.

6. Sometimes I eat dessert before dinner.

7. When Andrew asks to stay up late and cuddle on the couch, I nearly always fall asleep before he does.

8. In fact, even when I am not training 15+ hours a week, I can pretty much fall asleep any time, anywhere (it’s a running joke).

9. I think that for the first mile of my morning runs and first 500 yards of my morning swims I am actually still asleep.

10. Some mornings to make myself get out of bed I lie to myself that I will take a nap later in the day, even when I know I won’t have the opportunity.

11. I do my long solo bike rides with my iPod and I listen to teenage literature like the Twilight Saga which I really enjoy … so much so, that I am going to see the movie New Moon (the second Twilight book) opening weekend. This is one of the only things on my calendar AFTER Ironman.

12. I am on Team Edward.

13. I am a celebrity news junkie and I subscribe to US Weekly. I like People magazine too, but I don’t subscribe because the human interest stories make me cry, so I stick with just the trashy gossip of US Weekly.

14. I wear my contact lenses longer than the prescribed 2 week period. I hate contacts and despite having worn them for nearly 15 years, I still struggle some mornings to get them in my eyes. One of these days I will get Lasik.

15. I think that Mexican food should be the 5th basic food group, margaritas included.

16. I love getting mail, email, and blog comments

17. I weigh myself everyday and my least favorite body part (area) is my stomach

18. I have been wearing a retainer to bed every single night since I was 16, including on my honeymoon and at the hospital when I gave birth. We had a (girl) beagle named Zeke that liked to try to eat my retainers.

19. I watched 90210 when it was on in the 1990s and I am watching it again now.

20. My favorite shows on TV are How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory.

21. My favorite band is Bowling For Soup and I am extremely annoyed they haven’t “Come Back to Texas” … at least not very often and nowhere near me (That is one of their songs)

22. I have been listening to the same playlist on my iPod for 2 years (although I keep adding to it)

23. Several nights a week we go to sleep with dishes in the sink.

24. If you asked me 5 years ago what I would do if I won the lottery, my answer (in part) would have been to quit my job and train for an Ironman.

25. I get annoyed when someone describes the ideal family as having 2 children, a boy and a girl. I wanted this at one time, but ideal for you and ideal for me are not the same. I love having 2 boys!

26. I read the Harry Potter series. Twice.

27. I owned children’s movies like Shrek before we had children.

28. I will do a load of laundry with one item in it and this makes my husband crazy.

29. Pizza is my favorite meal the night before a long workout.

30. Sometimes it is strange being the youngest mom in the pre-k class, but I love being a young mom so I wouldn’t change it.

31. If I could go back to school, I would study photography.

32. There are a lot of things I want, but I know that I have most everything I need.

33. I have major bike envy. My bike is like a nice grey suit. It is practical and gets the job done but it will never be that sophisticated Dolce and Gabana number that screams smart AND sexy. See #32.

34. I talk too much. I have to remind myself to use that acronym W.A.I.T. Why Am I Talking?

35. I secretly wonder if my body has what it takes to Kona Qualify one day.

36. I like a lot of movies, but I don’t have a favorite movie. Although I have seen Top Gun, Cocktail, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Shawshank Redemption and Bring it On more times than I care to count.

37. We own the entire Friends series on DVD and when I want a good laugh I put in a random DVD from one of the ten seasons and start watching … and laughing.

38. I love college Football (go Longhorns!) but I don’t care about professional sports (at all!)

39. I would choose a nap over a glass of wine almost any day of the week.

40. I wish I was a better dancer. I love movies that involve dancing (like Center Stage). I took a jazz dance class in college and couldn’t keep up. Like swimming, I think I need to start with the little kid classes.

41. I want my children to be athletes. I have learned so much about life from playing sports. Developing self confidence. Overcoming doubts. Learning what it is like to work hard and still lose and learning what it is like to work hard and win!

42. My favorite color is burnt orange.

43. I (gasp!) am not a beer drinker.

44. I (gasp!) don’t like coffee of any kind either.

45. I think that you learn to enjoy 43 and 44 in college and I missed that boat.

46. My standard drink order is a citrus vodka and tonic with a splash of cranberry and a lime.

47. I have recently rediscovered country music thanks to the likes of Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift.

48. The last movie I watched was Yes Man with Jim Carey. I think that saying yes to everything would be a very interesting experiment. My kids would love it!

49. If I had to be on a reality TV show it would be the Amazing Race. I don’t watch it, but I love traveling and don’t get the opportunity to do as much as I would like.

50. I love surprises, well good ones anyway.

51. I know I will be ready for FL but I am still scared of a DNF, I have just heard too many stories recently about last minute injuries, mechanicals, race day illnesses, etc. This makes me anxious for the race to get here!

52. I have bunions but won’t give up heels … a good pair of heels can do wonders for your outlook on any given day.

53. I often get chills and/or verklempt when I envision crossing the finish line at IMFL, but I don’t want to actually cry when I do. I want to cross the finish line, raise my hands and smile! I am sure that I will cry when I see my Ironsherpa husband and children though, and that is ok.

54. I eat the same thing for lunch every day. PBJ, string cheese, wheat thins, fruit.

55. My favorite flowers are sunflowers. They used to be tulips.

56. Halloween is one of my absolute favorite “holidays”

57. I was a total tom boy growing up (is this really a surprise?)

58. I like eating Dannon Lite and Fit vanilla yogurt for breakfast because it tastes like dessert!

59. I have never met a carb that I don’t like, so it is good that I am into endurance sports where carbs are your friends! The thought of the Atkins diet makes me dizzy.

60. It makes me smile and blush when I catch my husband bragging about his awesome wife and her athletic pursuits.

61. Monday is my least favorite day of the week. Saturday is my favorite.

62. My order of preference of the 3 sports in triathlon are running, biking and swimming, however on race day, running is always the hardest. Maybe I push harder on the run or simply because it comes last?

63. I have 20 photos on my desk / around my cube (11 are framed). That is 10 times everyone else in my area.

64. I don’t like cyclists (or runners for that matter) that don’t wave or nod to fellow cyclists (runners) on the road

65. If I have to eat fast food (and this is not very often) my first choice is Chik-fil-a, followed by Sonic and then Wendy’s. If we are eating out, it is usually Chipotle (yummy!) or Pei Wei. Texadelphia (scrumptious cheese steaks) is one of my favorite indulgences. Mexican food is another, but considering #15, it is more of a dietary staple.

66. If I could afford a personal chef, trainer, masseuse or housekeeper to be at my house every single day, I would choose the chef. Masseuse second. Housekeeper third. Trainer last.

67. The number one quality I look for in a training partner is someone who is reliable.

68. I am not obsessed with Ironman or triathlon or endurance sports. I think that you are what you do. You make time for what matters most to you. It is a way of life. I started this journey to fulfill a bucket list goal and found a new way of life and I am not looking back. Ironman is just a stop along the way.

69. Please remind me of #68 on November 8.

Peak Training, Here I Come!

It is 10 short weeks until Ironman Florida and that means that next week marks the first week of my "peak" training phase. During this cycle my hours will range from 16 - 20 hours and I will complete the Redman Full Aquabike as my last training race before FL.

My focus is on staying healthy and working out the race day details, like clothing and special needs bag decisions. Given how chilly I was at the beginning of my long ride this weekend when it was a balmy 70 degrees, I think I am going to need arm warmers for sure for FL!

This week gave me a taste of what is to come as it was my highest volume week to date and I was tired and hungry all week (the higher intensity effort of the Oly and no rest day definitely caught up with me from last week). However, after a wonderful spa pedicure yesterday afternoon and a great nights sleep (I slept until 9 am!), I feel refreshed and excited. Why I am excited? A friend is doing IMKY today and I will be checking on him through Ironman Live all day. Go Rick!

Mileage for Week Ending 8/30/09
Swim: 7200 yards in 3:00 [2 workouts]
Bike: 131.6 miles in 7:35 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Run: 40.3 miles in 6:05 [5 workouts, 2 bricks]
Total Time: 16:40

Humor Wednesday

I love seeing signs like this right before I get into a lake, etc. before a race (like I did this weekend)...



As a side note, race pictures were posted today and I have some decent ones but I also have some doozies! At least you can see on my face how hard I was running!

Sunday Report

One race down, one to go before IM Florida! Hours were slightly down this week in preparation for the Clear Lake Tri, but next week it is back to building hours -- my last build week before starting my peak training for FL!

Mileage for Week Ending 8/23/09
Swim: 8240 yards in 3:05
Bike: 93.8 miles in 5:12
Run: 24.5 miles in 3:33
Total Time: 11:50

Happy training and be safe out there!

Clear Lake Olympic Distance Tri - 8/22/09

What a race! I hit the splits I was hoping to hit and tried to keep it red-lined the entire race. I am happy with my effort and learned some lessons along the way that I will try to apply for my future shorter distance races. This is the second year I have done this race (although last year it was not a full Oly, so you can't really compare the times).

Overall Time: 2:35:46.5
Overall AG Place: 6th of 23

The Swim
1.5K (.93 miles / 1636 yards)
31:00.4
14th of 23 in AG
pace 1:56 per 100 yards

--> my swim time in 2008 for a 1K course (.62 miles or 1091 yards) was 29:37.1, so I am thrilled with my improvement (but still NOT satisfied, I know I can get faster)!

This was a rectangular course, set up for a clockwise swim. The water was really warm (think bath tub water, and I don't mean an ice bath!), so no wetsuits allowed. The start was a bit rough because there were a lot of very sharp rocks and many people got cuts trying to get started and during warm up. My left leg got a couple of scratches, but nothing serious.

I wanted to keep a pace better than 2:00 min per 100 yards, which I have never done in a race. I know that I can keep a 1:50 min/100 yards or better in the pool, but that includes pushing off the wall, so I knew my OWS time would be slower. I took a banana Hammer gel right before my wave went off.

This is definitely the best open water swim I have ever done. My stroke, rotation and sighting were great. I felt like I was keeping a decent pace and my pull felt strong. My sighting could have been better on the last leg (the home stretch) but it was still better than all of my previous races! I think the thing I was most pleased with was that I didn't have to resort to breast stroke at all during the race, even for sighting (which is when I have had to breast stroke in previous races or when I got tired).

I learned this morning that another athlete saw a 4 or 5 foot gator before the swim start during his warm up. Thank God I didn't know that race morning. Ignorance is bliss! I don't think it would have made me faster, it would have freaked me out and I would have panicked (which would not have been good for my stroke!).



T1: 1:36.2 / 10th of 23 is AG

I ran up the ramp to my bike and passed lots of people on the way. I decided that I might take longer than others to put on socks, etc., but I could save time by running hard to my bike. I saw Doug and got a fist bump, which always makes me run a little faster. I had taken note before the race of the exact path I had to take to get to my bike (second row of racks, turn right, 5th rack on the left) and this helped. I put on my socks, shoes, bike helmet and sunglasses and was off.

Lesson learned - this is my first race in road shoes (versus my old mountain shoes) and I am tearing up my cleats by running in them. I think I am going to focus on trying to put my shoes on once I am on the bike before my next shorter distance race. I am definitely not going to stress about that for IM.

The Bike
24.8 miles
1:10:07.3
21.2 mph
3rd(!) of 23 in AG

--> 2008 bike pace was 18.3 mph on a shorter course and I averaged 19.7 mph in April on a 28 mile course. I think my consistent long weekend rides are starting to pay off!

This was a single loop, mostly flat and fast course. Save for one section, the roads were smooth and the ride was great. There was one traffic light that did not have a police officer directing traffic, but when I got there, the cars were letting the bikes go, so it didn't slow me down much. I tried to keep a comfortably hard and strong effort on the bike and not let myself fall into an easier comfortable pace. I took a Hammer gel 30 minutes into the bike (1 hour into the race). I am thrilled with my bike time. My husband (who would love for me to buy a new bike) keeps taunting me with, "imagine how much faster you would have been on a lighter bike with better wheels" ...

Getting off my bike at the dismount line, heading into T2 I collided with a girl who I had been leap frogging with for the last half of the bike. I am not sure if it was my fault or hers (we were NOT on our bikes), I think I zigged and she zigged too when I thought she was going to zag, but no harm was done and we were both fine. I apologized several times (at the scene, again in transition and on the run course, what can I say, I felt terrible!) because I certainly didn't plan on a collision!

Talking with the other athlete I collided with


My only complaints about the bike course (besides the unmanned light, that was just dangerous!):

1. Riders who would not stay to the right on roads with little to no shoulder that made it difficult to pass with traffic.

2. Riders who would not fall back when passed per the USAT rules. I have no problem with leap frogging, it happens when you have riders with equal strength and speed on the bike, but there were a couple of people who were like bad drivers. They would speed up when you tried to pass and then when they pass you, they would immediately slow down so that you are on their back wheel if you keep your same pace.

T2: 1:33.2 / 15th of 23 in AG

There were 5 people whose T2 times are showing as 0:00, but they have overall times and run splits, so I guess the timing chips didn't register or the results are not final. Normalizing for this I would say, I was probably 10th of 23 in AG. I am usually faster in T2 since I already have my socks on. Thankfully, the difference in transitions between 5th and 10th is seconds, not minutes! I saw Doug again on the way out and got another fist bump to carry me home.

The Run
10K
51:29.4
8:18 pace
3rd (!) of 23 in my AG

--> 2008 pace for this race was 8:56, but I was able to run an 8:10 pace for 6.5 miles at Lonestar

This was an out and back run course. I was aiming for around an 8:00 min pace, but my body didn't quite have it in me. I got a couple of side stitches that quickly went away and didn't affect my pace too much. I took a Hammer gel at the one mile mark and that seemed to help. I was happy with my overall effort, especially given how hard I pushed the bike. The only thing I forgot was to take a couple of Endurolytes since I just drink water on the bike and the run, but it wasn't horribly hot, so I don't think it hurt my overall time too much. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me for the last .75 miles. I didn't look at my Garmin to check my pace because at that point, I was running as fast as I could and my pace was irrelevant, but I definitely think that this last effort helped bring down my overall run pace.



Overall Race Thoughts:

I was definitely trying to compete not just complete this race. I think my body did everything I asked of it. More speed work will help with my ability to race at harder efforts / higher intensity. I get so nervous before a race, but I while I am on the course, I am just happy. I love racing!

Race Shirt - Vent

How many race shirts do you have that sit in a drawer because they are too big or too small? Race shirt sizing is a big pet peeve of mine.

I wish race directors would post a sizing chart for their shirts or at least say whether the shirt is going to be cotton or technical fabric. I need a small (or smaller) in unisex technical shirts but I always get a medium in cotton t-shirts, so I am always torn when it comes time to put my shirt size on the entry form.

Three too large shirts later, I think I will be putting "small" down the next chance I get!

Thrifty Triathlete

I love new tri gear ... when I can afford it! This sport gets expensive, so I am always looking for inexpensive gear that will help my race performance.

What do you do when you can't afford new wheels? Get new racing tires!
Want to give your bike a face lift? Get new bar tape!

Want to save a couple of seconds in transition? Try Xtenex laces.

I wore them on my run today and I loved them! I was able to slip my shoes on easily but they still fit well ... and at an MSRP of $10, this is an inexpensive way to shave some precious time off your T2 time. I will let you know how they work at my race tomorrow. One thing is for certain, no more photos of me in T2 sitting on the ground tying my shoes!

Epiphany

Maybe it is because I am pseudo tapering (lower intensity workouts, slight drop in hours) for the Clear Lake Oly this weekend, but I think I just had an epiphany.

I am more nervous about racing this Oly than I was about the Gulf Coast Tri in May and (for now at least) more nervous than I am about racing the Redman Full Aqua Bike.

Why?

I think it is because I feel comfortable going long. I can settle into a good pace and motor along at a good clip and I am not red-lining it the entire race. When I race shorter races I feel a lot more self-pressure to be fast, which means pushing myself harder and testing my limits. Testing my limits makes me nervous but I keep telling myself that this is what I train for 6 days a week, often 2 times a day!

Panama City Beach Condo is Booked!

That marks another big to-do off of my list! I had to make sure the condo had internet access so my family could track me online and I could update the blog on the road.

10 years

** edited because I realized I can't do math first thing in the morning, I am not quite ready for a sub 2 hour Oly :) **

I realized this morning as I put on old tri t-shirt over my bathing suit, that 2009 marks 10 years since my first triathlon. The shirt was from my first triathlon -- the 1999 Bally’s US Triathlon Series. I was woefully unprepared for the Olympic distance race in hilly Austin.

I breast stroked the entire swim. I waited in transition for my even slower male friend (he started in a different wave), then we rode mountain bikes (he actually borrowed my hubby’s bike and didn’t know much about shifting) and then suffered through the run, depleted of nearly all energy because we did not have any sort of nutritional understanding or plan whatsoever. I remember the volunteer handing me an energy bar on our way out of the transition to the run and it tasted like heaven.

I can only imagine what the more experienced athletes around us were thinking as I was just hanging out in transition. We did finish though and I actually got hardware, first in my age group. Impressed? You shouldn’t be … I was the only person in my age group!

I think my time, adjusted for the extra time I spent in transition waiting, was 3:32. I am hoping to be racing nearly 45 minutes faster than that this weekend. I remember thinking at the time that it was the most difficult thing I had ever done. What a difference a decade makes, oh and actually training and respecting the distance!

Some of you are still probably thinking … why is she wearing a 10 year old shirt?

Enjoying the Moment

If you have been reading this blog for a while now, it is probably pretty clear that I have a one track mind sometimes (or as Bob put it once, I am a bit obsessed!).

Don't get me wrong, it is great to be focused on a goal, but sometimes I have to remind myself to stop and enjoy the moment (another one of the things on my list of 100 things).

It was the same way in planning my wedding and when I was pregnant with my boys -- it is so easy to get excited about the end goal that instead of living in the moment, you are counting down until a specific date, focused on the end instead of the preset.

My mom once told me not to wish time away, life is too precious for that. Since then, I have really tried to live in the here and now. I tried to enjoy every moment of my pregnancies instead of wishing the 9 months to pass quickly and I am trying to enjoy every moment of IM training as well, even though my excitement for race day is almost tangible!

I am thankful to be healthy and strong and able to train and compete in this sport. I had a great long ride / brick on Saturday and even though I did the majority of the ride and the entire run by myself (well, with company from my favorite vampires on my iPod!) I enjoyed the moment. I didn't spend one minute wishing the ride or run would end but enjoyed being out on a beautiful, hot Texas morning.

Mileage for Week Ending 8/16/09
Swim: 7500 yards in 3:00
Bike: 120.5 miles in 7:00
Run: 33.75 miles in 5:04
Total Time: 15:04

I am racing the Clear Lake International Tri (oly distance) next weekend so this upcoming week will be a touch lighter. I am excited to see how I do this year compared to last year (although the distances are slightly different because it was not a true Oly last year) and compared to the Quarter I did in April.

I also wanted to say thanks for the words of encouragement you guys have left in the comments -- they really do brighten my day!

Finally, to add a more personal note to this entry, here is a recent photo I took of my boys (aka my cheering section) who remind me everyday as they grow so quickly to stop and enjoy the moment.



Tyler (L - age 2.5) and Andrew (R - age 5)

The best thing about lists ...

... is crossing things off of them! You may recall that I listed 100 things to do between now and IMFL, well in just 15 days I have made some major headway!

All of the items below can be checked off the list (although several of the items will be repeated continuously between now and November 7).

1. Get confirmation from friends and family on who is making the trip to FL
4. Hubby to replace chain on my bike
5. Hubby to clean bike and lube as necessary
9. Purchase race tires
10. Practice changing tires
11. Get a massage
12. Order more Infinit – I am running out already!
13. Eat, eat and eat some more (I seriously need to put the ice cream spoon down!)
15. Find a multi-vitamin and start taking it (The entire family is taking Flinstones)
16. Read “Food for Fitness” by Chris Carmichael
17. Find more healthy snacks for work
18. Take a rest day
22. Break-in my new Speedo Endurance Swimsuits
24. Take a nap
25. Download new music for iPod (I am officially a dork, thanks to Party In The USA by Miley Cyrus)
26. Blog
27. Book room in OKC for Redman Full Aqua Bike
30. Read the blogs of other triathletes
42. Get a pedicure
46. Stalk the BT Forums on a regular basis for inspiration and education
78. Re-read Don Fink's Iron Fit sections on mental preparation and race week strategy
81. Visualize crossing the finish line (every day)

Sunday Rewind

Now that my long rides are getting longer (4 hours and climbing) I am getting up at 5 something Saturday mornings too, that makes 6 days a week with a 4 or 5 handle on the clock ... I love sleeping in Sundays! I got up at 9:00 am today! :)

Mileage for Week Ending 8/9/09
Swim: 7700 yards in 3:00
Bike: 113 miles in 6:35
Run: 30.65 miles in 4:35
Total Time: 14:10

Happy Training!

Three. 3. III. Tre.

Three Months. (English)
Tre Muaj. (Albanian)
три месеца. (Bulgarian)
Drie Maanden. (Dutch)
Kolme Kuukautta. (Finnish)
Trois Mois. (French)
Drei Monate. (German)
τρεις μήνες. (Greek)
तीन महीने.(Hindi)
Tre Mesi. (Italian)
Três Meses. (Portuguese)
три месяца. (Russian)
Tre Månader. (Swedish)
три місяці. (Ukrainian)
Ba Tháng. (Vietnamese)

Swimming Breakthrough?

I had the best.swim.ever. this morning. I was, for once, “one with the water”. I was maintaining a fairly steady pace for me of about 1:50 and hitting 1:45 as well, without feeling like I was totally out of gas and I did this for the entire main set (this was at an 80% effort level), but it is not just the splits that made me happy. I felt like my rotation, reach, catch and pull were all working in harmony, helping me glide through the water. For someone who has only been swimming for just over a year, I feel like this is a major victory!

I am not sure if I will ever get down to the 1:30 splits and I know I am slower in open water (no push off the wall), but I know my IM swim will be a success if I can find that “zen” swimming state I found this morning! Now I just need to decide -- sleeves or no sleeves on the wetsuit!

Ode to iPod

Well, I did. I managed to kill my iPod. It took 2 years and 9 months of sweat to drown the faithful thing and today during my 7 miler it took its last breath. RIP, iPod. You helped me lose the baby weight, train for my first HIM and kept me company on many solo long bike rides.

How will I honor your memory?

Replace you with another, of course!

100th Post and the Sunday Report

It is amazing what an afternoon nap can do for your overall outlook on life! I can't remember the last time I got to take a long afternoon nap where I woke up on my own terms (and not because my boys woke up from their own naps).

I had a great training week and I feel rested and ready to hit the pool at 5 am tomorrow.

Mileage for Week Ending 8/2/09
Swim: 7550 yards in 3:00
Bike: 109 miles in 6:20
Run: 31.4 miles in 4:38
Total Time: 13:58

100 posts later -- I started this blog wanting to complete an Ironman one day. It was a dream with no specific plans. 100 posts later the goal is defined. The date is set. The plan is being executed. Thank you for coming along for the ride!

July Recap

I can't believe it is this time of the month again! July has been a great training month with highs and lows. I feel like I am getting faster and stronger so I hope that trend continues!

Highs - first century under my belt
Lows - where did my afternoon energy go?

This is by far my highest volume month yet and I think it is only growing from here. Thankfully, my plan has you slowly build into the hours. I think parenthood is a good analogy for the "phase in" approach. Babies are born small and immobile and as they grow so does your parenting. By the time that they are doing back flips off the coffee table, you are ready for it (well, sort of!).

July's totals:
Bike: 25h 24m - 444 Mi
Run: 18h 50m - 129 Mi
Swim: 13h 30m - 32,300 Yd

Total Time - 57h 43m

Happy August (eek)!

100 days

To celebrate the 100 day countdown until IMFL I have compiled a list of things that I need to / want to / should do in the next 100 days. I am so excited that I can hardly stand it! In no particular order ...

1. Get confirmation from friends and family on who is making the trip to FL
2. Book condo in Panama City Beach (need to know who is coming to determine the size)
3. Hubby to replace cables on my bike
4. Hubby to replace chain on my bike
5. Hubby to clean bike and lube as necessary (hey, it is great being married to your bike mechanic!)
6. Purchase Garmin 310xt
7. Practice using Garmin 310xt in multisport mode
8. Sell my Gamin 305
9. Purchase race tires
10. Practice changing tires
11. Get a massage
12. Order more Infinit – I am running out already!
13. Eat, eat and eat some more
14. Race the Clear Lake International Olympic Distance Triathlon
15. Find a multi-vitamin and start taking it
16. Read “Food for Fitness” by Chris Carmichael
17. Find more healthy snacks for work (I am hungry all.the.time.)
18. Take a rest day
19. Convince my mentor at work to do a Sprint tri in October
20. Buy a backup pair of Women’s Vanquishers
21. Participate in the Tour de Pink Bike Ride (Century? Need to determine distance as the Aqua Bike is the following week)
22. Break-in my new Speedo Endurance Swimsuits (Yeah – no more nearly see-through suits! Blue camo and black and white flowers, sweet!)
23. Make some new tri friends
24. Take a nap
25. Download new music for iPod
26. Blog
27. Book room in OKC for Redman Full Aqua Bike
28. Race Redman Full Aqua Bike to practice pacing and nutrition
29. Buy an end of season pair of flip flops to keep in my car/tri bag
30. Read the blogs of other triathletes
31. Start wearing my Heart Rate Monitor
32. Buy a Tanita scale
33. Stop and enjoy the moment
34. Order new halter style cycle top (my tan lines need help!)
35. Get 8 hours of sleep (in one night)
36. Order and read “Going Long”
37. Push myself on the swim (my weakest sport)
38. Practice open water swimming
39. Sign Hubby up for a Twitter account so he can tweet race progress on race day (hubby doesn't mind providing race updates but has an aversion to "tweeting")
40. Try to have a conversation that doesn't lead back to Ironman training
41. Take a rest day
42. Get a pedicure
43. Blog
44. Take Indy (my chocolate lab) for a run
45. Practice changing tires
46. Stalk the BT Forums on a regular basis for inspiration and education
47. Pick a Spring / Summer marathon for 2010
48. Decide what to wear for the big day (funny, mot people would assume wedding when you say "big day")– am I going to change for comfort?
49. Thank my amazing hubby for being so supportive, especially as the hours ramp up
50. Try Cliff Shots on long runs vs gels
51. Schedule a date night with my hubby
52. Swim on average 7500 yards+ a week
53. Run on average 30 - 35 miles per week
54. Bike on average 125 - 150 miles per week
55. Eat, eat and eat some more
56. Research Texas bike rides to find more supported long training rides
57. Blog
58. Hydrate ... seriously, how can I make myself workout 2+ hours a day, but I can't make myself drink water???
59. Finalize nutrition formula/menu for the bike
60. Finalize nutrition formula/menu for the run
61. Put my USAT sticker on my car (I just had to renew!)
62. Take a nap
63. Try to go one full day without saying the word Ironman
64. Find/make matching shirts for my family to wear on race day
65. Take a rest day
66. Write a pre-race plan (what can I say, I am a planner)
67. Write a race plan (like a birth plan, but longer!)
68. Think about Special Needs Bags -- do they fit into the race plan?
69. Determine back-up plan (plan B)
70. Determine back-up, back-up plan (plan C)
71. Find a family photographer in Panama City to get a family beach photo while we are there
72. Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing to prepare – trust in my plan
73. Find new audio books for the drive to/from FL
74. Give back to the tri community in some way (volunteer, help someone new)
75. Get a massage
76. Hydrate
77. Decide whether to wear full sleeved or sleeveless wetsuit for swim portion of race
78. Re-read Don Fink's Iron Fit sections on mental preparation and race week strategy
79. Sleep in!
80. Take a nap
81. Visualize crossing the finish line
82. Read race reports for IMFL from 2008
83. Thank my family, friends, co-workers and any/everyone else who has provided an encouraging word along this journey
84. Stop and enjoy the moment
85. Find a temporary tattoo to wear on my arm during the race for a little inspiration (maybe Spiderman, my boys would love it!)
86. Start to think about life after Ironman – what’s on deck for 2010?
87. Practice changing tires
88. Blog
89. Eat, eat and eat some more
90. Make a packing list (I love lists!)
91. Take my boys trick or treating, eat too much candy
92. Turn 30 and celebrate (yes, that is right, I turn 30 six days before the race!)
93. Pick up magazines / other reading material for the trip to FL
94. Take a rest day
95. Make the long trek from Houston to FL with a car full of gear and children (I am so excited that my boys are going to be there!)
96. Enjoy the (hopefully) beautiful FL weather, do a practice swim in the Gulf, and takes lots of photos of the experience
97. Hit the expo
98. Meet fellow IMFL athletes from BT, Houston, Blogging world, etc. and share in the excitement of what is to come
99. Eat pizza at the Mellow Mushroom (my fave pre-race food), get a good night’s rest (is that possible?) and say prayers for the upcoming day
100. Fulfill lifelong dream of becoming an Ironman
101. (You have to have one to grow on!) Buy loads of M-Dot gear and start the recovery process

Prioritizing Your Rocks

A fellow triathlete that I swim with sent me this recently and I really liked it so I thought I would post it here as well. I told him that I was moving my training schedule around for my son's birthday party and he thought that it was great that I was "prioritizing my rocks", so he shared this.

People ask me nearly everyday how I make the time to be a wife and mother, work full time and train for an Ironman. My answer is aways this: You find time for what is important to you.

by Dr. Stephen R. Covey

Stephen Covey in his book, First Things First, shares the following story experienced by one of his associates:

I attended a seminar once where the instructor was lecturing on time. At one point, he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." He reached under the table and pulled out a wide-mouthed gallon jar. He set it on the table next to a platter with some fist-sized rocks on it. "How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?" he asked.

After we made our guess, he said, "Okay. Let's find out." H e set one rock in the jar . . . then another . . . then another. I don't remember how many he got in, but he got the jar full. Then he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone looked at the rocks and said, "Yes."

Then he said, "Ahhh" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar and the gravel went in all the little spaces left by the big rocks. Then he grinned and said once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," we said. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all of the little spaces left by the rocks and the gravel. Once more he looked and said, "Is this jar full?" "No!" we roared.

He said, "Good!" and he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in. He got something like a quart of water in that jar. Then he said, " Well, what's the point?" Somebody said, "Well, there are gaps, and if you work really hard you can always fit some more things into your life."

"No," he said, "that's not the point. The point is this: If you hadn't put these big rocks in first, would you ever have gotten any of them in?"

What are your "big rocks"?

Mine right now are family/friends, career and triathlon. I have lots of other "rocks" , but those are currently the smaller rocks that fit in around the big rocks ... and for now that is working for us!

Weekly Rewind

Despite the cut back in hours this week, I am tired. It has been a busy weekend (my oldest son's 5th birthday party!) so I do not feel as rested as I usually do on a Sunday evening.

Next week of training marks the halfway point in Don Fink's 30 week plan, which means the IM FL is 15 weeks away!

Mileage for Week Ending 7/26/09
Swim: 7300 yards in 3:00
Bike: 99 miles in 5:39
Run: 30.85 miles in 4:30
Total Time: 13:09

Katy Flatlands 100 Miler

Mileage for Week Ending 7/19/09

This week marks my biggest training week to date! I actually ended up doing nearly an hour more than my plan called for since I participated in the Katy Flatlands Century.

I decided to treat this century as a time trial of sorts and I avoided the pace lines and worked on staying aero and pushing my pace. I ended up averaging 18.8 mph and finished 101 miles in 5:23. I was thrilled with my time and pace.

Several lessons learned:
1. Infinit works for me. I made two 3 hour bottles and sipped on the Infinit every 15 minutes and drank water from my aerobottle. I did not need anything else and was not hungry in the slightest.

2. I think Body Glide needs to become my new best friend. I discovered several places I am going to Body Glide prior to my next long ride.

3. I felt good on my run after the ride, but my calves were getting tight. My next long ride/run combo I am going to work on pacing on both the bike and run. I pushed pretty hard on both today (faster than my anticipated IM pace) and I want to see how I feel at a more moderate pace.

Swim: 7200 yards in 3:00
Bike: 138 miles in 7:38
Run: 29.3 miles in 4:15
Total Time: 14:53

Happy training!

Mileage for Week Ending 7/12/09

I had a great training week and more than anything I am happy with my consistency. My discipline to do long rides and runs solo has increased and when I compare the last month of training to some of my training last year (for a HIM, not IM) I can see that I am being more consistent, which feels great!

Swim: 6950 yards in 3:00
Bike: 93.5 miles in 5:30
Run: 25.6 miles in 3:44
Total Time: 12:14

What's on tap next week? I am doing the Katy Flatlands Century, so I will be testing race day pacing and nutrition. I am going to do it as a short brick too, if all goes well, to see how I feel coming off the bike. I do this each week with my long ride (right now that distance normally hovers at 55 - 60 miles), but I want to see what that extra distance does to my legs.

Have a great week!

4 months from now ...

I hope to be wearing an IM FL finisher's medal!

The Sunday Report

I can't believe another week of training has come and gone and we are nearly a week into July! This (hot!) summer is flying by!

Thanks to the company of Edward and Bella (Twilight) on my runs, my run speed has been getting faster. This week my 10 miler was 1:27 vs the 1:35 it was taking my earlier this Spring. I know I was capable of running my 10 milers at a faster pace before, but I wasn't running them that fast (I was staying too comfortable). I was very happy with my sub-9:00 pace this week!

Saturday morning I got the call I hate to get -- my reliable training partner bailed on my for our long bike ride/brick. Well, my bike was not going to ride itself, so I made sure my iPod was charged and headed out on my own. After a 56 mile ride, I did a hot 30 minute run, all accompanied by my Twilight pals. I am nearly finished with the first audio book now, but fear not, I have the rest of the series on Audio as well to get me through any solo training.

Mileage for Week Ending 7/5/09
Swim: 6550 yards in 2:55
Bike: 85.75 miles in 4:52
Run: 22.3 miles in 3:14
Total Time: 11:01

June In Numbers

June marked the "official" beginning of my IM FL training and I am pretty happy with my results this month - we are just over 4 months until race day! July is the beginning of my "building" phase, so the log should look even better ...

Happy training!

June's totals:
Bike: 20h 32m - 351 Mi
Run: 16h 24m - 107 Mi
Swim: 10h 45m - 25,700 Yd

Total Time - 46h 39m

Rev3 Announces Full Iron Distance Event - 09/12/2010

Rev3 Full Distance Event takes place September 12, 2010 -- Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH

Revolution3 officially announced that Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH will serve as the host venue for its newest event, a full distance triathlon in September, 2010. Taking place on September 12, 2010, the event will consist of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run.

The inaugural full distance Rev3 will take place within the Cedar Point Park and will include access to the park for family members and friends. In addition, a professional prize purse of $150,000 will be offered as well as prizes for top age group finishers. Registration for the event is available at www.rev3tri.com beginning September 1, 2009.

I get a lot of questions about what I am going to do after IM FL ... well, this looks very interesting! I have heard nothing but AMAZING things about this amusement park (voted best in the world! 11 years in a row) and it is going to be a Trakkers event.

More about the park and the race (from the Rev3 website):

With 75 diverse rides, including 17 roller coasters; a huge outdoor water park (Soak City); four resort hotels; a luxury RV campground with cottages and cabins; two large marinas; outdoor entertainment complex featuring go-karts, miniature golf and more (Challenge Park); award-winning live shows; gift shops; delicious eateries; four giant kids’ areas and more, it’s easy to see why Cedar Point has been voted the “Best Amusement Park in the World” for an unmatched 11 years in a row!

The swim will be held on the beautiful Lake Erie, with athletes entering the water inside the park from the beach of Hotel Breakers, which serves as the host hotel for the Rev3 event and is located within 100 yards from the swim start. Following the swim, the scenic bike course will take athletes on a 112 mile ride through the country side of Erie County. The run will consist of a two loop course through downtown Sandusky on what is considered to be a generally flat run. The finish line will be positioned at Cedar Point and is sure to be one of the most spectacular finish line experiences around!

“Our immediate goal is to make triathlons a more interactive, enjoyable experience for spectators and family members by providing fun activities for children and family members during the race. We’re about change. Change for the age grouper, change for the professional athlete, and change for the spectators,” claims Todd Gollnick, Rev3 Race Director.

"We are honored and excited to be the host for the Revolution3 event. It's world class athletes competing at a world class facility. Sandusky welcomes each of the athletes and their families with open arms," stated Matt Kline, City Manager, Sandusky, Ohio.

Anyone care to join me in Ohio??? My kids will love this!

Weekly Musings

With July around the corner and no rain in sight, Houston is hotter than ever. The good news is that I am able to do most of my training in the morning (when it is just the humidity that gets me!) and at lunch at the gym, so I am not out in the 100+ degree temps, except for my long ride each week.

I never thought I would be thankful for wind on a bike ride (other than a tail wind that is), but the wind yesterday sure helped keep me cool enough. It wasn't until my 3 mile run that I really felt the stifling heat! I was prepared with a water bottle and salt, but despite the heat I felt pretty strong on my run. These bricks really help me evaluate my bike nutrition to determine if I am taking in enough calories and to make sure that I don't get any stomach distress on the run.

This week also found me running alone. I am VERY lucky in that my normal weekly schedule includes two longish runs with my training partner, Mark. Mark has work and vacation conflicts until mid-August, so I will be doing my morning runs alone. Boring! Well, I figured that my music alone was not going to cut it for me and decided to listen to the Twilight books on my iPod instead and I am happy to report that it worked like a charm. I did two 1 hour runs and one 1.5 hour run alone this week and Edward and Bella were great company (go ahead and laugh at me, my husband does!).

In other big news this week, I am almost finished finalizing my race schedule for the rest of the year leading up to IM FL. I registered for the Redman AquaBike Full in September instead of doing a late season HIM based on the recommendations of many seasoned triathletes on BT. I will also be doing a local Olympic distance race in August, so now I just need to pick a Sprint for fun in July. There is also a local century ride in July that I will be doing to practice pacing and nutrition so that I can make adjustments as needed in my plan.

Emotionally, I am struggling with knowing which plan I should be following. Right now I am following Don Fink's Competitive Plan and I was planning on following this as long as I can, but as the hours increase I am worried about over training and injury. If I am smart and listen to my body and adjust as needed, I am hopeful that I will be ok through the hours.

Here is a summary of the plan:
During the build phase (the current phase I am in, weeks 11 of 11-20), the plan begins with 12 hours and concludes with 16 hours, averaging 13 hours per week.

The peak phase (week 21-30) starts at 16 hours and peaks at 20 hours, averaging 15 hours per week.

I feel confident that I could be ready for IM FL on fewer hours, but I would like to be my best -- it is a fine line, I think!

Overall, a great week! Happy training!

Mileage for Week Ending 6/28/09
Swim: 5800 yards in 2:30
Bike: 93 miles in 5:35
Run: 28.75 miles in 4:13
Total Time: 12:18

Tri Bike Udate

After a lot of soul searching I have decided not to get a tri bike right now. After racing Gulf Coast, I realized that my bike is comfortable and I am happy with my set up. It is aero and fast and I am happy with the results that I getting on it, so I am not going to take the tri bike plunge right now.

The other deciding factor is that in addition to being a triathlete, I am also a photography enthusiast and I would rather invest the money in a new lens since I already have a bike that allows me to race and follow my iron dream!

Ironman on the brain

They (who are they, anyway?) say that when you are experiencing something, you see / hear whatever you are going through all around you. For example, when you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, all of a sudden, you see pregnant women everywhere! Well, I have Ironman on the brain.

We watched Wheel of Fortune on Monday because I actually got home from work before it was over and one of the puzzles was:

Curling
Iron
Man

I have also heard lots of references about the movie Ironman recently, which I know are not triathlon related, but it still reminds me of this journey that I am taking.

Boston, IM Watching, Mileage and Inspiration

I am happy to report that I was able to successfully execute my training plan while traveling in Boston, despite the late nights out and over indulging on yummy food! The weather was amazing! 60s and low 70s with zero humidity in the middle of the day – that is a far cry from what I am used to here in Texas!

I also had the most.amazing.massage.ever. in Boston. Bill was uber talented with his hands and while I would not call the massage relaxing (bordered on painful, but the good kind), he definitely worked the tightness out of my legs and did a world of good for my sciatic nerve. He told me that my right side is significantly tighter than my left side (on a scale of 1 – 10, my left side was a 4 and my right side was an 8), so I am going to schedule some time with the physical therapist associated with my doctor’s office to see if we can figure out why and to make sure that it doesn’t get so tight again that is causes pain while I am riding. I also clearly need to find a local massage therapist who works on athletes!

This Sunday evening I found myself online watching the Ironman CDA finishers … I was on the verge of tears the entire time. I cannot wait for Florida. I am excited and nervous, but I know that I will be ready and I am anxious for it to be my turn. I have also been working on my goals for IMFL. Finishing is my #1 goal (and my true focus) and honestly, nothing else really matters … but I am anal retentive so having general time and pace goals for each leg will help me meet my #1 goal.

With that said my goals are as follows (to be further defined in the months ahead):

1. Finish
2. Run the entire marathon (currently trying to determine my pace goal)
3. On a perfect day, with perfect weather, perfect nutrition and a perfect race execution, I would love to finish sub 13:00

I can say without hesitation that I will not be disappointed if I do not achieve #3 in my first IM.

There I said it, my first IM.

Without having even finished my first, I am starting to contemplate a second.

Why?

For me, the training is a life style and I need to have goals so that I will keep training (I like to say that the goal keeps me honest with myself). That, and my wonderful husband seems resigned to the fact that I will continue to pursue these goals and he loves me even more for it. I know, I have the most.incredible.husband.ever. It is my blog and I can brag if I want to :)

Mileage for Week Ending 6/21/09
Swim: 5200 yards in 2:00
Bike: 73 miles in 4:10
Run: 29.00 miles in 4:26
Total Time: 10:36

I saw this street sign and had to stop to take a photo, inspiration is everywhere!

Mileage for Week Ending 6/14/09

Another week has come and gone and this Sunday evening has me blogging from Boston. I am hopeful that this trip will not derail my training for the week - I have great intentions for swimming and running while I am here!

My amazing and devoted husband broke his collar bone last week, so right now I am just thankful to be healthy! I have been doing some research on my sciatic nerve and I have a plan of action if the pain strikes again!

Mileage for Week Ending 6/14/09
Swim: 6000 yards in 2:25
Bike: 85 miles in 4:47
Run: 22.25 miles in 3:31
Total Time: 10:43

You know your IM is getting closer when ...

... you start scheduling things on your calendar that fall AFTER your IM!

And in case you are wondering, no, I am talking about my next race, but other fun stuff on the calendar all the same!

IM Florida is 5 months from today!

I am so excited about the IM count down -- each passing week makes this goal more real!

Mileage for Week Ending 6/7/09
Swim: 5450 yards in 2:25
Bike: 84 miles in 5:00
Run: 20 miles in 3:12
Total Time: 9:37

May by the Numbers

May numbers are relatively lower due to taper and recovery ... it seems like May has passed in a flash and I know that November is going to be here before I know it!

May's totals:
Bike: 10h 57m - 192.3 Mi
Run: 9h 58m - 64.35 Mi
Swim: 8h 00m - 20,662 Yd

Total Time - 28h 55m

Mileage for Week Ending 5/31/09

This week was my last "lazy week" before starting my training plan for Ironman Florida, which is just shy of 5 months away! Eeekk!

Let Ironman training begin (as if the last year was not all training too!) ...

Swim: 3750 yards in 1:30
Bike: 40 miles in 2:20
Run: 14.5 miles in 2:15
Total Time: 6:05

I've been tagged

I have been tagged by Bob http://ironbob-ironbob.blogspot.com/.

I realized this blog night be missing a bit of a personal touch because I share those types of stories on our family blog (so only those that care about my tri training have to read about it!) , so I thought that this would be a fun way to share a little bit more about myself.

Drum roll please...

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Ironman Florida, hearing "Anne Moore, you are an IRONMAN!"
2. My 30th Birthday 6 days before the big race!
3. Camping this summer
4. Purchasing the 70-200 2.8 IS lens for my Canon 30D
5. Reading a new book
6. Summer fun with my boys
7. Going to the drive-in
8. Meeting Riley and seeing Allie and Marc

8 things I did yesterday:
1. Read, read and read some more until I finished Breaking Dawn
2. Took photos of my boys for my husband's Father's Day gift
3. Played with side walk chalk with my boys
4. Did a brick (40 min bike, 20 min run)
5. Made burgers for dinner for my parents
6. Did the dishes (again)
7. Read books before bed to my boys
8. Blogged

8 things I would like to do:
1. Grow old with my hubby and watch my boys grow into (gentle)men
2. Become a professional photographer
3. Learn to dance (with my husband)
4. Learn to sew
5. Travel, travel, travel and take lots of photos along the way
6. Buy a vacation home on the beach, preferably Maui
7. Build a farm house
8. Kona

8 shows I watch:
1. Big Bang Theory
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. Rules of Engagement
4. Two and A Half Men
5. CSI
6. CSI NY
7. 90210
8. House

8 people I tag:
1. Allie - http://dublinzimmermans.blogspot.com/
2. Paige - http://texaspaige.blogspot.com/
3. Mandy - http://mandyfoster.otterball.com/
4. Kelly - http://www.trimommylife.blogspot.com/
5. Trish - http://irontrish.blogspot.com/
6. Candice - http://lifeintheodellhouse.blogspot.com/
7. Big Daddy Diesel - http://tridiesel.blogspot.com/
8. Debbie - http://truenorthyogini.blogspot.com/

Tri Dreams / Nightmares

Do you ever have them?

This week I dreamt that I was at my IM and I didn't bring any nutrition for the bike! I have had this dream before ... you can bet I will be double checking my special needs bags!

Mileage for Week Ending 5/24/2009

I am proud of myself this week ... not for posting great hours, but for keeping myself busy and keeping the numbers low where they are supposed to be right now.

What have I learned about myself? I love training. I love racing. But really, I love to have something to obsess about, to plan for, to research, something to fixate on, etc.

I replaced my normal tri obsession this week with reading the entire Twilight Saga. It made for late nights but for a very relaxing weekend and the books kept me busy so I was not out over training! I resisted this vampire love story for as long as I could, but after reading the first chapter of the first book, I was hooked.

My swim hours are high because I went to a US Masters Open Water Swim Clinic on Sunday. I saw video of myself swimming for the first time -- that was interesting to say the least! I got some great tips to improve my stroke that I am excited to put to practice in the pool and picked up some open water sighting, turning and drafting tips as well.

Swim: 6800 yards in 2:30
Bike: 40 miles in 2:30
Run: 10 miles in 1:35
Total Time: 6:35

Recovery Week Mileage

I am trying to be patient so that my body can fully recover. My body *feels* fine but I know that more rest now will ensure that my body is ready for the hard work to come ... in the mean time I am just trying not to feel lazy!

Mileage or Week Ending 5/17/2009 (Recovery Week)

Swim: 2100 yards in 1:00
Bike: 21.3 miles in 1:20
Run: 10 miles in 1:35
Total Time: 3:55

Recovery Guilt

I am happy to report that I feel great. I did an easy 40 min spin on Tuesday and I swam this morning. My body feels great and nearly all of the soreness is gone. The real test will come tomorrow when I run with my training partner Mark.

I am trying hard to follow my plan of not having a plan for the next 3 weeks -- just having fun, doing whatever I want, etc. ... but it is just not me! I like the structure of having a plan to follow - plus I feel super guilty about not doing enough right now, even though I know the best thing I can do for myself and my training before starting my Ironman training is to fully recover.

I think that I am going to look into a Pilates class to try something different ...

Mileage or Week Ending 5/10/2009 (Race Week)

Swim: 8012 yards in 3:00
Bike: 61 miles in 3:17
Run: 24.9 miles in 3:55
Total Time: 10:12

I'm (not really) famous!

A nice tri mommy that I met in Panama City sent me this link:

http://www.emeraldcoastphotoseast.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=23530081&event=749792&CategoryID=28403

That's me gettng ready for the swim! How cool!

The Gulf Coast Triathlon Race Report

Saturday, May 9 – RACE DAY!

Pre-race
Thankfully, the alarms woke me up with no issues and the morning race ritual began.

Contacts – check. Sunscreen – check. Oatmeal – check.

Around 5:00 a.m. we left the room and walked (via the street this time) to the Boardwalk. Several other athletes were making the same walk and there was a strange quietness until we got to transition and the race excitement took over and the quietness turned into pre-race chaos.

I set up my transition area, applied more sunscreen (that fretting about the weather was all for naught, it was perfect weather), put my bottles on my bike and hit the porta potties before putting on my wetsuit and walking down to the beach. Doug was getting anxious that we were running behind schedule because I was in one of the first waves. Most races have a hard cut off time when you have to be out of transition, but this race did not enforce one, if they had one. We got to the beach just in time for the National Anthem.

Enter nerves.

I am not sure if it was watching the waves comes in or knowing that I had 6 hours of racing ahead of me, but I was officially nervous.

After making some final adjustments to my wetsuit, I decided to get into the water to let some water into my suit and to make sure that my goggles were set to go. Right as I exited the water they made the call for my age group. After one last kiss and fist bump from my #1 fan, I lined up and waited for the shotgun. I was excited to learn that I was racing with one of the Team In Training women I met the morning before – it was just nice to see a familiar face. I think it was just what I needed to calm my nerves before hearing the shotgun.

Waiting for the swim start -- I am wearing the bright orange goggles


The Swim
The first part of the swim was not actually swimming, as much as it was navigating around the breaking waves and finding water that was deep enough to actually start swimming, well sort of, anyway.

The course was a rectangle with the out and back legs being the long legs, with a short 200 yard swim across. Unfortunately, the ~1,000 yards out were pretty tough (although I learned later that most everyone felt that way). It seemed like with every other breath I got a mouthful of salt water and I had no idea if I was on track because the swells made sighting the buoys very difficult, so it took a lot longer than usual for me to settle in to the swim. When we turned the corner for the short leg across, my stroke felt strong and I knew the worst was behind me. The long leg back went well, although I was still struggling with sighting a bit and got a bit off track at one point and had to swim diagonally to get back with the main pack. The tough part about the leg in was the last quarter as you start to approach the beach and the waves try to pull you back out. When I got to the point where I could stand up I immediately started to take off my wetsuit and by the time I got the shoreline, all I had to do was sit down, and two tugs, I had the suit off and I was running for T1.

T1
As I made the run from the beach to T1 I noticed that a lot of people had stopped at various places to take off their suits. I am sure I didn’t look graceful sitting in the water taking off my suit, but I am confident that it came off faster than it would have otherwise.

I also noticed several people not taking the most direct route to our transition area. It seemed like half of the people in my age group ran the long way around instead of cutting across the middle of transition (where there was an opening), which was clearly shorter. I am sure I would have done the same thing had I not scoped out the most direct routes at bike drop off the night before.

T1 went well with no hiccups and I saw Doug before starting off on the bike. He made posters again that are always a bright spot as the day wears on.

My T1 plan worked like a charm, I was fastest in my age group!

The Bike
My goal for the bike was a sub-3 hour bike split and I took off with such ease and at such a great pace I felt very confident that I would make that goal. The bike did a 6 mile out and back before passing in front of the Boardwalk again and heading out for the 50 mile out and back.

While feeling good on the bike


I made a deal with myself that if I did not flat on this ride that I would learn to change a friggin tire so that I would not have to stress about the what-ifs anymore. There did not appear to be any true bike support on the course, so I was particularly nervous about having a mechanical issue.

I made great time on the first half and I was keeping the numbers in the low 20s mph. It was around the halfway mark that my stomach started to feel off. I had been drinking Infinit every 15 minutes and drinking from my aerobar profile water bottle as needed and at a minimum every 15 minutes. It was at that point that I wished I had spent more time testing the Infinit, but I also wondered if my stomach upset could be partially (or wholly) blamed on the amount of salt water that I swallowed on the swim. There is a reason they tell you NOT to drink salt water!

Thankfully my stomach problems were not slowing me down, but I was nervous about the run because I knew the run would jostle my stomach far more than the bike. Unfortunately, to add insult to injury, I started to get shots of pain down my right leg starting at my hip, all the way down to my foot, but mostly concentrated around my knee. I had never experienced anything like that before on my bike and I have done plenty of long, aero rides on my bike so it was not from a lack of practice.

It was at this point I started shifting my weight around in my seat and changing positions on my bike to see if I could find a position that was not as painful. It was not an excruciating pain, more of a throbbing pain, and thankfully, it was not constant as I was able to find other positions that lessened the pain. It did however, slow my pace more than I would have liked. Several people that I passed on the way out passed me and I knew that if my leg felt stronger I would have been able to go faster, but I was in conservative survival mode at that point. I also stopped drinking my Infinit every 15 minutes. I kept drinking water and decided to push out the Infinit to every 20ish minutes, sometimes a bit longer. I did make myself keep drinking it though as I knew I needed the calories. With about 10 miles to go I started to feel better and I found a comfortably fast position to get me home.

Lessons learned? Do not drink the salt water! Practice, practice, practice your nutrition in training. Improvise when necessary. Work through (reasonable) amounts of pain/discomfort as they may be fleeting. I am definitely going to be further testing the Infinit and seeing if I can recreate the pain in my leg/knee so I can adjust my position/fit accordingly.

Thankfully, I did not flat so now I must hold up my end of the bargain and learn to do it -- and quickly!

T2
I was never so thankful to be off my bike! Doug was waiting for me near the fence at my transition spot as I racked my bike, changed shoes, put on my hat, applied sunscreen, put on my race belt and grabbed my nutrition. I told him about my stomach and knee pain but that I was feeling better and he told me to take 2 lefts to get out of transition and start the run. As I rounded the corner out of transition, Doug was waiting for me again with another poster and the smile I needed to start the run.

Reading a poster while in T2 trying to rack my bike


The Run
I was very excited at the start of the run for several reasons …
1 – I was off my bike
2 – My knee pain and stomach issues were both gone
3 – I made my sub-3 hour bike split
4 – I knew if I could maintain a sub 10 min pace per mile, that I would break 6 hours, which I really wanted to do

Heading out on the run


The run was definitely hot, but I felt good the entire time and was able to keep pace. I started out faster than I would have liked, but quickly settled in around a 9:30 pace. The volunteers were incredible and at no point did I really feel as if I was suffering.

I might have been able to push a little harder, but I didn’t want to jeopardize a sub-6 hour finish and I knew I was likely behind on my nutrition. I took a Hammer Gel at the start of the run and again around mile 7. I also took salt twice and I think that was helpful. I actually lost most of my salt when I dropped the cylinder I was carrying it in, so I was thankful that someone on the course shared with me later in the day. I took 2 waters and 2 sponges at each aid station. I put the sponges in my tri top and I drank one water immediately and took the other one with me. I even ended up giving my ice away once to someone in between aid stations who needed it more than I did. The course was well stocked and had great volunteers!

I was also thankful to have my Garmin because it helped me verify that my perceived effort and pace were where they needed to be to hit my goal. Looking back, I probably played it too conservative on the run, but that gives me a goal to shoot for next time!

I was really able to pick it up for the last mile and finish strong. The announcer said my name as I crossed the line and of course, I saw my husband screaming for me, which made me a bit emotional. I was thrilled to have come in well under the 6 hour mark (as was my hubby) and even more excited about how good I felt afterwards. The post-race massage was just a bonus!

With my #1 Fan


Total Time: 5:52:58

12/45 in AG
70/303 Women
348/1045 Overall

Swim: 44:20 (30th in AG, 134th Woman, 620th Overall)
T1: 2:51 (1st in AG, 22nd Woman, 90th Overall)
Bike: 2:58:06 - 18.9 mph (20th in AG, 123rd Woman, 631st Overall)
T2: 1:53 (8th in AG, 63rd Woman, 163rd Overall)
Run: 2:05:51 - 9:37 pace (11th in AG, 54th Woman, 225th Overall)

Pre-Race Activites

Thursday, May 7
We arrived in beautiful Panama City Beach, Florida Thursday afternoon after a 10 hour drive from Houston. We checked into our hotel, changed clothes and walked up the beach to the Boardwalk Resort (official host hotel) where we hit the expo and did packet pick-up.

I love expos, maybe it is the girl in me, but I can’t resist a good sale! I picked up a PHENOMENAL TYR transition bag, orange Blue Seventy mirrored goggles, a cute orange fish swim cap, a Zoot Swim bag, TYR tri shorts (50% off!), and a couple of extra CO2 cartridges and tubes. I can’t believe I waited so long to get a transition bag, I have never felt so organized and prepared for a race in my life!

After the expo, we walked along the beach back to our room, dropped off our steals and went to the Mellow Mushroom for dinner. My favorite pre-race food is pizza so we decided to test out the Mellow Mushroom Thursday night and Buttr’ Face Pizza Friday night, all in the name of research for Ironman Florida, of course! :)

After dinner we went to Pier Park to walk around, hit the Ron Jon Surf Shop and have some Marble Slab ice cream. After Pier Park, it was lights out (for me), I knew that Friday was going to be a busy day.

Friday, May 8
Friday morning I woke up around 6:00 a.m. to check the surf as I wanted to see what the Gulf looked like at race time. Then, it was back to sleep for a couple of hours before my morning swim. I got up for real around 8:00 a.m., packed up my new PHENOMENAL transition bag and walked along the beach back to the Boardwalk. I figured that there would be lots of athletes doing morning swims from the Boardwalk and I thought it would be safer to swim with a group than by myself from my hotel.

I put on my wetsuit and ended up meeting a Team In Training group from Michigan that I ended up doing my swim with. They were so nice and friendly and even offered up some great Gulf swimming tips. The best tip for me though was taking off my wetsuit while still in the water. I still struggle with removing my wetsuit from my ankles, even with Body Glide. My last wetsuit race had wetsuit strippers, so I did not have to worry about removing it by myself. So when I asked one of the guys what he was going to do since Gulf Coast does not have wetsuit strippers, he suggested taking it off to my waist when I could stand up in the water (when you can no longer swim but are not quite to shore) and then sitting down in the water at the shore line and doing a quick “rip” to get it off – sure enough, when I practiced the move after our swim it worked like a charm.

After rinsing off, it was off to the pancake breakfast before heading back to my room to meet up with my husband who was enjoying the view from our room from the comfort of the bed (he was up late cleaning my bicycle for me – it is good to be in good with your mechanic!). After quick showers, it was back to the Expo (via bicycles this time) so that I could work my shift at the Trakkers booth. I got to meet a couple of my Trakkers teammates, including Pro Triathlete Carole Sharpless, which was very cool, and I even got a new Trakkers hat.

Next stop was our room again to change for a quick brick workout before running errands, including dropping off my bike at transition and attending the athletes meeting. While I was at the athletes meeting, Doug picked up our pizza for dinner. We had dinner on our balcony around 7:00 p.m. and then went for a walk on the beach to look for sea shells for our boys (since it was low tide). I finished prepping my transition bag, set 3 different alarms (2 cell phones and the hotel alarm) for 4:15 a.m. (note to self, get a travel alarm!) and watched a bit of TV before drifting off to sleep. The night before a race is never particularly restful since I am always so nervous – not about the race itself – but about oversleeping! That is one of the reasons I try to have good sleep in the days leading up to the race.

On the hunt for sea shells

The Results Are In...

Total Time: 5:52:58

12/45 in AG
70/303 Women
348/1045 Overall

Swim: 44:20 (30th in AG, 134th Woman, 620th Overall)
T1: 2:51 (1st in AG, 22nd Woman, 90th Overall)
Bike: 2:58:06 - 18.9 mph (20th in AG, 123rd Woman, 631st Overall)
T2: 1:53 (8th in AG, 63rd Woman, 163rd Overall)
Run: 2:05:51 - 9:37 pace (11th in AG, 54th Woman, 225th Overall)

It was a great race overall and I learned a lot to help get me ready for IM FL in 6 months, which was the #1 purpose of this race. I am excited that I was able to cut off 27:45 from my previous HIM time, although I know course differences (my first was hillier but not as hot) likely attributed to some of the time savings. Even still, I would like to believe that 7 additional months of hard training effort paid dividends on Saturday!

Full race report and photos to follow shortly!

Panama City, Here I Come!

It is 4:30 a.m. in Houston, TX and I am up packing (well, supposed to be ...) as we are driving to Panama City Beach today for the Gulf Coast Triathlon! I know that I have logged the hours and that I am ready for this race, but it also strangely feels like it snuck up on me. I have a feeling I will feel that way in November too!

Good news -- check out this weather forecast! Cross your fingers for calm seas too!



Stay tuned for a full race report.

One search ends and another begins

One Search Ends
You may recall that I was searching for goggles and tried just about every pair that I came across and still hadn't found the "right" pair. Well, it turns out I had the right pair all along. I started with Speedo Women's Vanquishers and I went back to them after the strap broke on my last newly purchased pair and by making one slight adjustment -- simply loosening the strap (duh!) -- they are perfect now!

They still leave a bit of a mark around my eyes that stays longer than I would like, but it is SO much better than it was and I am happy with their performance as far as leaking and fogging goes, so they are keepers!

Another Search Begins
As I mentioned in a previous post, I am debating whether I want to trade my road bike for a tri bike. I did a 20 mile warm up and then when to my LBS to try out a Cervelo P2. You want to guess the first thing I did on the thing?

I crashed.

Thankfully, it was just in the parking lot, on some gravel, with no witnesses. The damage? My left shoulder, elbow and hand got a little road rash, but thankfully, no damage was done to the bike. The strap on my Garmin popped off too, but I didn't scratch the face and I found the pin. I am little sore today, but nothing that won't feel better in a couple of days. The cause? Like a car, brakes on different bikes respond differently, and well, these brakes did not respond - at all!

After brushing off my ego, I went back inside and the mechanic made some adjustments to adjust the fit of the bike to make it more similar to my current set up and then I took it on a 30 minute ride. That bike was light and FAST!

The verdict?

I really like the bike.

The pros: I love shifting while in the aero position, but it felt weird not to have other options, even if I don't really use them. I felt fast, although I didn't have a computer so I am not sure if there was a speed difference between the tri bike and my road bike.

The cons: My neck and shoulder blades started to feel tight much faster than they do when I am aero on my road bike. Obviously, the brakes were an issue too, but that can be easily fixed.

The fit guy, who is also a cycling coach, was a great help. I told him that I want to be comfortable and fast. I asked if he thought that I could be just as comfortable on the tri bike. He thinks that he can adjust the fit (primarily raise the stem a touch) so that it is more similar to my current set up and that over time he can slowly adjust the fit to be more aggressive. My second question for him was whether for the same level of comfort, I would be faster on the tri bike. He definitely thinks that I will be faster on the tri bike.

Decisions, decisions ...

You can vote in my poll and/or share your opinion in the comments.

Mileage for Week Ending 5/3/09

Let the real taper begin!

I can't believe that my A race is less than a week away! I am looking forward to
tapering this week. I feel ready to race, albeit a bit nervous. My last HIM was 7 months ago and I feel like I have made considerable strides in my fitness level and I am anxious to see if I will be able to turn that into a good performance in Panama City. I recognize that each course brings its own challenges that will impact performance, but I would still like to PR!

I am also excited that I will be meeting some of my Trakkers teammates in Florida!

Swim: 5900 yards in 2:20
Bike: 74 miles in 4:15
Run: 18.5 miles in 2:47
Total Time: 9:23

What a difference a couple of days make!

This forecast has lowered my stress level considerably. Now, with thunderstorms not my primary concern I can turn my stress to the water conditions. I hear that last year's swim was a washing machine, but even that is better than turning the tri into a du! Here is to a nice, flat swim and of course, no rain!

What is the opposite of a rain dance?

The 10 day forecast for Panama City is not looking promising right now ...



I don't even know why I bother checking. There was rain in the forecast for my last race and it changed as it got closer -- but then again they had to cancel day 1 of the MS 150 because of the conditions and the forecast only got worse as the weekend approached. Ugggh.

Yesterday it showed 40% -- today it shows 60%, let's hope the weather comes early or waits until Sunday, or by scattered storms they mean everywhere but along the race route!

April by the Numbers

It feels great to have another month of training under my belt, especially with my first HIM of the season just over a week away. I went a little longer and a little further in each category this month, even though I had 2 "lighter" weeks with tapering for the Quarter and Half races. I say "lighter" because I never thought doing 9ish hours a week would feel light, but it definitely does compared to weeks in the 12+ hour range. I can only imagine what the 15+ hour weeks of IM training will feel like!

April's totals:
Bike: 22h 03m - 352.1 Mi
Run: 17h 10m - 113.2 Mi
Swim: 9h 41m - 24,850 Yd

Total Time - 48h 54m

Let the Taper Begin!

I had a great bike ride this morning, shaving 15 minutes off of my time for this same ride from a couple of months ago! This is also the first week in quite some time that I have broken the 100 mile marker on the bike (in aggregate).

I stopped by my LBS where I purchased my bike to look at a couple of tri bikes and the owner told me that he would definitely work a trade in for my current bike if I wanted to upgrade - good to know! I have an appointment next Saturday to do some test riding, so we will see how that goes!

I am excited that next week marks the first of two taper weeks leading up to the Gulf Coast Tri. I decided to break my tri season in half and Gulf Coast marks the end of the first half of the season (where has the time gone?) and it is also an A race for me. I am excited to see how far I have come in the 6 months since Longhorn, work on my nutrition and mentally begin preparing for IMFL. The Gulf Coast Tri is on the same course as IMFL so this will be a great opportunity to get my bearings and to take some mental pictures to visualize during training in the months to come!

Swim: 5800 yards in 2:15
Bike: 103 miles in 6:03
Run: 24 miles in 3:43
Total Time: 12:01

Mother Nature's Change of Plans

Mileage for week ending 4/19/09

This week marks the 1 year anniversary of my focused triathlon training! My training log in Excel started on 4/21/08 -- what a year it has been!

In the last year I learned to swim (one of my biggest accomplishments!), did Sprint, Olympic, Quarter and Half Ironman distance tris, trained for a completed a sub-4 hour marathon (my goal time) and registered for IMFL.

It was neat to look back over the past 52 weeks to see how my training has progressed and coincidentally, this week also marks my largest volume week yet! With Ironman Florida just over 6 months away, I am excited to see how much is yet to come.

One area that I want to focus on in the weeks and months ahead is nutrition. I have not experimented enough with various nutrition strategies or products, and while I have a plan for my HIM in a couple of weeks, I want to develop a more structured plan for IMFL. I would love to hear what each of you are doing for your races and your preferred products/supplements/etc.

This weekend I was supposed to complete a two day bike tour, but the Texas weather had other plans. The weather was so bad that for the first time in 25 years, the MS Society cancelled the first day of the ride. The good news is that Mother Nature's change of plans was actually probably a blessing in disguise for my training schedule.

My plan called for a 4 hour ride and a two day bicycle tour would obviously have meant substantially more saddle time. While I would have liked to have the saddle time, I am sure that I would have been more sore this week than intended and that would not have been so great for my last peak training week this week before my taper for the Gulf Coast Tri.

In other news, I am contemplating getting a new bike. I currently ride a Giant TCR AW (carbon/aluminum) road bike with a Fast Forward seat post and aero bars. Now that I have decided I am going to stick around the sport for a while, I am trying to decide if I want to upgrade to a nicer tri specific bike for my IM. Thoughts?

Swim: 5400 yards in 2:00
Bike: 91 miles in 6:05
Run: 29.5 miles in 4:27
Total Time: 12:32

Sleeping Beauty

That is what my training partner called me this morning ... and he was not being complimentary!

He arrived at my house early for our standing Tuesday/Thursday morning run this morning because we were planning to run 12 miles instead of 10 miles -- but I didn't respond to his text right away like I usually do -- because I was fast asleep in my bed.

I set my alarm for PM instead of AM by mistake (not the first time I have done this!), so I woke up to my cell phone ringing instead. Thankfully he actually called me this time - last time I overslept he just went home!

Despite my tardiness, we still managed to run our normal 10 miles before I had to get ready for work and I earned the moniker, Sleeping Beauty!

On a separate note, Mark and I talk about everything under the sun on our runs. Politics. US Weekly. Our families. Triathlon. Running. Headlines. Etc.

Well, Mark is a Lutheran Pastor and we recently had a conversation about religion. It might be a surprise to most given his profession, but religion has not been all that of a frequent topic on our many training adventures. Anyhow, in our last conversation, I told him (which he somewhat already knew) that I wanted to commit some time doing a Bible study, but I have struggled to find one that fit my full-time work schedule.

He responded that "it's a shame you don't know anyone who knows a lot about the subject and who you spend lots of time with, with nothing to do but talk." I took Mark's response as an invitation and with that, we have started our own little Bible study discussions on our runs. I love multi-tasking!

We had our first lesson this morning and the run went by in a flash.

PSA for the day -- double check your alarm clock!

Saddle Time, Perspective and Improvising

Mileage for Week Ending 4/12/09

I was due for a long bike ride this weekend, but scheduling issues got in the way so I was forced to improvise (i.e. break my long ride into shorter rides). My amazing husband, the one who drives me to all of my races, spends countless hours cheering for me and waiting and waiting and waiting for me to finish, the one who tells me to buy the latest equipment without thinking twice, is also a cyclist. We are both doing the the MS 150 next weekend and he too has been itching for some saddle time.

Unfortunately, we couldn't get help lined up to watch our little boys and even though my hubby offered to let me ride, I decided to look at the big picture (my reference to perspective) and told him to ride instead.

Perspective? I am currently training for the Gulf Coast Half and while I would like to have logged a 50 miler this weekend, I know that I still logged decent miles this week over shorter rides. Plus, I will get more than my fair share of saddle time next weekend.

In other news, IMFL is 30 weeks away! I know this because the Don Fink training plan is a 30 week program and I was originally going to follow the 30 week plan. Instead, I am going to finish off my HIM training (I am actually following a modified Don Fink IM plan), then take a couple of lower mileage weeks before starting a 20 - 22 week program.

Swim: 2600 yards in 1:00
Bike: 79 miles in 4:45
Run: 26.1 miles in 3:55
Total Time: 9:40

Mileage for week ending 4/5/09 (taper & race)

I took it a bit easier this week in prepration for the Quarter distance race, but overall had a good week. Definitely need more saddle time this week! Next week will not be a problem because I will be doing the MS-150 ride from Houston to Austin(180 miles).

Swim: 5150 yards in 2:06
Bike: 51.1 miles in 3:25
Run: 30.1 miles in 4:34
Total Time: 10:05

Lone Star Tri - Quarter Distance Triathlon

Galveston, TX

.6 mile swim
28 mile bike
6.5 mile run

2:44:35.10
6 of 42 in Age Group (AG)(30 - 34*)
30 of 256 women (not including elites)
238 / 795 overall

Swim -- 21:37.15 (17/42 in AG) - 2:14 pace
T1 -- 2:37.25 (11/42 in AG)
Bike -- 1:25:25.20 (7/42 in AG) - 19.7 mph
T2 -- 1:49.25 (9/42 in AG)
Run -- 53:06.25 (7/42 in AG) - 8:10 pace

*USAT rules have you race at your age as of 12/31, so even though I don't turn 30 until November, I am racing in my new AG

Race Weekend
Galveston is about an hours drive from Houston (with no traffic) so we decided to drive down race morning rather than spending the night in Galveston the night before the race. I even got special permission to pick up my packet race morning so we didn't have to spend half a day driving down to Galveston and back on Saturday. With our Saturday free, I woke up and did a 30 minute easy swim to stay loose and then relaxed with the boys before going to Andrew's T-ball game. After T-ball it was naps for everyone and then off to take bluebonnet photos (a Texas tradition).

Finally picked up a pizza (coal fired, thin crust yummy goodness and perfect pre-race food for me) at nearly 8:30 before dropping the boys off at my in-laws. We have tried waking them up early to go to a race and it didn't turn out well, tired toddlers and pre-k kiddos = cranky boys. As a side note, we are planning on taking them to Ironman, but we are going to ask my mother-in-law to come with us so the boys can sleep in and play during the day while Daddy is busy being my #1 fan. I finally fell asleep around 11:00 after packing my transition bag and setting the alarm for 3:45 a.m.

Race Morning

Woke up feeling quite rested considering I didn't get a lot of sleep and we were out the door by 4:05 and pulled into Galveston 1 hour later. I dozed off and on in the car while my amazing hubby did the driving. As soon as we arrived we went to the registration tent to pick up my packet and then it was off to transition to get set up after eating my cold oatmeal that I made at 4:00 a.m.

I spent quite a bit of time setting up my transition area and looking around to see how other people organized their areas. Since it was the first race of the season, I felt a bit out of practice setting up my transition area.

Once I got my transition area set up, I made the walk to the swim start and put on my wetsuit. I put body glide on my ankles and calves and the suit went right on. I also learned that you are not supposed to put the zipper pull fully inside your wetsuit (which is what likely caused the chaffing a couple of weeks ago)! I was in the third to last swim start so there was quite a bit of waiting. When it was finally my turn to get into the water, I was so thankful to have a wetsuit on because the water was COLD!

The Swim

I had a good swim and felt totally at ease in the wetsuit. My sighting was not too bad, although not perfect, so I was surprised by how slow my pace per 100 was compared to my pool times (avg around 1:55 for long, easyish efforts). When I hit the ramp, I easily found my zipper pull and was able to get the wetsuit to my waist with no problems. I almost passed the wetsuit strippers because they were standing a bit back of the main path. Thankfully, I heard someone scream "wetsuits" and something clicked so I turned, laid down and the wetsuit was off in mere seconds.

T1 went well with the only mistake being that I didn't take the extra 15 seconds to put on my Garmin. I thought I could do it once I was on the bike, but alas, I was too worried about dropping it, so I put it into my Bento box and chalked it up to a learning experience. Yet another reason to buy the new Garmin 310xt!

The Bike

I decided going into this race that I really wanted to race it rather than just pace it. I often keep a little extra in the tank (or a couple of beans in my pocket as my training partner Mark likes to say) as to not blow up on the course, but then I end up wondering how much faster I could have been if I had actually pushed it. So, after fidgeting with my Garmin on the bike (which took me longer than the 15 seconds max it would have taken me in transition),I settled in for the ride. I quickly caught myself playing it safe and decided to kick it up a notch and start pushing it.

I felt surprisingly good on the bike and I kept telling myself "this is what you train every.single.day. for". It was my body convincing my mind that it was ok to push it an not play it safe. This was also my first race to use the aerobar water bottle and I LOVED it. The bottle hand offs were a breeze and came at the perfect times. Why didn't I start using one of those sooner? I was pushing 18ish mph on the way out and 21ish mph on the way back on the out and back course, with the difference in speeds being attributed to the wind. I was really proud of my 19.7 mph average. For those of you on the Eastern seaboard, this was a pancake flat course.

Pulling into the transition area was a bit frustrating as some of the riders ahead of me were slowing up to get out of their shoes way before the dismount area (at least a quarter mile out). I am ok with that, just stay to the right. Plus, there was a lot of oncoming bicycle traffic because the Half Iron athletes that started after us were starting on the bike portion.

Running bike into T2


Got to the transition area, easily found my spot, changed shoes, grabbed my Trakkers visor and was on my way. I was trying to think of how to save more time in transition and I think that I need to look into speed laces for my race shoes.

T2, tying shoes (hence the need for speed laces)


The Run
I was able to put my Garmin on at the beginning of the run and I was thankful to have it. Mostly because I wanted to push the run too, but not burn out and I have a hard time gauging perceived exertion as the day wears on. I started the first of the two loops fast and started to feel a cramp developing in my left calf (never had that happen before) and developed a small side stitch which slowed me down a bit, but I was able to run out of the cramps and was able to really speed up my pace the second lap and really kicked the end.

Run, end of lap 1

I got myself through the run by trying to catch the next person in front of me (small goals) and then by reminding myself that "I can do anything for 2 miles, 1.5 miles, 10 minutes, etc. Also, as usual, it is so great to see my husband Doug along the course - the occasional fist bump always gets me going faster!

Overall, I was really happy with my time (I wish I had a better sense of how to compare a Quarter distance time with an Olympic distance time), but I was happy with my effort and felt that I left all of my beans on the course ... well, maybe there was one left in my pocket! Doug also has me questioning my decision to purchase a road bike and making it aero instead of just buying a tri bike. He said, "imagine how much faster you would have been on a tri bike". Hmmm ... I wonder if that is true? Any thoughts? For what it is worth, I ride a Giant Road Bike TCR AW (carbon/aluminum) with a Fast Forward seat post and aerobars. Recommendations?

Finish Line Video (the announcer even calls out my name)


Next stop, Panama City, FL for the Gulf Coast Tri Half Iron on May 9!

Let's Go Racing!

My first tri of the season is tomorrow and I am very excited! I feel pretty rested (I did a pseudo-taper) and I am ready to go racing! This will be my first wetsuit race so I am anxious to see how T1 will go, but this is the first of three wetsuit races this year so it will definitely be a learning experience. Stay tuned for a full race report.

Thou Shall Not Covet

Thou Shall Not Covet ...

Thou Shall Not Covet ...

Thou Shall Not Covet ...

But I still really want this! I have the 305 and I love it, but I love that this one is water proof and has a 20 hour battery. I would love to be able to use one watch for my entire IM. I would be happy if I could sell my 305 for $200 and put that money towards the 310XT. Any takers? ;)



OLATHE, Kan./April 2, 2009/Business Wire — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced the Forerunner 310XT – the waterproof multi-sport solution in Garmin’s popular line of GPS-enabled fitness devices. Boasting up to 20 hours of battery life and a sleek, comfortable design, the Forerunner 310XT was announced in preparation for world-class marathons in Paris and Boston, where it will be on display at Garmin booths in each location. The Forerunner 310XT will be sold on its own or packaged with a new waterproof, soft-strap heart rate monitor, which will be more comfortable than previous models and is expected to be available during summer 2009.


“The waterproof Forerunner 310XT is the evolution of the iconic Forerunner 305, building off of what users love and introducing key benefits they’ve requested,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “By adding unmatched wireless connectivity, up to 20 hours of battery life and a more comfortable build, Forerunner 310XT will bring Garmin’s leading GPS technology to more athletes and events than ever imagined.”

During and after the workout, Forerunner 310XT blends the best wireless connectivity of all of its predecessors in the Garmin fitness family, syncing wirelessly through ANT+™ technology with Garmin heart rate monitors and foot pods, compatible third-party fitness equipment and power meters, and the user’s PC or Mac for automatic data download.

The swimmable Forerunner 310XT is waterproof to a depth of 50 meters, so you can wear it in the pool or the lake to time your swim. And its slim design, simple interface and flexible wristband mean Forerunner is easy to wear in any conditions. When you're ready to jump out of the water and onto the bike, Forerunner 310XT moves easily from wrist to bike with the optional quick release and bike mounts, making the transition between sports effortless. Forerunner 310XT categorizes multisport activities in one workout and can also log transition time in the process, so you can analyze your performance from start to finish. And the extended battery life – up to 20 hours – means that endurance athletes can push themselves farther than ever.

Positioned around the large, vivid display, intuitive buttons provide a simple interface without sacrificing space on the customizable data screens. And even in the loudest gym or largest crowd, users won’t miss their milestones as Forerunner 310XT’s audible signals and/or vibration alerts tell them when they’ve reached integral parts of their race or workout.

Garmin is also announcing a new waterproof, soft-strap heart rate monitor that is streamlined and more comfortable than ever, yet rugged enough to withstand swimming. Though heart rate data does not transmit while underwater, this new waterproof strap means that triathletes can plan ahead by wearing the strap under a wetsuit, shaving crucial seconds off their transition time. The new soft-strap monitor is expected to be available during summer 2009.

For out-of-water activities, Forerunner 310XT tracks speed, distance and location accurately and effortlessly, and users benefit from the precision of heart rate-based calorie computation. Runners and cyclists can adjust the pace and speed of their Virtual Partner without stopping in the middle of a workout, and the Virtual Partner is always on and ready for a challenge.

The waterproof Forerunner 310XT can be used outdoors or indoors (with an optional, streamlined foot pod that can fit on laces or under certain shoes’ insoles), making it the ultimate year-round, all-weather training tool. And the high-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix™ quickly acquires and sustains satellite reception, whether you’re tackling a wooded trail or jogging through the urban canyons of skyscrapers. An optional speed/cadence bike sensor helps cyclists monitor their pedaling cadence and wheel speed.

Once the workout is done, the training is far from over. Using ANT+ technology, the Forerunner 310XT sends workout data to the user’s PC or Mac via automatic wireless data transfer. There’s no need to take off the watch or bother with cables as the computer automatically syncs with the Forerunner 310XT once it’s in close proximity. And the data transfer is a two-way street. Runners, joggers, cyclists and hikers can send courses, goals and workouts to their Forerunner 310XT before they begin, and then the data gets sent back to the user’s computer when the workout is over. Athletes can log their workouts, track their totals, set goals, share workouts with coaches, friends and family and participate in an online fitness community at Garmin ConnectSM — Garmin’s online training site.

The wireless features of Forerunner 310XT are enabled by ANT+ personal area network technology. ANT+ is a leading wireless interface protocol enabling ultra low power applications like fitness monitors. ANT+ offers all the benefits of digital wireless communications with much lower power consumption than other wireless protocols.

The Forerunner 310XT is the latest breakthrough from Garmin, which has spent 20 years using technology and innovation to enhance users’ lives, making Garmin a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries. To learn more about the Forerunner 310XT and Garmin’s other products and services, go to www.garmin.com and www.garmin.blogs.com.

March By The Numbers

March was my first full month triathlon training for the season after coming off marathon training and maintenance. With that, I am pretty happy with my training numbers and will be even happier if I can maintain these hours. I know that as I approach mid-year I will need to start spending even more time on the bike, but for now, I am happy with my progress.

The bike is the most challenging for me in terms of training because outside of my long ride each week, I spend a lot of time on the trainer/spinner because I do not feel safe riding in the dark!

March's totals:
Bike: 20h 10m - 328.8 Mi
Run: 15h 36m - 105.1 Mi
Swim: 9h 35m - 22,500 Yd

Total Time - 45h 21m

News from Team Trakkers

I am very jealous of my Team Trakkers Teammates that will be competing in the Rev3Tri June 7 in Middleburry, Connecticut. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make the trek from Texas to CT to do this race this year because I was already committed to the Gulf Coast Tri and Florida Ironman (where I will proudly sport Trakkers gear and hopefully meet a lot of my teammates), but if you are closer to this venue or have not already allocated your travel dollars for the year, I encourage you to check out this race!

Check out for the most up to date information.

Revolution3 takes place in Middlebury, Connecticut at Quassy Amusement Park. On race day, Quassy vopens exclusively to athletes, their family members and friends, as well as race volunteers and their families. Spectators enjoy front row action via stage screens set up in the transition area. Six cameras strategically placed throughout the course will broadcast live directly to you. Combine this with real-time GPS athlete tracking and you, too, will see the revolution unfold!

What does that mean for athletes like me and you? Our families will finally have a fun venue and our significant others will not be stuck trying to entertain young children in odd locations while we are racing. This is going to be a first class event with star power to boot! Want to race along side some of the best athletes in our sport? This is the race for you! I can only imagine the bike eye-candy that will be seen on race day!

The best part? Save $10 on your active.com registration fee by entering code NSS126 when registering.

Two-a-days

Mileage for Week Ending 3/29/09

Being a working mom of two active little boys means that I fit my workouts in when the boys are sleeping or at school so that I spend as little time away from them as possible. That means lots of early mornings and two-a-days to fit in all the hours I need in a given week. I have a standing Monday and Wednesday 5:30 a.m. Masters Swim and my training partner Mark and I have a standing Tuesday and Thursday 10 mile run at 5:10 a.m. When work lunches don't get in the way, I spend an hour at the gym on my lunch break at least 4 days a week (thankfully we have a smallish gym at my office with a great locker room and facilities).

Two-a-days make the days fly by, but the best part is that when the weekend rolls around, I am usually only left with a long bike ride, which I can usually get in Saturday or Sunday morning, giving me the other day off entirely with my guys!

Here are a couple of anecdotes for this week as well as what is on tap for the week ahead:

One one of my 4 spinner rides this week at the gym, I was spinning away and getting a bit fatigued and ready to hit the showers when I moved to a more aero position and found myself staring at the M-Dot on my Timex Ironman watch. That was a great reminder to me as to why I spend so much time on the bike and it helped me pick it up for the rest of the ride. I have worn a Timex Ironman watch for as long as I can remember and long before I knew or appreciated what the M-Dot stood for. In fact, I think this week was the very first time I noticed the M-Dot on the wrist band, but it sure brought motivation to my struggling workout!

There was a time when the thought of the swim leg of any triathlon terrified me ... but not anymore! I love swimming and learning to properly swim is one of the things I am most proud of from 2008. Sometimes it is nice to remember exactly how far I have come and I got two reminder of that this week.

First, there is a new guy in my Masters class who is working hard but has not been able to do the full workouts yet because he still gets fatigued in the water. After our Monday workout I told him, "I have been there, I promise it gets easier" and our coach overheard and replied, "Yeah, you should have seen Anne when she started - it was horrible to watch!" Ha ha ha! I knew I was bad before, but wow, horrible to watch?!?

Then on Wednesday, one of the other triathletes, an older gentleman training for Ironman CDA, told me how impressed he was with my increased speed. It helped me to remember the days when I wondered if I would ever be as fast as the 50-60 year something triathletes in my class ... and I am happy to report that I am faster than they are now.

Then, one of the swimmers (I refer to those that do a lot of stroke work as the 'swimmers') told me that I was the Teacher's Pet because the coach was bragging about me on Wednesday. Apparently, our coach thinks that I am the most improved swimmer in the class. I told her that just meant that I have come the furthest (and when you start with nothing you have a long way to go!). It was nice to get some compliments this week in the water, but I don't want to rest on my laurels. I have seen huge improvements in the water since my Half Ironman last October so I am excited to see what the next 7 months bring as I train for Florida!

This next week brings my first triathlon of the season, a Quarter Distance Tri in Galveston, Lonestar. I am excited because it is put on by the same people that did Longhorn, so it is sure to be a well run race. I just hope we get weather like we have had this weekend (sunny and 60s). The only question I have in my mind is how much to taper. This is not my "A" race, that is the Gulf Coast Tri in May in Panama City, so I need to stay on my training schedule, but I hate going into a race not feeling rested. I think that I am going to do a mini-taper and lower the intensity of some of my workouts this week, but do my best to stay on schedule.

Finally, three weeks from now is the MS-150 bike ride from Houston to Austin. This will be a great ride to really stretch my legs and practice my nutrition and pacing for a longer race.

Here are my numbers for the week --

Swim: 5600 yards in 2:30
Bike: 75 miles in 4:40
Run: 27.9 miles in 4:10
Total Time: 11:20

B-e-a-utiful weather!

Mileage for Week Ending 3/22/09

Had a decent training week, despite feeling tired at the beginning of the week. I made sure to sleep in as much as I could Friday - Sunday. Saturday I did a 30 min open water swim in my wetsuit as a practice run for the Lone Star Tri April 5. Other than the 300 yards I did one I first got the wetsuit in the pool to test the wetsuit fit, this was my first actual workout in my "Super Suit" (what my 4 year old calls it). The swim went well -- the wetsuit fit great. I had full range of motion and I was able to breathe and turn my head easily. After about 20 minutes, I noticed that a spot on the back of my neck felt raw, so I need to make sure to actually use body glide on race day as I have several sore "hicky" spots on the back of my neck today from the wetsuit.

Sunday I woke up feeling crappy so I skipped the morning long ride in favor of sleeping in and doing a shorter afternoon ride.

Swim: 7200 yards in 3:15
Bike: 65 miles in 4:00
Run: 22 miles in 3:15
Total Time: 10:30

You Know You Are Tired When …

- You are planning your nap for later in the day before you are even out of bed

- Your running partner stops for a potty break and you nearly fall asleep standing up waiting for him (and he was only gone 1 minute)

- You find yourself longing for the weekend because you only have to get up 6 something a.m. instead of 4 something a.m.

- You fall asleep in the middle of typing a blog post (or watching your favorite tv show or in the middle of conversations with your spouse)

Off to bed because in case I did not mention it already, I am tired!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

Mileage for Week Ending 3/15/09

Travel this week put a damper in my training but I still managed to pull out a respectable 8:45 hours. The worst part of the week was the weather ... cold, rainy days meant hours inside on the trainer. Thankfully, a couple of good movies got me through most of it.

Swim: 3400 yards in 1:30
Bike: 76 miles in 4:45
Run: 17.5 miles in 2:30
Total Time: 8:45

Mileage for Week Ending 3/8/09

I started my long ride today feeling exhausted, but I was not sure why because I took my rest day on Saturday and was not sure why my legs didn't feel right. It only took me 9 miles to realize that my brake was rubbing ... doh! Lesson learned -- and I got one hell of a workout for those first 9 miles and the rest of the ride felt like a piece of cake!

Swim: 6500 yards in 2:30
Bike: 86 miles in 5:15
Run: 25.8 miles in 3:50
Total Time: 11:35

Joke's on me!

Tuesday and Thursday mornings my running buddy Mark drives 20 minutes from his house to mine to run 10 miles at 5:10 in the morning. Lucky for me, I just have to get up and be ready by 5:10 a.m. We spend the 1.5 hours talking about everything and anything under the sun, joking and laughing and generally having too much fun for running 10 miles. In fact, I firmly believe that 10 miles with a buddy is equivalent to 5 miles alone -- I'll take good company any day of the week!

He harasses me at least once a run about the fact that I get to roll out of bed while he is hiking halfway across the city. In all fairness, I get (at least) one Ironman mention every run, so I don't mind taking the harassment :)

Most mornings I am ready to roll by 5:05 a.m. and I sit on the couch with my Blackberry waiting for his text message to tell me he has arrived. I usually close my eyes for a moment and enjoy the last moments of quiet before starting the day. Tuesday morning during this quiet time my mind started to play games on me ... and I started thinking, "Hmmm, maybe Mark will be a few minutes late so I can get a couple more minutes of sleep" -- and then it went to -- "Maybe Mark will have overslept" -- "No, he would have texted me by now" -- "Hmmm, what am I going to do if Mark did oversleep?" -- "Maybe I will sleep for 30 minutes and then go run for an hour" -- my thoughts were finally interrupted by my Blackberry. Message received "I'm here". Time to roll.

I told Mark about my mental volley Tuesday morning and he focused not so much on how tired I was but on harassing me (as usual, all in good fun) for complaining since he had gotten up a whopping 45 minutes before me.

So, this morning I woke up at 4:50 a.m., brushed my teeth, put on my contacts, put on my running clothes and shoes, turned on my Garmin and sat -- ok laid -- on the couch to wait for Mark. I figured I had about 5 minutes until he arrived and par for the course, my mind started racing with the same thoughts that I had on Tuesday. Just like Tuesday, my thoughts were interrupted by my Blackberry, except this time Mark's text message read: "Sorry, I overslept". Crap!

I immediately replied, "No problem, how about Friday?" While I was incredibly disappointed, Mark is very reliable and in the entire time we have been training together we have each only overslept once (see my post: The Equivalent of the Party Foul), so I couldn't be mad and besides, he DOES make the sacrifice twice a week before dawn to drive to my house and then fight traffic to get back home.

While I waited for his reply about Friday (mostly because his reply was going to impact how far I decided to run on my own), I looked at the text message again, and I had received a second message that I had missed ... "Just kidding, I'm here".

Joke's on me!

We had a great run - wonderful t-shirt and shorts weather, lots of laughs and some speed work mixed in for good measure. I am going to miss our runs next week while I am traveling (which means my runs alone will feel that much longer!).

Fashion Plate

Sunday is laundry day so when I went to find my clothes for today's brick I was left with a hodge podge of clothing that didn't really go well together but wore it anyway (thankfully, no paparazzi are trying to get my photo) ...

Imagine this: black tri shorts with pink panels on the outside, light blue long sleeve shirt, blue running socks and orange running shoes ... I was quite the fashion plate today.

Two More Races!

I have been planning on racing Lonestar and the Gulf Coast Tri all year, but I just pulled the trigger and registered for both events before the the March 1 price increases. It is time to start making travel arrangements!

Panama City, here I come (trip 1 of 2 for the year)!

Mileage for Week Ending 3/1/09

I had a great long bike ride this week, despite the hellacious head winds and cross winds. I did my first group ride ever where I took turns drafting and pulling for the entire 3 hour ride. I know there is no drafting in triathlon, but it was good bike handling experience and the pulling into the headwinds was a great workout. Overall, it was an awesome training week!

Swim: 6150 yards in 2:45
Bike: 87 miles in 5:15
Run: 23.8 miles in 3:30
Total Time: 11:30

Iron Widow

My husband is such a comic.

We have been cleaning out our office so he has been shredding lots of old paperwork. I came through with my training book and left it in the office near the shredder (ok, my own fault, but I was trying to keep the room tidy) ... and when he came back to the office to start shredding again he asked me if I wanted him to shred my training book!

He said it in jest, of course, but then he said maybe if he shred the book he wouldn't be an "Iron Widow" anymore. I have heard that expression used for football and golf, but not Ironman training until now :)

Don't judge him too harshly, he was only joking and I thought it was pretty funny. He is my biggest fan and will tell anyone who will listen that his wife is training for an Ironman!

February Totals

38.9 total hours
96.5 miles running
245 miles biking
22,250 yards swimming

Race season is quickly approaching with my first race of the season just over a month away. My goals for March are to maintain my current level of training, get several wetsuit practice swims under my belt, set-up and use my aero water bottle (instead of my Camelbak) and to set up my cadence sensor on my bike so that I can more fully utilize my Garmin.

How Training for An Ironman is Like Pregnancy

I came across this post online and had to share -- in part because I have thought the same thing on more than one occassion and the comparisons are very true!

1. It takes 9 months out of your life to prepare for the event.

2. You're life will never be the same after completing an Ironman.

3. You crave strange foods, gels, and drinks at strange times of the day.

4. You sign up for an Ironman in the "heat of the moment" after volunteering.

5. You don't care who sees you naked anymore.

6. Its hard to sleep the week leading up to the event.

7. You tend to lose a lot of weight on the day of the event.

8. You have time during "training" to read books on how to make the event go more smoothly (like "Going Long" for tris and "What to expect when you're expecting" for pregnancy)

9. You eat all the time and are always hungry.

10. Getting a lot of sleep seems like a distant memory.

11. You find your body hurting in places that it never hurt before.

12. Every week or so you find yourself looking at a different person in the mirror.

13. You pee all the time (assuming you're staying hydrated.

14. You can use the excuse that you are training for an IM to eat a lot.

15. You're amazed at what your body can actaully accomplish.

16. You wonder what you did with all of your free time before training.

17. You wonder where you spent all of your money before triathlon.

18. You talk about the upcoming event all.the.time.

Feel free to add your own thought in the comments!

Anchors Aweigh

Monday was one of those days. I didn't want to get out of bed to swim. When I got to the pool I didn't want to get in the water. When I got in the water, my stroke felt off and my new Aquasphere Seal mask started leaking. Uggh. Can you see where this is going?

I felt myself going through the motions and I didn't want to reinforce bad technique so I told myself to quit whining and start swimming. I made it through the workout, only to have my swim coach give me grief about all of the things I was doing wrong that she said "came out of nowhere". I left swimming feeling pretty deflated.

I have made so much progress in the water and I have gotten used to hearing comments from my coach like, "you are looking like a swimmer" that taking her constructive criticism was more than I wanted to swallow on a Monday morning.

I did my best to learn from it and decided to get to Masters on time on Wednesday (5:30 a.m.) instead of 5:45 a.m. so that I could start my swim with the drill set instead of doing them at the end (I always do the entire workout, I just stay later).

Thankfully, today's swim was much better and my coach agreed. I felt much more confident walking out this morning! Plus, as I was leaving I noticed one of the guys swimming (next to our Masters group, but not in our group) laps had a IM tattoo, so I chatted with him for a moment. He is training for his third IM and he asked what I was training for. I told him I had signed up for Florida and he told me to have fun, you only get one "first Ironman"! Never thought about it that way before ...

Mileage for Week Ending 2/22/09

My long bike ride got cut short this week, but I am still pretty happy with my mileage. I can tell that my training is ramping up because I am showering more than I am sleeping and I daydream about taking naps ... when I am not eating that is!

Swim: 5450 yards in 2 hrs 40 mins
Bike: 70 miles in 4:10
Run: 26.7 miles in 3:47
Total Time: 10:37

Clueless

I can't believe just over 2 years ago I was so clueless about triathlons ... I came across a post I wrote on a Mommy Message Board that I frequented when my boys were itty bitty. I have always wanted to do an Ironman, even before I knew much about them (obviously!).

Without further ado, this was me 2 years ago (posted 3/27/07):

"I have noticed in some recent threads (including my socks thread) that there are several triathletes on these boards and I would love to pick your brains.

I have done both sprint and olympic distance triathlons in the past, but it is one of my life dreams to do an Ironman. I have no desire to finish at the beginning of the pack - just to finish.

I have completed several marathons and century type bike rides. I am a horrible swimmer, so I know that I am going to have to take lessons for that.

Ok, so on to my questions. If you or a spouse completed either of these events - where did you do it? Close to home or did you travel? How competitive were you? Like I said, my goal is just to finish! For those that were at the back of the pack, how was the support? What was your training regimine? How long did you train?

I have an 8 year old Gary Fisher mountain bike that I have always used with hybrid tires for my long bike rides and the triathlons that I have done. Is investing in a road bike almost a necessity if I decide to do the Ironman?

How did you qualify, if necessary, for the event?

Is there a particular event that you recommend?

There is not a lot close to me, so I will probably have to travel to the race and always prefer to make a vacation out of these type of trips. For example, I did the Maui marathon in 2003. We arrived on Saturday mid-day and the race was Sunday. The rest of the trip was vacation.

I think that is it for now. Thanks for sharing! "

I followed that up with this reply:

"Thanks so much for the replies. Right now I am leaning towards researching the races, the equipment, etc. in 2007, signing up in 2008 and doing the race in 2009. I have a 6 week old that I plan on nursing for at least a year, so I think trying to do a race in 2008 would be difficult.

I am so happy to hear that the party really starts at the finish line for those that are finishing between 13 - 17 hours! I am going to use all the info that you all have given me, including the private messages I have received, to start my research. Thank you!"

What is so cool about this is that I ended up following through on this plan, even though shortly after I posted this I went back to work full time and put the dream (and research) on hold for about a year. I have learned a lot in 2 short years but I know that I still have a lot to learn!

How to Determine Training Volume?

So, last year my goal for the year was to finish a Half Ironman race. Sure, as the season progressed, I started to determine reasonable time goals, but ultimately my goal was to finish and I raced conservatively to ensure that I would make it to the finish line. The broader goal of the season was to determine whether I thought that I could physically complete an Ironman and I figured that I would see how I felt after the Half Ironman before deciding on whether to pursue Ironman in 2009. I actually utilized Don Fink’s “Be Iron Fit” ‘Just Finish’ Ironman training plan to train for the Half Ironman because I wanted to see if I could handle the training volume.

Fast Forward to February 2009 and I am registered for IMFL and I have picked most of my races to get me ready for the big race. I feel great about my goal and I am actually excited about the training …but this is where things get hard.

My goal for IMFL is to finish strong, but I am not attaching a time goal to the race. However, after a year of triathlon training and base building I feel like I have built a strong enough base to follow an Intermediate or Competitive plan (terms used in Don Fink’s book), but and this is a big BUT, I don’t want to burn out or get injured. Also, I have 2 Half Iron distance races on the calendar, at least one Olympic (if not two), and I will probably throw a Sprint or two in just for fun. These races will be great practice for IMFL, but I am still struggling with the appropriate training volume for this point in the season, for the other races I have on deck, and for my level of fitness … all given my overall goal for IMFL.

I am struggling with questions like whether to taper before the races or to treat them as long training days … do I really race the races or pace myself (especially in the half iron distance races)? I know I can race the Sprints and Olympics with fairly quick recovery times, but racing the Halfs is another story.

I trained for the Longhorn HIM for 24 weeks (granted there was some base building in there) and right now I am following a 13 week plan to prepare for the Lonestar Quarter and the Gulf Coast Tri Half – the problem I am facing is that there are so many plans to choose from with varying time demands and I want to pick the *right* one, and I am struggling to know how to do that.

Without a coach, maybe the confidence that I am doing the *right* thing will just have to come with time and logging the hours. I was never one to “just pass” in school and I think I look at my training the same way. Just because my goal is just to finish, doesn’t mean I want to short change my training. I want to finish strong and I want to find the plan or plans that will get me there … and right now, for me that means aiming for the plan with the most hours and using other plans as needed to tweak the plan to fit my needs.

It just seems like it would be so much easier if someone just told me what to do! :)

The goggle search continues ...

I think I am giving up on my Aquasphere masks and I am going to continue the search for goggles that don't leave horrible rings around my eyes. I tried a great pair this morning, Speedo Air Seal Tri Goggles, that were very comfortable and did not leak or fog, but they still left the "I just spent an hour and a half in the pool before the crack of dawn do you want to ask me about my crazy training hours" rings around my eyes.

I have a couple of other pairs on my list to try out but can't seem to find them locally. In a state as large as Texas and in a city as large as Houston, you would that one would have access to all of the gear she desired, but alas, no. You have to go to Austin for that!

I have tried:
-Speedo Women's Vanquisher
-Aquasphere Seal XP
-Aquasphere Women's Seal XP
-Aquasphere Vista
-Aquasphere Kaiman
-Speedo Air Seal Tri

I am going to see if anyone in my Masters group has a back-up pair of something I have not tried that I can borrow for a full practice. I would like to try Swedish goggles, but I think that I need a swimmer to fit them for me!

So, the search continues!

Great Customer Service!

It seems like more often than not, I am frustrated by the customer service I receive when I have to call a 1-800 number, whether it is because of a billing error, warranty issue, question, etc. So, I was beyond thrilled when I called Aquasphere (the maker of my swim mask/goggles) because I was having issues with them leaking and/or giving me hickies on my face from the suction.

When I called the 1-800 number for advice on how to properly put them on the nice woman offered to send me a slightly different pair for free, thinking that they might fit better. She asked me to call her back if they did not work so that we could try something else!

I called on Wednesday and received the mask today! I am looking forward to trying them out during my swim tomorrow.

Talk about great customer service!

Side note - In case you were wondering, I wear a swim mask (popular for triathlons and open water swimming because of the peripheral vision it allows) because goggles give me horrible rings around my eyes that last for hours and I worry that they are going to cause long term damage to the skin around my eyes.

It only took 1 year

I have been back on the workout band wagon for about a year now, which means I have been logging plenty of miles before work ... in the pool, at the gym, on the bike, etc. Every morning as I head to the gym or to the office I look like a bag lady, weighed down by my computer bag, gym bag, purse and lunch, among other things.

Well, Wednesday morning in my half asleep stupor I managed to remember my swim bag and towel, my gym bag, breakfast and lunch, computer bag and purse, but I FORGOT MY WORK CLOTHES!

That's right, my work attire. On my way to the office I called Doug to check on the boys and as he was gathering stuff for the boys he came across my suit jacket and asked me, "Hey, did you mean to leave the polka dot jacket thing here?"

Crap!

To top it off, several lights near our house were blinking from the wind and rain storm the evening before, so traffic was a nightmare!

Doug was kind enough to grab my clothes and I met him and the boys at Andrew's school to get my clothes rather than fighting traffic two ways to go home and then to the office. I was just thankful that Doug made that off handed comment, because otherwise I would have been up a creek!

I figure forgetting my clothes once a year is a pretty good average -- you can be sure I will be double checking for my clothes in the weeks ahead!

9 months

Until the Florida Ironman! That's all.

January Totals

27.75 total hours
120.5 miles running
24 miles biking
20,000 yards swimming

The last 2 weeks of taking it "easy" have been nice but I am getting itchy to get back into following a structured training program and logging more hours. I am taking 1 more week of maintenance and recovery before I start a 13 week training program to get me ready for the Lonestar Quarter Iron in Galveston in April and the Gulf Coast Tri Half Iron in Florida in May. I know that my body is appreciating the break despite my mind trying to convince me otherwise!

The last week of January I did about 5.5 hours and that will be increasing back up to the 8 - 10 hrs/wk average soon!

Team Trakkers

I am exited to report that I will racing the 2009 season sponsored by Team Trakkers (see logo to the right)! Trakkers offers a GPS tracking service for athletes for both training and race day -- it is awesome technology and I am excited to use it and to be sponsored by such an innovative company. What is equally as exciting is that I should have teammates at some of my big races this year so I am going to get to know some stellar athletes as well.

If you are wondering how all of this came about, the simple answer is that I came across the opportunity, applied and was selected! Team Trakkers was looking for athletes across the triathlon spectrum and I fit in their mix. :)

More information to come, so stay tuned!

Houston Marathon Race Report

It is good to look back on race day and reflect on what went right, what could have gone better and what went wrong and a good way to do that is through recapping the day in a race report, so here is mine for the Houston Marathon:

We woke up early to head Downtown at 5:15 a.m. because we needed to arrive before the police started closing the surrounding streets. A colleague and friend from work rode Downtown with us which was nice because all of the chatting helped stave off some of my usual pre-race jitters. Once we arrived at the George R Brown (GRB), Doug dropped us off and we went in search of our respective training partners.

My training partner Mark had arranged for me to run with a couple of his buddies who were also trying to break 4 hours and I finally found one of the guys, Mike, 15 minutes or so before it was time to head outside for the starting line. The back-up plan was to find the 4 hour pace group and meet there. It was when I finally found Mike (which was a feat in and of itself given the crowd) he spilled the beans that Mark would be running with us. Needless to say, I was extremely excited because most of my training was with Mark and I knew I would have a good race with him.

Course Map for Reference:



After 2 more potty stops we hit the start line to wait for our wave to take off. There was an electricity of nervous energy in the crowd and we were all anxious for the starting gun, and at 7:10 a.m. it was finally our turn. Our little group was at the start of the Blue Wave and right next to the 4 hour pace group. The nervous energy didn't leave me for the first several miles because the crowd was pretty thick and it only got heavier at Mile 2 when the marathon and half marathon courses merged together. After mile 3 or 4 we finally settled into a consistent pace, but by that time the group of 4 we had started with was down to just 2, myself and Mark. Mike was hoping to run a 3:45 so he took off and the woman (I forget her name) that started with us was gone as well.

Around mile 5 (in the Heights) I was excited to see Mikey, Paige and William holding a sign for me! Mark runs with a disposable digital camera and he snapped a quick photo of the three of us and we were off.

To see Mark's Photos from his camera:

http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=536181232333071737/l=467762413/g=10255342/cobrandOid=1000111/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Shortly thereafter we saw Doug at Studemont and I-10 and he told us that my mom and step-dad were at mile 10. It was great to know where to look for people because the course was crowded with runners and cheering fans. I also liked having something to countdown to -- like, 3 miles until I see my parents! These miles passed fairly quickly and before I knew it we were approaching the museum district and I saw my parents (each holding great signs for me!) and Doug made a second appearance. I spent most of the time during these miles just soaking it all in - the scenery, the spectators, other runners and even did some socializing with some of the other marathoners. It was also around this time that the half marathon route turned off so the course opened up quite a bit. We turned right onto University and headed towards the halfway mark. During this stretch in Rice Village we saw Mark's family too and they told us Mark's buddy from Richmond was about 10 minutes ahead of us (turns out he started in the first wave, the red wave, with the 4 hour pace group).

The second Doug sighting


It was around the halfway point that I started to feel a cramp coming on and by mile 14 it was really bothering me. I worked most of the cramp out over the next mile by grabbing my side where I felt the cramp and breathing out at every footstep on the right side, all the while maintaining goal pace. At the next water stop (they were every 1.5 miles, so at odd intervals) I decided to take a couple of salt pills and that really seemed to do the trick. I guess I was losing more salt than I expected. At this point we were running along the feeder of 59 and approaching the Galleria, my stomping grounds for work so an area that I know very well. My legs were getting heavy, but nothing was full on hurting yet.

We managed to miss seeing my parents at Rice Epicurean off San Felipe but did see Doug, Ryan, Tracey and Jack off Tanglewood. Tracey was holding a great sign that said, "Great Butt Anne" - it made me laugh and really put some step back in my slowly fading stride. They told me later that the sign got a lot of comments from other runners (Who's Anne? I want to see her butt!) and they even got to see some butts! How funny! They were our last family/friend sighting before the finish line. It was in Tanglewood that we caught up with our friend Mike from the start of the race. He was starting to fade a bit so Mark ran with him for a mile or so while I held goal pace. I knew that if I slowed down I would not be able to make up the lost time. So, I ran a mile or so alone and was proud of myself for maintaining pace and feeling pretty good on my own. Mark left Mike and caught up with me around the 20 mile mark. He really wanted to see me break my 4 hour goal and with Mike fading, I think he knew I was going to need one of his famous pep talks.

Tanglewood - seeing Doug, Ryan, Tracey and Jack


Mark, Anne and Mike


My somewhat embarrassed expression upon seeing the Butt sign


By mile 20 my right quad and hamstring were starting to get tight. They were not throbbing but I could tell that they were "tweaked" and they were going to hurt on Monday! I continued taking Hammer gels (one every 6 miles or so starting at mile 7) and I even took a couple of additional salt tabs for good measure. Every thing that they say about the last 6 miles of a marathon was true for me. It was tough, mentally and physically. Mark spent a lot of time giving me different motivators (were are going to pass that person in the orange shirt 10 yards up, 3 minutes until our next mile marker, etc.) trying to keep me positive. Mark also tried to keep me positive by telling me to remember my best runs and he riled the crowd up when these got too quiet too. He also did that other thing he is famous for -- he made me speed up as I was starting to want to slow down. Even if it just a couple of seconds per mile, speeding up helped me maintain good running form and keep my mind off of negative thoughts. Having Mark there for those 6 miles was a God send. I would like to believe I could have kept pave without him, but I am glad that I didn't have to!

As we approached Downtown and the end of the marathon, I was disappointed that my body didn't seem to have much left to increase pace for the last mile, or at least last half mile. I am usually a "horse to stables" kind of runner and I always seem to run my fastest split at the end of run, but not today. I think that means that I left "all my beans" on the course. That is another Markism and a great way to put a race into perspective. According to Mark, we each have a bag of beans at the start of a race and how we feel at the end of the race is dictated by what we did with our bag of beans. If you left all of your beans in the first half, you probably faded in the second half of the race. If you finished feeling too strong, you probably kept too many beans in your bag.

The last stretch of the race - .2 miles - was a total blur. The streets were lined with people, yet I still managed to see most of our friends and family, even though they were in different places. I saw Mark's wife Sheri and she was screaming, "Go Anne!", I saw my parents who were both jumping up and down with their signs, and then I saw Douglas, his mom and the boys right as I crossed the finish line.

Marathon day, I left my last bean at the finish line when the clock said 3:57:25 ... and Mark who was my cheerleader all day, let me cross first and beat him by one second!

Finish Line Photo


As soon as I crossed the line and started walking my legs got tight and I had trouble walking - and breathing for that matter. Everything hurt. I was able to kiss Doug and the boys through a fence before going inside the GRB to get my medal, shirt and other goodies. I was planning to get a post-race massage, but the line was long and I didn't want to keep my fans waiting! I regretted not getting one later as they always seem to help with recovery. We ran into Mark's friends Mark and John and we all got post-race grub. They sat down to eat and I decided to part ways as to not keep the boys waiting any longer as I knew Andrew was anxious to see me.

After hugs and congratulations we said good bye to the McGowans and the rest of us went to Mama's Cafe for a well deserved high calorie breakfast and then it was home for a much needed nap.

I could not have asked for a more perfect day!

The Chevron Houston Marathon

A full race report and photos to follow, but I wanted to post my results and give a big thank you to my amazing husband, family and friends who came out to see me and cheer for me on the course. The entire course had great fan support, but it was extra special to see familiar faces cheering for me! Thank you to Paige, Mikey and William for coming out in the Heights and for the great sign. Thank you to Doug for chasing me around the city and taking photos. Thank you to my mom and Doug for cheering so loudly and for the great signs. Thank you to Ryan, Tracey and Jack for the funny sign (Great Butt Anne!) and for coming out off Tanglewood and to the finish. Thank you to Kate for coming to the finish and helping wrestle the boys while everyone was waiting for me to cross. You all made it the perfect day! Also thank you to everyone who emailed, texted and called to check on me to congratulate me.

I also want to give a heartfelt thank you to my training partner, Mark. Not only did he train with me for months to help get me ready for the race, he chose to run with a couple of us trying to break 4 hours instead of chasing his own personal goal of a 3:15 (his PR is 3:17). Unfortunately we weren't able to find his pal visiting from Richmond at the start line, but that meant I got a huge supporter and motivator for the 26.2 miles. I honestly think I was able to hold the pace and meet my goal because he was there to hold me to it. Thank you, Mark! I hope one day I can return the favor in some way! It was also great to see Mark's family on the course who cheered for me as well. I feel so blessed!

I did it, I beat Oprah, I beat P Diddy ... and I broke 4 hours!

Here are the results per the Chevron Houston Marathon site:

"Just Keep Swimming" - Dory from Finding Nemo

I have been swimming like a fish and running like a Kenyan for the past couple of months and the results are starting to show! I am excited to see some major improvement in the water. On Friday I did a 1 hour postal swim where my coach timed me in the water for a 1 hour straight swim to see how far I could go. She also marked my time every 50 yards so I could see my time splits.

I ended up swimming 3100 yards in 60:24.3, with an average 50 split of 00:58.5 and an average 100 split of 1:56.9. As a comparison, my first sprint triathlon last July I swam 300 yards in 7:55, which is an average pace of 2:34 per 100, and that was only for 300 yards!

By the way, the post title references my mantra in the water from the hour long swim - I was channeling Dory from Finding Nemo!

December and 2008 Mileage Totals

When I started this journey in April I had no idea where it would take me and I am excited to say that I have really exceeded my own expectations, and I only hope I can say the same thing at the close of 2009.

December Totals
185 miles
41.1 average miles per week
27.5 hours
8:58 average pace
18,000 calories burned

2008 Totals
(started tracking April 21)
262 hours
910.6 miles running
1290.35 miles biking
Countless yards swimming (didn't start tracking until much later, but I have logged probably 100,000 yards or so)

How to Brag re: Ironman

I found this online and thought it was too hilarious not to share ... funny enough, most of the triathletes that responded to the thread could completely relate.

Before I started to train an Ironman, I bought a training plan; I read books on hydration and fuel replacement, I listened to endless hours of advice from elite and pro triathletes. This information did help me finish, but it did not teach me how to correctly brag about being an Ironman.

My friends and I came up with a six phase program which will aid you in bragging about your Ironman . Use this plan from the moment you register until well after the race is complete for the most bang for your bragging buck.

Sign Up Phase: For most Ironman events, you have to register up to one year in advance. This gives you plenty of time to brag about doing an Ironman. During this phase, you must let all of your non-Ironman friends know you can't hang out with them anymore, because you just signed up for an Ironman. If you don't have any Ironman friends, then go to a place where runners or bikers hang out. Look for the Ironman symbol (M Dot) on their training clothes. An Ironman would never be caught running or biking without their Ironman stuff.

Training Phase: Training for an Ironman can be compared to having a part time job. You must let everyone you meet know this. This can be accomplished by sighing loudly at work, mumbling how tired you are because you just biked 100 miles, because you are in training for an Ironman. You can also skillfully steer the conversation with your neighbors and co-workers to your Ironman training. Here is an example:

Neighbor: "Did you hear what President Bush said this week?" Lee: "Were you aware that President Bush is a biker? I just biked 100 miles today. I am training for an Ironman."

Co worker: Lee, are you working late tonight? Lee: No, I have to get up early to do a 20 mile run.

I even once rang my neighbor's door and when he answered, I said "Sorry Bob, can't talk to you now, I am training for an Ironman."

One Week before the Race Phase: You need to let your neighbors and co-workers know you will be gone for a little while, competing in an Ironman. Once again, you can steer the conversation to your Ironman race.

Neighbor: "Wow Lee your lawn looks great!" Lee: "My lawn is going to look bad this next week; I will be competing in an Ironman."

Race Expo Phase: You must buy as much Ironman merchandise as possible. For years we saved our money to send both of my boys to private college, but sacrifices must be made. Both Derick and Ty will be going to junior college now. You must buy enough Ironman clothes to cover every day at work and training. You must also buy plenty of shirts for your spouse and children. They will also spread the word that you just finished an Ironman.

The Race Phase: At http://www.ironmanlive.com you can setup automatic emails and cell phone message notifications of your Ironman timing splits. You can use all of the entries in your email and cell phone address book. Include everyone regardless of whether they remember you are or not. It just does not matter, because you are an Ironman.

Post Race Phase: The finisher medal can be worn for one day per the number of miles raced and everyone knows that an Ironman is 140.6 miles. So wear that medal for 141 days (always round up as opposed to rounding down your finishing time). Your children must be trained to say, "My daddy is an Ironman. He gave me this shirt. He's an Ironman." This must be emphasized over and over with your children. I did not do this after I ran the Boston marathon, and Derick, my oldest boy, told everyone at his day care that his grandma ran the marathon. Your spouse must memorize all of your splits (swim, bike and run). You must also include both transition splits as well. Instead of wearing a shirt which states, "I am with Dummy", your spouse will wear a shirt which says, "I am with a stud Ironman". All conversations must be steered to your Ironman race.

Co-Worker: "Did you hear about the new work policy?" Lee: "Nope, I did not; I was racing in an Ironman."

For at least one month you can say, "Well, I 'm only going to run easy today, I just did an Ironman." When someone brings up a subject of hardships suffered, you need to remind them that you also have suffered through hardships while training and racing in your Ironman.

You can also use these ideas to brag about other races, but please only brag about races which are longer than 13.1 miles.

1. it's a joke, folks.

2. kind of.

1 month

With less than one month until the Houston Marathon, I feel pretty good about my training. There are days that I feel fast and strong and days when I feel weak and tired, but I trust my training.

Friday was one of those days where I felt tired and it is those days that I question my ability to hit my marathon goals, but after one day of rest and two days of excellent sleep I woke up this morning and did a super fast 6 mile run, averaging 8 minute miles. I guess that is why the taper is so important leading up to a race - it gives your body the rest it needs to prepare for the race ahead.

Less than one month until race day!

The Equivalent of the Party Foul ...

What do you call a faux pas or party foul in the workout world? Let's call it a Training Foul and I had one this week ...

Tuesday morning I was supposed to get up at 4:40 to be ready to run with Mark by 5:10. Well, I woke up and my clock read 5:36. Crap! I ran to grab my phone and sure enough I had 3 text messages from Mark. The ultimate Training Foul, I overslept on my training partner who drove 20 minutes to run with me!

I accidentally set my alarm for 4:40 p.m. instead of a.m. -- not the first time I have made this mistake, but I will definitely be more careful from now on (especially when someone is waiting for me)! The good news is that since it was not too late, I still managed to run 5 miles that morning before work. It was a great run despite the cold (I was running in my super warm and soft Nike top Allie sent for Christmas - thanks, Allie!).

Mark was so nice about the whole thing and even came over on Thursday without harassing me about setting my alarm correctly. I also told him next time he should ring the bell or call but he didn't want to wake anyone else.

November Mileage

Well, it is official. I have never run this much in my life.

November Totals

185 miles
41.1 average miles per week
27.5 hours
8:58 average pace
18,000 calories burned
151 bpm average heart rate

The last 2 weeks have been high volume weeks which had me run 20 miles for my long run two weekends in a row. I am happy to report that the second 20 miler was easier than the first and the recovery from the second 20 miler has also been easier. I did go for a long swim the day after my 20 miler this week and I wonder if that has helped my muscles as well.

Next week is a taper week which will give my legs a chance to rest a bit (only 34 miles this week, 12 mile long run) to prepare for the upcoming high mileage weeks.

I am also working on my race schedule for 2009 and will post that soon - nothing like planning things a full year in advance!

Silver Lining

I have always been a morning person, but waking up with a 4 on the clock 5 days a week has made me even more of a morning person (ask Doug, I often doze off on the couch before 9 pm!). Some mornings are better (read easier) than others to wake up and get going, but I am always happy when my run/swim is behind me and it really is a great start to the day. This morning I did a short run and it was fairly cold with a bit of wind as well. Since I start my runs so early it is always dark which makes for a quiet albeit sometimes lonely run. Well this morning, when the skies lightened I noticed the sun rising and had an ephiany. Not very many people watch the sunrise each day and I get to do that! There is my silver lining!

I can’t complain too much though, because for my last three mid-distance mid-week runs (9 miles each) my training buddy Mark has schlepped over to my house to run with me. I will pick a running partner over music any day of the week! It makes the run go by so.much.faster. Plus, Mark makes me do speed work which I am not great about doing on my own, so that is an added bonus. I can really see a difference in my run times as a result of doing speed work and doing more mid-distance and long distance runs.

Tomorrow is my first 20 miler warm-up for the marathon. It should give me a good indication of where I am in my training and what sort of finish time I can expect in January.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

See title of the post and replace caterpillar with Anne ... all of this training has me hungry all. the. time. Seriously, when I am not eating food, I am thinking about food! I always love good food, but burning so many calories a day requires the consumption of more calories. I can only imagine how Michael Phelps feels having to consume 12,000 calories a day!

Marathon Goals

It has been just over a month since Longhorn and I am in the thick of Marathon training. The last three weeks I have averaged 31.7 miles per week and I am track to running 42 miles this week. Getting up really early is a drag, but for as much as I hate the loss of daylight savings because it is so dark when I get home, I love that my morning runs don't stay too dark for too long.

All of this training gives me lots of time to think about my goals for this marathon. First and foremost, the number one goal that I have when I enter any race (or start anything for that matter) is to finish. With that said, I have "just" finished two marathons already. I didn't give the distance the respect it deserved and I struggled through the last quarter of both races and ended up with times of 5:55:12 (Austin) and 5:23:09 (Maui).

See, I used to find the concept of "going long" (running long distances) to race long ridiculous. Seriously, why would anyone run 20 some off miles to run 26.2 miles? Well, that was my "just survive" mentality. I have learned to race long, you have to go long on a regular basis.

Now, there is a lot of debate in the running community on how to define long, but I define it as anything greater than 10 miles with at least several 15-20 miles runs along the way. It is all about muscle memory and teaching your body to endure. So, what does this all mean for me and my Houston Marathon goal time?

Well, based on my training I should be able to break the 4:30:00 marathon mark. If you recall I mentioned Oprah in a previous post - she ran the Marine Corp Marathon in 1994 is 4:29:20. I have to beat Oprah!

Here is a cool link that lists celebrity /athlete / political figures marathon times:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_marathoners

So, Goal #1 - to finish
Goal #2 - beat Oprah
Goal #3 - beat P Diddy, let's face it -- if the man can drink and party all the time and run a sub-4:15 marathon, I should be able to as well!

My ultimate goal (dream race, perfect conditions, etc.) would be to break 4 hours -- heck, Sarah Palin did it in 2005, but that would mean maintaining a 9:10 min/mile pace. I can do that for mid-distance runs, but my longer runs have been more in the 9:15 - 9:30 range.

So, there you have it ... my marathon goals. Note for the record that this goal is for the January stand alone marathon -- I am sure my Florida Ironman Marathon will be quite a bit slower due to cumulative fatigue.

One Year and Counting

The Florida Ironman i