Friday, July 31, 2009

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)!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

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!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

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

Sunday, July 19, 2009

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!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

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!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Sunday, July 5, 2009

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

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

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