Spectating an Ironman makes for the best day ever

I don't lie in the title of this post! My mom, sister Samantha, and I went out to Arizona to be superfans for Amanda and make sure she had everything she could possibly need to have the best first Ironman ever!

And I'll let her elaborate more in her race-recap post, which I am sure she will write once she has rested and eaten ten pies, but here's a spoiler alert--she AWESOME! She managed her nutrition, pace, and all the logistics beautifully, and her only error that I could tell, was not listening to me when I told her to body glide the back of her neck, lest her wetsuit chafe her.  She didn't, and got a huge chafe, and then when the saintly volunteers went to smother her with sunscreen pre-bike, yikes, did it sting like a mofo!

But back to spectating.  It was indeed bittersweet, and I definitely teared up at the start, watching everyone bobbing in the water as the sun rose, waiting for the gun to go off.  But I'm making great progress with my knee and rehab (walking, swimming, biking on the trainer,), and though I won't be given the go-ahead to run until the new year, life is creeping back to normal, and I've already set my sights on Ironman Louisville, 8/24/14.

The morning was chilly and Sam, my mom and I did not envy Amanda having to brave the water, but we got to watch the mass swim start from the bridge over Tempe Town Lake and it was thrilling! Before we knew it, the pro's were already out of the water, and watching them zoom off on their bikes at speeds I can't even master at the bottom of a huge hill (never mind control my bike or even think about sustaining it for 112 miles), was amazing. (And then they run a sub three hour marathon...&$#*&~>+?!)

I loved cheering and hooting and hollering at every person I could (bonus points if they were wearing a shirt/color/jersey that I could make a personalized statement about), and would go absolutely apeshit everytime we saw Amanda, which was quite often, as IMAZ has a lot of loops, both in the bike and run, so we could cut across certain spots and catch her regularly.

My hands are all cut up from ringing cowbells at people, and I only wish I could have chased my sister every time I saw her on the run.  Luckily, there was a tent full of tipsy cheer-ers who handled that task well enough! The three of us were out there from 5:30am, when we dropped Amanda off at transition, through the start at 7am, to her incredible finish at 8:46pm, a blistering 13 hours and 46 minutes, well under Amanda's anticipated time of 14 hours, and then the ensuing pack-up and stuffing her with food & water.

The finish chute is beyond amazing--the reactions of the athletes as they finish ranges from ecstatic high-fiving and fist-pumping to determination to sprint that last bit to tears to hobbling and wincing--and I was lapping it up, teary eyed and yelling my brains out.  

I loved that 60+ year old women with gray hair and cellulite on the backs of their legs were schooling young, fitness-ad looking guys who looked like they got lost in a spandex factory.  I loved that Amanda was very likely the only person out of 2,700 participants who rode on a 48-inch size XXS bike frame (that had to be specially ordered) and her teeny legs owned people who had legs three times as long come the run.  And then the additional irony that for all her years of bitching about swimming, it was her strongest portion relative to the field by far!  There were guys that zoomed down the stretch with the flag of the Philippines on their backs for the typhoon, and the awe-inspiring amputees. 

Yet for all the inspiration and "Eye of the Tiger" refrains I kept playing in my head, it's still all blood-and-guts and explosive diarrhea and sweat-in-blisters.  THERE ARE NO HEART TALKS IN THE IRONMAN (amirite to those who know this inane term?!) and I could not think of a better way to spend 18+ hours than watching every sort of person, from pros that defy ideas of what the human body is capable of, to the workhorse who crossed the finish line at midnight, just kill it!

One week to go!

Serves me right for bitching.  My last post consisted of my crying about how my taper was so hard and was not going to give me enough rest, blah blah blah.  Well, time wise it was significantly less commitment, which was good because I have a big test coming up Friday, and athletically it was also much less demanding.  So all that specific bitching for nothing.  However, I still do hate the "taper", just for different reasons now.  After working out for a bizilllllllion hours for months I feel like I'm not doing enough and I am wasting away before the IronMan.  As a result I actually feel weaker.  I know this is normal and likely means I'm doing the taper right, but it still seems silly to me.  Related to this, is my own anxiety fueled thoughts, which have only increased as we get closer to race day...did I say it is only a week away?...and I can't even exercise to put them to rest! Damn you taper.  Damn you.

I'm sure the race will be fun and I know it is good I only have THREE workouts next week..THREE!  And they only total 5 hrs...but it mean that IMAZ is actually around the corner.  A difficult fact to accept :(  At this point I just want it to be here and simultaneously want more time to train!

I'll end this silly post with my plug for my charity: the Wounded Warrior Foundation.  Please feel free to donate whatever amount you feel able and help wounded warriors!

http://ironman.kintera.org/arizona2013/20130916175355274

And so begins the "taper"

Can't say no to these faces...or no to a pug snuggle!

Welp...the IronMan is LESS THAN 30 DAYS AWAY!  Absolutely terrifying.  I did get some good workouts in this past week....the biggest ones being a 27 mile run one day, 5000 yards in the pool another, and a 112 mile bike.  There were shorter runs/rest days in between these biggie workouts...but I did find myself exhausted at the end of week.  For example, a 2 hour nap snuck up on me while I was laying on the floor at home with the 5 pugs...even though I woke up at 11:30.  whooooops.  At least I enjoyed a pug snuggle!

These workouts were good because I know I can at least do each individual part of the IronMan, but by that same hand I was really tired after all these workouts...and on November 17th I must do them all in a row  :/

Anyways...I officially started my taper weeks off with a 3500 yard swim today.  The workout was actually a good mix of everything, i.e kicking, some fast sets, and some longer sets.  It felt pretty good to do some shorter work in the pool after my last 5000 yard workout, which had a brutal and reallllllly boring 4 x 800 set in it.

Anytime I want to scare myself I look at this on my phone

In looking ahead this week, I see that this taper business is kinda lie, as I have a double brick tomorrow (30 mile bike followed by a 3 mile run...twice), a swim on Wednesday, a run on Thursday, another brick Saturday (2 mile swim followed by 4-6 hours of biking), and then a 20 mile run on Sunday.  I have done similar workouts before...and definitely done longer ones, but when I saw the word "taper" I imagined...not this week ahead hahaha.  Ah well, I am terrified of not being ready, so I
suppose a fake taper is good thing to keep me mentally in the game and my endurance up.

IMAZ you are waaaaaaaay to close!
   

43 Days!

It's been 3 weeks since I finished my half iron and I have completed some difficult workouts since then.  In fact, my tripceps and lats still feel shaky after my double workout on Tuesday.  However, despite these accomplishments I can safely say I am getting more and more nervous, and feeling less and less prepared for November 17.    Part of this is due to general stress in school and life, but jeeeeeeeeeeez I can't seem to find the time to fit these long workouts in.

Hopefully I will be this happy at IMAZ!

For example, tomorrow is a triple brick workout totaling 90 miles cycling and 15 miles running.  Do I dare try to complete that even though I have to study for 3 medical school finals next week?  I guess I'm going to have to get up at the crack of dawn to get that done :(

But enough bitching!  It has been great weather this week for runs and I completed my best mile pacing workout to date: A total of 9 miles, with the middle 5 at pace.  I was able to do those 5 miles at under a 7 min mile pace!  The 5th mile might have been right at 7 minutes, and I had to stop and almost die before finishing my last, slow 2 miles, but I was REALLY happy with that workout :)

Furthermore, because of the furlough, national parks are closed...or at least the roads are, which will lead to some great cycling in Rock Creek Park with no traffic!  While doing my 15 mile run yesterday, I saw a bizillion cyclists in the park taking advantage of the car free roads...I definitely need to do the same.   This will be a perfect reprieve from my normal fear of being run over by a car while cycling!

All in all, these next 43 days leading up to the IronMan will undoubtedly be filled with stress, but I need to keep looking at the positives and the FUN parts of these workouts!  T-minus 43 days!

Half IronMan CHECK!

I hope this is a somewhat uplifting post after Jessica's unfortunate ending one!  I did my first half IronMan last Sunday in Westchester, NY.  I would say that the race was appropriately called the "Toughman Half" for its extremely hilly bike and run courses!  I know I will have to do twice that amount in all the disciplines for the IronMan, but there is no way that Arizona will be as continuously hilly as the Toughman (or at least I hope not).  Additionally, now that I am a couple days post race, I am buoyed by the fact that I did not end up being too sore after the race.  Tired yes, but sore? Not really anymore that after a big workout.  This does bode well :)

Anyways, the race was great!  It was fun to get a long race in before November.  Now all I have to do is double the distance and we are all set!  The Toughman is a relatively small race, which has a bunch of benefits, one of which is the personal attention you get from the race coordinators.  For example, I am still tickled pink about the fact that my race number HAD MY NAME ON IT and my bike racking place had a nice sticker with my name and number, and said that "all of Bethesda is cheering for me".  Very cute!

One of the great benefits to doing this race was, not only was it a great prep, but it also alerted me to some non-athletic components that I must figure out and take care of before November.  The biggest one was chaffing.  I've never particularly had a problem with it, but then again, I haven't done this long of a race in a tri suit.  I got some terrible chaffing from my timing chip, my sports bra straps, and the pad in the seat of the biking shorts.  I did apply body glide before hand, but it clearly didn't help...good thing that you don't really notice chaffing too much until after the race when all the adrenaline wears off.

What a sweet bike :D

Second problem is storage while I'm biking.  My bike is really sweet and tricked out with tons of hydration holders (which this race confirmed I needed), but it lacks a place to easily store a tool, extra tire, GUs, CO2 cartridge/tool, and tire levers.  I will probably need to get another pouch to add somewhere on my bike...an excuse to invest even more $$ investment into that beautiful, beautiful machine.

My last, but most easily fixed problems, were my transitions.  They were so SLOW!  I suppose this won't matter in the grand scheme of things during my IronMan, and it is more important to have all my things before I start the next section of race (I almost forgot my timing chip during one of my regular triathlons!), but jeebus...bottom third of my division for both my transition times? Hahaha not good.

Overall, this race was great and even though it was a difficult course, I highly recommend it!  T-Minus 65 days until IMAZ!!

So this is where my Ironman journey ends....

I am very sad, frustrated, and angry to say that as of yesterday, after two weeks of emotional roller coaster riding, that this journey is going to be down to one iron sister between now and November.

I was feeling GREAT with training.  I was getting some excellent rides and runs in, and even a few open water swims, and was feeling perfectly on-part fitness wise for where we were in our training brick.  I went to the beach and after a great 60 mile ride and 6 mile run, the next day was a rest day so I was on the beach laying there and enjoying the sand, sun and surf like a normal person, and after riding some waves in on a boogie board and laying there in the sand on my stomach, I swung my right leg around and felt a very pronounced "pop."

I should preface this for those who don't know, but just over ten years ago, I was hit by a car while crossing in a crosswalk and suffered a compound fracture to my lower right leg that involved five surgeries, a rod, some screws, grafts and even a battery to regrow nerve tissue.  I was able to put weight on the leg for the first time six months after the accident, but after I got up and moving/walking, while I was definitely weak, my recovery was fine, and between then and now, I swum three years in college, have run two marathons, and done ten triathlons.  Never any knee problems whatsoever.  Every once and a while, my knee would feel loose and "pop" a bit, but nothing to report, pain wise or swelling wise, with all the miles and miles I have run.

So one can imagine my shock, when, after a preliminary orthopedic visit and an MRI, I get a call from the doctor last night, to say that not only do I have a "bucket tear in my meniscus," where the torn off piece of cartilage is flipped underneath the main piece, but that I ALSO have no ACL.  It's been torn completely in half.  When this happened, I have no idea...what happened on the beach hurt, but not the way I hear a torn ACL is supposed to hurt.  Nor have I noticed anything in the previous ten years! 

So maybe it tore the night I got hit by the car, and what with bones hanging out of my leg and a huge windshield gash in the back of my head, it was never discovered, and obviously I have gotten along fine without it thus far, so I never ever thought to check to see if it somehow wasn't there! Maybe it was one time when I fell playing beach volleyball 4 years ago? I'll never know, and the reality is, it doesn't matter when it happened, just that it did.

The problem now, though, is it will be hard to fix a meniscus without an ACL, nor could I run 26.2 miles anyway on my meniscus as it stands, anyway, so with the recovery time involved to fix these, this is the end of my journey to IMAZ.  I am crushed and disappointed to say the least, but hell, if I could do this much training thus far sans ACL, whenever I do find the right time in my life to take this up again, boy will I be ready, complete with new knee, and everything will be that much sweeter.

 I don't regret anything about this process, as if prior to this whole endeavor beginning in December, one had told me that I could even get through some of the more challenging workouts that I did in the past month, I would have laughed.    And while it will be bittersweet cheering Amanda on in November, I can't wait to be behind her 150%, and then pick her brain about everything she learned on race day when it is eventually my turn.

So this blog will now be a strange combination of Amanda's continuing journey and perhaps the odd update about rehab and surgery, and maybe perhaps when I feel ready to sign up for a new Ironman... I spent all of last evening allowing myself to bawl my eyes out and wallow in self pity, but that is over now.  The only way is forward, and while I am disappointed beyond proper articulation, I know deep down that in the game of life, this is really small potatoes, and that I have the husband, family, and friends I could not have ever dreamed up, as well as the cutest little red dog, which of course, is what's really important.

Big Week of Workouts!

Super long time between posts!  Unfortunately my life has not been as exciting as Jessica's, nor has my life been as exciting as her posts seem to describe, just busy, busy, busy. Leadville, CO was amazing, but for the entire week I felt like I was working out...even though I was just walking.  The biggest perk from that trip was when I got back to DC I felt like I was swimming in excess oxygen, and it felt GREAT!

An EYE OPENING workout!!

Anyways, I unexpectedly had a lot of free time this week...so plenty of time for working out!  I managed to get a workout in everyday, including a double during the week (swam in the morning before classes, did a track workout in the late afternoon).  But by far the culminating workout of the week was yesterday: the dreaded DOUBLE BRICK.  The brick sounds simple: 25 miles biking, then 3 miles running, followed by another 25 miles biking and 3 miles running, but holy schmoly within the first couple miles of the second bike I thought my quads were going to fall off/stop working...and I only had around 25 more miles to go!  I sort of rallied for around 20 miles, i.e no one was passing me, but the last 5 miles were BRUTAL.  I'm pretty sure snails were passing me while I was going up the last big hill and people on mountain bikes were passing me (this is not a knock on mountain biker fitness, they are usually slower because their bikes are a lot heavier), but I made it!  The three miles running wasn't that bad, but I think that's because I have more experience pushing through physical challenges while running and I'm just in better running shape.

This double brick was definitely an eye opener for me regarding my cycling shape...I need to GET TO IT!  In looking forward to our next couple weeks, I do see that there are lots of long bike workouts and I am already mentally preparing myself to get them done.  To give myself motivation (read: to keep me on track), I will make sure to update the blog more :)

NYC Triathlon and Altitude Attitude Adjustments!

Long time no write! Between some traveling on both our parts (Amanda is actually still away, but more on that in a moment), there hasn't been much time to write, nor much to write about, training-wise, as it has been pretty consistent thus far, until the past week!
Neither of us has spent much time at altitude...my time has pretty much been limited to assorted ski trips over the years, when I'm too focused on my imminent doom and my pounding heart and a zillion other tings to really worry about something so inconsequential as air. But I took a little "family trip" out to Snowmass/Aspen, CO with the hubs and the hound and while I felt great on the hikes we did (Sasha was SUCH a champ, I can't even properly put it in to words!), when I rented a very nice road bike from the folks at Aspen Velo, I was in for a very rude surprise.

My Everest!

I'll first state the obvious and say that there is no flat riding Aspen/Snowmass.  You're either going up a mountain or down one.  I suppose you could cut across the center of the Roaring Fork Valley, but that's Highway 82 and while the guys at the bike store said it "was totally cool to ride on it," that didn't seem like a very good idea to me, as there were no real shoulders, not on the highway nor the other roads.   And the hills are not hills.  They are mountains.  6-8 mile steady climbs are the norm, and it's literally just up and up, no straights to rest or catch your breath.  And here's where the lungs started to burn, then the legs, and before I got the pass-outs, I would have to pull off the road and de-clip (hard to do when you're already going so damn slow it's hard to stay up as it is), and gasp for air while waving off kindly motorists who were asking if I needed help.  I would get so frustrated that by the end of the week, I almost broke down in tears! It was probably one of the most disheartening moments when it came to IMAZ training thus far, and the downhills didn't help me catch my breath/rest either, because now it is just down and down and down and it's windy and terrifying!

This was about what I felt like on those hills

But I guess that's why the real toughies go train at altitude and really stick it out for a whole season for their bodies to adapt.  It obviously would be possible in a few days, but I did come back feeling stronger and will never ever fear anything I come across out east (at least until I try to tackle Bear Mountain, although at least that is at sea level!!).  My best workout was a 15 mile ride (so basically 7 up and 8 down)) and then I ran about 8 miles back to where we were staying in Snowmass, essentially straight back up the mountain on a trail.  Running was hard as hell, too, but somehow easier to work through than biking, likely because during long uphill spells on which I was super winded, I could slow down to a shuffle and catch my breath, which just isn't possible for me on the bike.  And I could run on the trail too, which helped a lot mentally, too, since I didn't have to worry about cars or see that daunting black stretch of road go up and on and on!

I got back to NYC on Friday and the NYC Triathlon was Sunday, and while I felt a bit wobbly on my Cervelo after a week on a road bike to start, I was quite pleased with my race! I took four minutes off from last year, and though the heat and humidity was pretty insane, I felt really strong on the run and bike, and ironically, I think where I messed up was the swim! I just don't think I was as aggressive as I could have been, and veered around too much instead of holding a better line, and my time could have definitely been a minute or two faster, whoops.  My transitions felt solid (the NYC Tri has about a 600-700 meter barefoot run from the swim exit to transition, so there's 3-4 minutes right there) and I could have been a touch more aggressive on the bike downhills (the course has a lot of rolling hills), but the conditions of the road we bike on can be a bit treacherous (LOADS of divots and potholes and joists and rumble strips) and I didn't want to risk a bust or a flat, and tried to make up for it on any stretch of freshly paved road, flats and uphills.

I got 9th in my age group, yay, and looking at the splits of the other girls (esp the top 3), I'm right on par with them in terms of swim and run (in fact, my run was faster than most) but they're 10 minutes ahead on the bike...still a lot of improvement to be made there!

And now for an update on Miss Amanda.  Speaking of altitude, the 8,000 feet of Snowmass/Aspen is small potatoes compared to where she is: Leadville, Colorado, the second highest city in the entire US, and the staging ground for the infamous Leadville 100 Ultramarathon featured in Born to Run at a nutty 11,000 feet.  Amanda is in Leadville for an Army/field medicine training course that works out the intricacies of field medicine/trauma, etc. at high altitude.  Very badass, and they're doing a lot of bivoucing, etc. so she should have some interesting stories about her experiences upon her return! She isn't going to have any time for any swimming/biking/running, but hiking around in full body armor with her field kit/pack/etc. at 11,000+ feet has got to do more for mental toughness than anything else, not to mention those lungs!

P.S.: while hiking the Rim Trail, we saw Lance Armstrong.  Sasha tried to sniff his mountain bike, and he smiled at us. He was on the phone, so no chance for further dialog.

Today went swimmingly...

I swam a total of 2 miles (3200 yards) today in the pool and 2000 of those yards were just straight swimming.  As I've mentioned before, I'm the black sheep of the family because I got out of the swimming game early (pre-highschool) and decided to pursue sports on land instead.  Since I stopped swimming competitively at such at early age, I'm 99% sure that was the most yardage I've ever swum straight. Not too shabby!  This workout also had the added benefit of being in an outdoor pool, so I managed to get a sweeeeeet one piece tan as well.  

I'm the crazy sheep in more ways than one...

Today was also a fabulous day because I am now fairly certain that I can do both the half iron on September 8th and the actual IronMan on November 17th with my current school schedule for this fall/winter.  I've been angsting about this since I found out that I CAN'T do Age Group National Champs over the summer.  I was super bummed about that, but now that I know I can do the other two races, I'm not as peeved...although I've also had a week to get over being a whiny poop face about it haha.  I'm hoping to do at least one regular triathlon before the season is over so I can attempt to qualify for the Age Group National Championship race again (and hope that I can do it in 2014), but we shall see!

And lastly, I only have one more week as a first year medical student! First year went by so fast and the speed of these past few months can be attributed to my training.  It definitely kept me sane and has helped my focus while studying.  So, while training can sometimes be boring, or painful, or tiring/exhausting, or scary (at least when I'm biking), etc. and many people tell me I'm crazy for not only doing an IronMan, but also doing it during medical school, I'm really glad I have committed to doing IMAZ.   144 days and counting!!  

4 hours on the move and counting!

I did my first big continuous brick workout on Saturday, and woo-wee, am I tired!

The plan called for a 3 hour bike ride, followed by a six mile run.  Ordinarily, I would have rallied and gone out 9W for the long ride, but truth be told, the first and last 10 miles are not really training riding, since it is through the city, and I like to go with a group for safety (and then you always end up taking a break at the cafe in Nyack) but couldn't get a group together/buddy that was not light years faster than me, so I ended up just waking my butt up early and riding loop after loop in Central Park.  Not the most exciting, but good for mental toughness and enough hills for spice.  By the end it was getting crowded, but 8 loops plus one extra mini loop for an additional Harlem Hill/mile put me at 50 miles and change in about 3 hours, and then I dropped my bike back off at NYAC and hit the park AGAIN for six miles.  It was all I could do not to puss out and just do a couple of laps around the reservoir (flat) to get up to 6 instead of doing the real loop with hills, but I was glad I didn't waver, as four hours later, I was quite proud! I actually ran at a good clip, holding about 9 minute miles, and felt like I kept a pretty decent pace on the bike...definitely within the 16-18MPH "elite" speed bracket called for on the training plan (vs. 12-15 for "age groupers") and managed my nutrition right, as I didn't feel shakey or dehydrated or completely wiped out/bonked at the end.

Nutrition wise, I had a peanut butter sandwich in the morning for breakfast, plus some coffee and a bottle of water, then during the bike I had a GU and two bottles of water + ACCELERADE mix.  Between the bike and run I ate a banana and then carried a bottle of water + ACCELERATED with me, along with another GU, which I ended up not eating, but I did go through the bottle (about a liter in size).  I bought one of those bottles that go between my aero bars with a straw and that thing is literally I lifesaver! When the bottle is in a cage on the bike frame, I never drink out of it, but with that nifty thing I drink regularly and often.  Huge! I just stopped after 30 miles and refilled it with the bottle in my frame cage, and took off again.

This is your friend!

At the end, was I tired? Yes.  Mad at myself for not remembering to re lube parts of my feet (and other body parts) with Body Glide? Yes.  And I will DEFINITELY remember sunscreen reapplication, too.  I didn't get burned, but don't want to risk it next time as the weather continues to heat up.  Wrinkle prevention...vanity is my favorite sin!!  But
I definitely felt in control and like I did the brick to my fitness level/wasn't overwhelmed by the work out.  And considering the only other time I've ever done anything physical for four hours was when I ran the marathon two years ago, not too shabby!

I have been very focused on the bike length lately, and am still wound the most tight about that without a doubt, but my friend Cameron, who did IronMan New Zealand last year, told me that I can't run enough between now and November, and he's a fit dude, so I'll take that advice to heart.  I felt strong on those 6 miles, but at the end, I was definitely ready to be done, not ready to run another 20 miles! And I only did half the bike...and no swim! Waah!

The two biggest training blocks are still to come, though.  Next week is the last week of our aerobic block, then a week of "recovery" and then on to the "endurance" phase and "competitive" phase.  "Competitive" is the one that has the toughest workouts/longest days, so there's that to look forward to!

Long Days, Bigger Workouts....150 days to go!

I didn't want to stop, but my bike needed a rest around 30 miles in...

I have had a GREAT week in terms of working out, which is good because everything else has been sort of meeeeeeeh.  On Saturday I got in a 60 miles bike, and this week I got in some doubles of swimming and running, managed to fit in a 2 hour run, and did a quick run with a 2200 yard swim today! These past couple days have made me realize how much better I feel when I workout hard all week and has really motivated me to get back into it, instead of the willy nilly workouts I have been doing.  It also helps that is has been nice, sunny, and hot...my FAVORITE workout weather.  I know a lot of people think I'm crazy, but I like to workout in the heat...sweating like crazy makes me feel like I am actually accomplishing something rather than just running/swimming/biking.

Out of all the workouts, I am most proud of the 60 mile bike, as it is the most I've ever biked, annnndd I thought I might die during the middle 15 miles.  It was definitely a mental endurance workout along with a physical one, but I made it and found some pretty sweet spots along the W&OD trail that I've never seen before.  It has made me look forward (okay, ALMOST look forward) to the next long bike.

I have exactly 150 days until IMAZ and it is literally scaring the life out of me, but on the bright side it has also made me get serious about working out.  150 days to get into great shape...150 days until what is going to be an epic day!

Stronger in the legs, not so much in the head

I have been a very bad post-er as of late! Thanks for holding the bag, Amanda, so to speak.  Last weekend was Princeton Reunions, so I was determined to get in a solid ride and run before I headed down to the Jerz for a weekend of friends and memories and general debauchery.

It was also hotter than blazes in NYC for a few days, and so my 48 mile ride in Central park (8 loops....BORING) was quite difficult as it was my first ride in the heat and even though I pounded two bottles of water, not bringing a drink mix (I like Accelerade) was a mistake, as I was definitely woozy at the end .  But it was mentally toughening to keep going through the same loop over and over again, and I felt very nice on my 9 milers the next day before the games began.

I tried to be a good girl and acknowledge that I "can't hack it like I use to" and came back to the city late Saturday night, but the temperature dropped the next few days with the tropical storm (and the buckets of rain that came with) and so did my immune system, and I was sick as a dog for a few days and did literally nothing except fall behind on training and on work.

But I finally kicked whatever it was, and after a mini run to get the blood moving and a 1.5 straight swim (it was supposed to be open water, but there is no way that can happen so long as I'm in NYC...will just have to wait for the beach or Michigania in the coming weeks), I felt good and ready to tackle a 90 (yes, NINETY) mile ride to Bear Mountain with some old swimming buddies Warren, Andy, Steve and his brother, Andrew, and their other fried Jonathan.

Well, after feeling pretty pleased with myself for navigating up from the New York Athletic Club through the city and over the GW bridge with no incidents All By Myself, I stop at Strictly Bicycles in Fort Lee, NJ, to meet up with the rest of the gang and realize that I SOMEHOW HAVE LEFT THE ZIPPERED POCKED IT MY JERSEY OPEN.  That's right.  The pocket where I keep my cash, my ID, and credit cards.  FUCK! Only my drivers license managed to stay in.  The rest was scattered somewhere in the city or over the Hudson.

So after cancelling the cards and just chalking up the cash to be my panhandling quota for the next 2 years, I hit 9W with the boys and immediate realize they are WAY to fast for me.  I insist they ditch me, and I have a nice, strong-feeling solo ride out to Nyack and the Runcible Spoon, with one stop past Piermont to confirm that yes, my Visa was indeed canceleed, and yes, I am the biggest idiot whose ever called you.

I diddle at Runcible and wait for Warren to rejoin me after he turns around after a few more miles from the other guys, who are going to tackle the Bear summit.  I just had to acknowledge that 90 miles AND intense climbs are just not at my fitness level right now, and certainly not with those guys!  And I had a little flat along the way for spice, but thankfully managed to change it without too many screams.

Warren and I head back, and then after a strong ride (for me) back, including the two climbs just after leaving Piermont that I find hard because the way the road layout is with stops, you can't build up much speed (or any) in to them, I feel victorious that I've made it back and to the bridge.  And then, WHAM.  Somehow I eat it right before getting on the bridge ramp (I think I nicked the edge of the cone without realizing it), and my dear sweet Warren, who has now witnessed a day of epic stupid luck for me, hangs with me while I get my bearings again, and still a bit shakey and bruised from the fall, slooowly cruise/walk the tricky turns down the GW bridge, back in to our fair city.

Thankfully it was fairly uneventful back, although I could feel the bruises in my left hip and side knee as well as my sore hands (thank GOODNESS I had gloves on), and while I may have lost a good bit of dignity and can't allow my self any financial treats of any kind for the next week (both as punishment for loosing the cash, and the fact that I don't have any cards), I actually feel pretty good for getting another Nyack ride under my belt (only my 2nd), and will just keep being as diligent as I can with them over the summer, slowly adding in miles past Nyack and also runs in once I get back to Manhattan.  Plus, last time, the back of my neck KILLED from riding in aero, but now it is no problem! Depending on how the bruises and feel, will be up for a nice, long lope in Brooklyn tomorrow!

Amanda: 0 Weather: 2

Twice in the past week the weather has thwarted my planned workout with unexpected torrential downpours followed by nice sunny, blue skies, only to suddenly downpour again.  Today, although it is not a cycling day in our workout plan, I decided to take a quick bike.  I figure any time I spend on my Cervelo is worth it, and it wasn't blistering hot like it was when I did my 50 miles this past weekend.

This is what I felt and looked like post bike

The problem I have when I bike during the week is that it always ends up being close to rush hour, which in DC can be brutal.  There are crazies everywhere who have no patience for cyclists.  In fact, during this ride even though it was only 3:30pm, some turd in a truck continuously honked at me while he passed WAY too close.  During rush hour there are tons of people like this, so I try to make sure to finish my bike by 4:30 or 5pm.  

Anyways, I started on my always-harrowing bike ride under sunny, blue skies, only to have it start POURING rain about 30 minutes into my ride.  I've actually never really ridden over 5 minutes in the rain, and now I had to bike another 30 minutes back to my car.  It was terrible. Not only was I afraid of slipping, but now I also had to watch out for gigantic puddles in the road while fighting drivers, who in DC also get crazy when it rains, snows, etc.

But as you can see since I am writing this blog, I successfully traversed Beach Rd. back to my car.  And although I was Nervy McNerve during the bike, I actually feel really happy with that workout because after that ride I think I won't be as nervous cycling...at least when its not raining.  The time on the bike is finally starting to pay off a tiny bit!

T-Minus 166 days until IMAZ...It's time to get serious :)

Call me the insomniatic wizard!

Anyone who has known me since high school will know that I'll have this reoccurring bouts of insomnia.  Nothing that warrants medication, but annoying nonetheless.  Usually it is nothing more than a classic case of "monkey brain," where you can't turn it off, and lord knows there were a lot of sleepless nights senior year of college, when the whole "where is my life going?!" just spins around and around, totally unconcerned to the fact that you have swim practice at 6:30am.   I've gotten better at coping with it over the years, and usually of course the best remedy is being exhausted from working out, because then I'll just pass out before I have a chance to start thinking, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way.  And the past couple days, I just have not been able to fall asleep at a reasonable hour, which makes getting up early to work out that much more difficult.  Usually after a couple days it abates, but boy is it the most inconvenient thing to pop up during a busy work (and workout) week.

Which brings me to the second word, wizard, in reference to [NERD ALERT] the Lord of the Rings where Gandalf, the wizard, laments to Aragorn about how "3,000 years I have walked this Earth, and now I have no time," when pressed to make a speedy (and time sensitive) journey.

Come between me and a good nights sleep and I will END you!

I am actually a pretty efficient person as a rule, but admit to wasting time here and there, mostly spent giving Sasha belly rubs (although that can hardly be considered a bad waste of time).  As Amanda said in her last post, we are in the Aerobic stage of our training grid, and the workouts are getting looonger.  Hence the issue of TIME.  Even though the days are longer now (yay summer!) it's just not feasible to do a three hour workout after the work day ends.  She needs to study, I can't be confident I'll get away from the office/computer/whatever crisis is looming by 5 or 6 (nor do I want to be completing a long ride at 9pm), and so morning it needs to be.  Plus, now that NYC is starting to get sticky, it will be cooler in the a.m., too.

So far the distance building has been going well.  Amanda and I did a 10 miler in the Sacramento, California HEAT on Sunday and felt quite good--wasn't even sore!--and we've had great swims and lifts this week (she chided me on my push up form this weekend, so have been verrry diligent about getting my chin all the way to the ground). 

I'll be doing a smaller run this afternoon (fartleks + six mile lope) and then a long bike tomorrow (50 miles in Central Park...not quite comfortable yet riding on the roads/9W on a week day).  Saturday is REUNIONS down at Princeton (yay!) and then Sunday I'll do another 9-10 mile run.   That long ride is the trickiest, but I'm determined to get out of bed on Friday with the birds and get it done!

A FAST post: Back on track!

Thank goodness neuro is over!!

Well Jessica and I both stink.  It's been almost a month since either of us posted on here, and at least I can say that my physical state definitely represents that.  I had a pretty tough time fitting in ANY workout, much less the ones I needed to do for our training program into our neurology module these past couple weeks.  All I felt I could do all day, all night, day in and day out, was study.  But now it's over!! YAY! And I've gotten back on track with the workouts with some big runs, swims, and bikes.  Over the weekend I got to visit NYC and get a great 18 mile run in around central park, and today I even got to swim with someone!  It's always makes me swim faster when someone else is in my lane and he even showed me how to get off the wall better after flip turns.  

The swim for today was: 300 warm up
6x50 drill, 40s rest
6x100, 30s rest
8x50, 30s rest
2x10030s rest
300 cool down
Total: 2100 yards

Hopefully I can keep up this pace of working out throughout out GI module and get my ass back into shape!

Longest ride to date....just in time for recovery week!

This past Saturday morning, I FINALLY managed to get my butt out of bed in Brooklyn in time to be up in midtown by 8am, suited, booted, and ready to ride with the NYAC tri club up 9W to Nyack, NY.  Door to door it is approximately 56 miles, and while the first 9 miles between NYAC and the George Washington Bridge are not fast, it was very difficult for me because it involved a lot of city biking, with the accompanying potholes up in Harlem and traffic near New York Presbyterian Hospital.  Thankfully Riverside Drive is smooth, but it felt pretty perilous getting there.  I am still fairly loath to attempt it on my own, as safety in numbers is key for city riding, as cars will see a group of you, and there are more folks to look for things.

This is what I felt like in the beginning.

Then on to the GW Bridge.  The bridge itself is quite stunning, actually...so high! The views! But hot damn is the ramp to get up and on, and then down and off, it really perilous.  Hairpin turns, barely wide enough to fit two people next to each other, let alone two people on bikes going opposite ways, and quite crowded to boot.  I busted once on the way up, and I was not surprised when two of the folks in our NYAC group admitted to always walking up.  I definitely did that on the way back, condescending looks from the other cyclists who were able to navigate it be damned!

Once off the bridge and after a re-group at a bike shop at the base of the bridge, we started the ride in earnest.   I was part of a mini pace line with two other guys, and as a result, did not pay quite as much attention to the few turns I needed to make as I should have.  I was more focused on my burning legs, pot holes, traffic, and heavy breathing!  Not that I felt like I was out of shape, but dang, those guys were fast on the downhills, so I had to make use of the fact that I'm pretty decent on hills (if only because I'm a lot lighter) and catch back up so I could take advantage of said pace line.   It was sad.  Everytime I was the leader, they would be right on my butt.  When I was in the back, I was waaay back.  Oops.

Nevertheless, I made it all the way to Nyack State Beach Park and the glorious looking Pallisades Cliff without betraying how bewildered I was.  I felt pretty good, considering I had just done 33 miles, which was the longest I've ridden all season, and was priming up to do it again. 

After re-fueling at the Runcible Spoon, the famous coffee shop in Nyack at is TEAMING with cyclists (aka, without spandex, don't come in), one of the guys in our group took off as he needed to be back in NYC by noon.  Chris, who is my new best friend in all the land for being so nice and guiding me, and I made our way back.   Little did I know that there is a HUGE hill on the way back (about a mile long), and of course I made a wrong turn heading in to it and had to come to a complete stop to turn around (traffic) and so went in to it with zero momentum.  I was in the lowest of low gears and could not have been happier to reach the top. 

Overall, 9W has a lot of rolling hills, and overall I felt I handled them well, minus that biggie, but I could use more practice on them in the months to come.  On the flat sections I felt great, and even got my P2 to make that lovely "whirring" sound I always hear other riders make.   The rumor is still out there that IMAZ is relatively flat, so that makes me feel nice and slightly less nervous.

Wow! The view from the end of the road in Nyack

When we got back to the bridge, I was a weenie and walked the tricky bits as I said, and then it was back to the brake clenching/sweating/wrist aching city riding, but thankfully I was with Chris and another friend we found along the way to get through traffic and back to Central Park without too much scariness.  We went through the second half of the Central Park loop to get back down to NYAC, where I store my bike, and the Harlem Hill was a cinch compared to the ones on 9W that is for sure! Or maybe I was just so numb and glad to be out of traffic that I just didn't care!

The next day, I woke up sore in all sorts of weird places (neck! wrists! crotch!) but the legs felt pretty decent and I had a solid 7 mile run with pacework in Prospect Park to bring week 8 and our adaptation period to a close.  Sasha and Claiborne ran with me for the first 3 miles, and then the last four I picked up the pace (or at least held a steadier one, since I didn't have to sprint/slow down for squirrel and pigeon sightings for the pooch), and did some hill repeats at the end.

I decided to reward myself the rest of the evening with stuffing my face and watching Game of Thrones.  Is anyone else hot and bothered now from watching John Snow and Ygritte? Yowza.  And how about that interplay between Jamie and Brienne? 

Last week of adaptation!

Of course the recovery week timing would have been much better this week, when I have TWO authors in town, instead of next week, when I have nothing, but nevertheless, I'm feeling pretty good and confident about the next phase ahead.  My biking is feeling strong, and my runs off the bike are feeling great, too.  It's funny,but I actually never did any real brick workouts prior to starting this IronMan training plan.  For all of my Olympic distance races, I would just wing it.   Not that I wasn't in shape running-wise (it's probably where I am strongest/most dedicated training wise, in large part because it is the easiest of the three disciplines to fit in to a busy schedule), but I had never trained off the bike in any fashion. 

Now that I've started doing it quite a bit, I am actually REALLY excited for the NYC Triathlon in July and Age Group Nationals in August!  I don't know if I'm neccessarily feeling confident about the Iron Man....looking ahead to the longer workouts still gives me nervous gut and sweaty hands...but at least I'll nail my summer races!

My sister and I had our last turo sprint trainer session this week, and from here on out as I look ahead in our training grid, all the bike workouts from here are just long, longer, and longer still, and always followed by a run.  Fine by me as the weather is finally warming up (my bike last Saturday was COLD...thank goodness for my thick cycling gloves and shoe booties to keep me warm), and I think I have finally crossed the threshold of being intimidated/nervous about my Cervelo.  Amanda and I are both so chicken shit about our bikes, I don't know why.  I am sure a good bit of it is because these P2's are the most expensive things either of us own (unless you count my wedding dress, but I don't plan on spending countless hours on that fighting crowds and traffic this summer). 

Nevertheless, I finally don't feel so hunched/crunched in aero and my legs have finally adjusted to the new position...it still amazes me how differently the pedal stroke feels, strength wise, once I'm in aero.  I am even able to now build up some speed without feeling wobbly and scared and feel that it's about comprable, if not faster, than what I was doing in the standard position before, too. And my neck isn't quite so sore anymore, either. Progress!

Next on my list!

Now all I need to do is finally get my butt out of bed in time to make a ride with the NYAC group out to 9W on Saturday mornings! I have been getting up early for my rides, of course, to beat the crows in Central Park, but to make the group ride start time coming from Brooklyn has been a bit more than these lazy bones has been able to handle.  Thankfully, the warmer weather should help.  Last time I tried, it was 30 degrees! No way! Much easier to snuggle up with sweet little Sasha for another hour, who is always so warm and cute.  Maybe a dawn squirrel hunt pre-ride will be in order to assuage my guilt!

Yeeeesh. It's been TOO long

Okay, okay, I know it's been months since I last posted, and honestly my physical fitness reflects that :( These past couple weeks have reallllllly proven to me why most medical students don't train for an IronMan while in school.  Loads of tests, labs, exams, etc. and the studying that needed to be done for them overtook my life so much that I felt I couldn't take time to workout everyday.  But after taking my PT test for the Army, watching a zillion inspirational IronMan youtube videos, going on some long runs this week, and volunteering at the Wounded Warrior race, I have re-inspired myself and will be 100% sticking to the workout plan.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I even had to ask my sister what week we were on in our training schedule...we're about to enter week 8 in case anyone was wondering, signaling the last week of our adaptation stage, which all in all has been an overall failure for me.

As with any failure, there are always good things to take out of it and this case is no different.  I have figured out how to fit in all my academics with working out...just in time for the real training to begin!  It helps that we are nearing the end of two modules that were so difficult and intense that the professors at school called this period "the crucible".

Just to get some sort of exercising topic in this post, I did do a ten mile long, loping run yesterday after volunteering at the Wounded Warrior 5k/10k race (which EVERYONE should do next year!) and plan to do a swim this afternoon.  Tomorrow starts WEEK 8 and my new adherence to the workout plan!

"Go out and watch a marathon.."

"If you are loosing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon."  That's a famous quote from Katherine Switzer, the first woman to ever run the Boston Marathon.  I, and I am sure a lot of other people out in the world today, have lost a lot of faith in human nature over the years, even over the past months.  Sandy Hook is still raw in my mind (I still think about one little boy, Chase Kowalski, who completed his first triathlon a few weeks before he was murdered), and tomorrow is the anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre.  Oklahoma City is in a few days, as is Columbine. 

This is a human tragedy first and foremost, but I think a lot of athletes, endurance athletes, runners, etc. have taken this especially to heart, because we all know and love the chaos of a race day--the crowds, the cheering, the rubbing sweaty, greasy elbow to sweaty, greasy elbow of your fellow participant--and that same chaos was used to do something evil.  It's been said a thousand times that there is something special, sacred even, about a marathon, and I do believe that's true.  It's still true.

Running the NYC Marathon was one of the most special moments of my life.  Watching my beloved city come to life that morning was truly one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced.  I swam competitively for years, and while there were some awesome times, nothing compared to my first marathon day.   I think that was the moment where I became truly addicted to endurance sports and what initially planted the seed in my mind about doing an IronMan.

 I love triathlon, but running alone possesses a simplicity and purity that the marathon brings to life on a grand scale.  You never know who you'll meet in the starting corrals, and whether it is someone conquering their own inner demons or someone who has raised thousands for charity, it's hard to find a bad story.

Watching the news/checking the web/following Twitter and Facebook with updates, people have said time and time again that they could not believe how many people ran towards the explosions to help, how many runners kept running after they finished to see if there was a need for blood donations, Boston residents opening up their Wifi links and homes to stranded athletes.

Two soldiers in fatigues, who themselves had ran the race, were seen running right in to the fray the second the explosions went off.  I think of course of my sister, whose job it will be one to day deal with nightmare triage scenes like the one on Boylston Street.  She already has her own tourniquet--meant to stop the bleeding when limbs have been blown away.  We were playing with it the other night as she squeezed it on to my arm, in what has now become a morbidly real shown-n-tell. 

She sees a lot of amputated limbs and missing legs in the Army hospital every day, shares lanes with Wounded Warriors in the pool whenever she trains.  She and her amazing brothers and sisters in arms have a calling to serve, but judging by how people reacted en masse today in Boston, that calling is deep within many of us.

I myself will be cheering loudly along the streets of Brooklyn next year for NYC, pre-IronMan tapering "rest my legs" be damned.  Because I still want to see something incredible and have my faith in humanity restored.  So I'm going to go out and watch a marathon.



Now that you've read my rambling, the internet/Twitter is abuzz with ways to help/donate.  http://www.redcross.org/support/donating-fundraising/donations is a good place to start!

Heads are heavy. Legs are amazing.

When Amanda started her Brain Module in her anatomy class recently, she had two things to say:

1. Brains are cool.  She already likes it better than the kidney and lung, if she were to rank her "favorite organs" like one would rank one's favorite animals.

2. Brains are heavy.  Surprisingly so. When she held one in her hands after taking it out of the cadaver (yikes!), that was her takeaway.

I may not know much about brains beyond what she tells me, and despite my paradoxical goals at college to simultaneously expand my mind through reading, class and brilliant professors while simultaneously killing brain cells through shots of Popoff Vodka and far too many helpings of cheap beer, I can at least now attest through personal experience that brains, and therefore, heads, are heavy.

The neglect to mention the neck and head!

I had a lovely 33-ish mile bike ride on Saturday, the first on my Cervelo since last autumn, and while my legs felt in fairly decent shape thanks to the trainer, my neck started killing me after about an hour.  I realize now that it was because holding my head up in the aero position was using all these strange muscles in my neck that hadn't really been used before.  I always tried to stick in aero during the trainer sessions, but never realized that it was not just the arms and back but the neck/head, too.  I was always looking around/watching the TV/whatever.  When I am actually ON the bike, I have to have it forward 99% of the time so that I can see where the hell I'm going and watch for rumble strips, potholes, wayward pedestrians, etc.

So I spent the remainder of Saturday with a sore neck, but a few aspirin, a light 2 mile job with Sasha, and a FANTASTIC MICHIGAN BASKETBALL VICTORY cure everything, as does a good nights sleep. Today, my neck felt fine, and I had a nice swim to further loosen it.  2,000 yards total, and then a 6 mile run in the park right afterwards.  I was a bit worried my legs would feel weak/sore/tired after the bike yesterday, but I felt great on the run! Loose and smooth.  Granted, a swim-run is not a bike-run/brick, but the legs seemed to adapt to the relative fatigue level I was feeling when I started amazingly well.  

Week 6 starts next week, and to coincide with the warmer weather, bricks and outdoor riding are starting in earnest.  I need it!

Turbo sprints and week 5 update!

Week 5 of our IronMan training schedule is almost drawing to a close, and as indicated by the fact that neither Amanda nor I have posted since week 3, one might deduce that the past 2 weeks have been a bit intense/scattered.  I know she's swamped with all sorts of crazy tests, and well, there is always something with work--the peril of running your own company with your husband....you're the ones left holding the bag for anything and everything!

But I actually have had a solid two weeks of training, riding a bike OUTSIDE (shock of shocks) twice and getting some solid swims and even a mini brick in Easter Monday.  I deviated from the formal training plan a bit, but worked out everyday and was consistent if nothing else.  This week I've followed the plan a bit more closely, and did turbo sprints on my trainer today for the first time.  Once I move my bike back up to NYAC and out of Brooklyn (likely this weekend if the weather holds) that will be the end of the trainer for a while, so this trainer session may likely be by last, and it was a doozy. 

I have had complete bird legs my entire life (and so does most of my family, including my father, brother and my other sister...Amanda thinks she doesn't but I think she does, just not compared to the rest of us), and so while speed work isn't necessarily an obvious part of IronMan training, like building an extreme aerobic base, building overall leg strength is something I'm desperate for, and if it gets me even 30 seconds or a minute faster per mile, when multiplied by 112, that's a lot of minutes!

Here's the workout.  It doesn't sound like much on paper, but in practice, damn.  4 minutes is a loooong time.  Those seconds ticking down on my watch crawled by slower and slower in direct proportion to how badly by legs were burning!

15 minute warm up

I might have had my last day with you!

1 minute sprint (more than 100 RPM for all sprints....I tried to keep it in the highest gear I could while maintaining spin speed...and boy does the bike computer keep you honest)
2 minute steady recovery....higher RPM than warm up spin
2 minute sprint
2 minute steady recovery
3 minute sprint
2 minute steady recovery
4 minute sprint
2 minute steady recovery
4 minute sprint
2 minute steady recovery
3 minute sprint
2 minute steady recovery
2 minute sprint
2 minute steady recovery
1 minute sprint
10 minute cool down spin

I was dying! I was dying after the first 2 minute sprint, haha, and sweating like crazy. Grunting too, it was super cute.  Sasha came in periodically to check on my to see what all the fuss was about.  She's now learned that when I'm on the trainer, bringing me her favorite tug toy won't work (sad) but rather, she just comes in and checks or stares at me with a glum curiosity until I'm done.  And then she goes and gets her tug toy. 

Amen to Amanda's sentiment!

Grab 'em and go!!

She beat me to a post today, but agree that the hardest thing about sticking to this plan this far is every day regularity (minus the one rest day, of course), and that, if nothing else, is a good habit to get in to as it will pay of down the line, I have no doubt, with the regular building of a base versus trying to cram in long, hard training sessions in to our schedule with not much in between.   I know Amanda and I are both guilty of this with our schedules! Leading in to that half marathon, I had probably run three times the two weeks prior to that due to a media tour, etc. and all three times I was panicked about the half and just gutted out a hilly 10-12 miles each time, haha.  So much for a slow build!

And since the workouts have not been terribly challenging, I'm combining a lot of the swim workouts (the easiest ones for me) with either a run or bike.  It has been COLD as a mofo the past week in NYC, so all bike rides have been on the trainer.  The hardest workout thus far has been a 35 minute aerobic spin, followed by the six times the following: 5 minutes on the smallest chain ring (aka, the highest gear), 5 minutes recovery.  It sounds like nothing, but dang.  And today I did a mile swim straight (booooring, but I was short on time) and then the 60 minute timed run, plus some squats, lunges, stretches, knee stuff afterwords.

I feel like some adjustments will be neccessary even as we move into the real meat & potatoes of the plan--putting rest days when we need them, schedule wise--and a fellow I met in the pool the other day (former Cal swimmer who had done IronMan France) gave me some other sample "test sets" that sound just insane to me:

2 hour swim, 2 hour bike, 2 hour run--nice easy Saturday, right?!

Or the "David Scott:" 2 weeks out from raceday: 20 mile bike, 5 mile run.  20 mile bike, 4 mile run.  20 mile bike, 3 mile run. 

So basically, if TIME is an issue for us now, we need to sort our shit out now, because those two workouts above definitely take more time than we usually sleep!  This 8 week training block (we're in week 3), is the "Adaptation" block, so adapted we'd better!  Or as my father has eloquently put it, "drop your cocks and grab your socks," the official wake-up call of the U. S. Marine Corps, and if that doesn't get us out of bed in the morning, nothing will, even if we don't have the former element of that phrase in the first place!

Bike, Run, Swim!

One of the biggest problems with this training schedule is that it requires some semblance of schedule regularity, which is rare in medical school.  Some days I have nothing in the afternoon, some days I go until 4 or 5 pm.  Now you would think that working out after 5 pm would be just as feasible, but at that point in the day, I need to get dinner and think about heading to the library to try to learn all the things I was supposed to learn that morning.

Anyways, the point of that rant is that on days where I actually have free time, I want to really workout hard, but, at least right now, the workouts in our training plan seem insufficient.  One such day was yesterday.  The plan called for a swim,  but I decided to take advantage of the day and did a bike/run workout instead!  30 miles on the bike plus 3 miles running.  I haven't done that kind of mileage in a really long time and definitely felt it today during class and trying to swim this afternoon.  Today was one of those loooong class days from 730 to 4pm, so I decided to do the swim workout from Wednesday instead of lifting (pretty convenient because I didn't want to lift anyways!), and I even got to swim with some of my classmates, which is always an extra bonus!

This is a pretty short post (got to get to studying and all that), but I'm going to have to solve the problem of my schedule soon because once the workouts get longer and harder, I actually have to do them when assigned, which means likely BEFORE class.  Just the thought of getting a workout in and getting to class by 730 makes me shudder...but the potential result of doing awesome during the IronMan is an excellent motivator!

Swimming day!

So I've been off to a great start with this IronMan workout packet, skipping the first week of "Adaptation" for a zillion tests in school...whoops...but so far for week 2, I've kept on track.  Like Jessica said in her last post, I'm trying to stay on the Pro level for as long as possible, but during today's swim workout I realized that I'll likely be going down to the Elite level sooner than I think, at least in swimming and biking.  I'm pretty sure the two Masters swimmers in the lane next to me thought I was going to die at the end of my main set because I was breathing so hard in between my last couple 100s and then essentially floated my warm down.

Definitely felt like this the whole swim.

Today's swim workout was:
Warm up: 100
Drill Set:
Side Kick Left: 4 x 50
Side Kick Right: 4 x 50
Streamline Kick: 4 x 50
All with 60 seconds of rest in between
Main Set:
100, 30" Rest
4 x 50, 30" Rest
8 x 50 Kick, 30" Rest
6 x 100, 30" Rest
Warm Down: 100
Total: 2000

All in all, this second week has started off well!  I even got new running shoes today because my old ones were starting to give me blisters.  It was a BIG step for me to not go with Mizuno shoes, but hey, with the starting of my training, why not try something new?

Week 1 down!

Last week was our first "official" week following an Iron Man training plan that we downloaded from Triathlon Geek.   So far, so good! In fact, it was not that difficult...not that it won't be extremely challenging down the line, but I was pleased that the first week was really quite straightforward...it meant that I had been doing a good job staying in shape/keeping my fitness level up these many months, despite work and the move's best efforts to sabotage me!

The training plan is broken down into "Adaptation," "Endurance" and "Competitive" segments over the course of 37 weeks, with a "Taper" leading in to the race, as well as "recovery weeks" between the three main segments.  So obviously "Adaptation" is going to be the easiest, helping us build up to things like "90 mile bike ride followed immediately by 10 mile run with a break after 6 hours"....HAHA I don't even understand that, that is how crazy that sounds!! I don't even get to SLEEP for more than 6 hours often enough, so there's that to add in to my bewilderment.

Within each daily workout, there are also three different levels: Age Group, Elite and Pro.  I am going to try and stick with Elite/Pro for as long as I can/as long as I feel comfortable doing so, especially for the swim, as the Age Group swim is definitely too easy for me, but I'll adjust the run/bike as the distance/time begins to build. 

Run, Sasha, Run!!

Today's workout for the Elite/Pro is a 45/50 minute timed run, with some sprints thrown in mid-way, and an ab session afterword.  One thing I like about the plan is that it forces me to do some strength work that I would never do otherwise.  As I've said before on this blog, Amanda loooves to lift weights/has to keep up a certain level of base strength for her Army fitness tests, etc., whereas I am happy to stick with push ups/squats/carrying Sasha around and telling her what a wiggle worm she is.  I don't see that listed as a workout in the plan, ha, but I may have her join me for those springs today out in the park! She is a speedster!

And so it begins!

Tomorrow begins our official training!

You might be wondering what we've been doing this entire time since we first signed up for the IronMan AZ in November, but it's what we've been calling "building our base," and trying not to get too crazed or burned out in the process.  We've both taking some longer-than-we'd like hiatus' from consistent training, which is just life, but now the real McCoy begins!

We have picked a training plan from Triathlon Geek and while a lot of people understandably invest a lot more in a coach (either through a team, personal, virtual, or some amalgam of all three), for our lifestyles and budgets, we feel secure in the decision that this will be the best plan for us.  We may decide otherwise when we really are amp-ing up the distance and doing doubles this summer (haha, I see that one Sunday way out calls for an 80-90 mile bike ride, with a 6 mile run immediately afterwards), and while I get sweaty palms and a nervous, rumbly gut just thinking about a workout like that, I feel confident that when we get there, we will have built up to it effectively and safely.  

Additionally, having both been competitive in other sports throughout our lives, we do have a pretty good bead on what our bodies need/can do/what is just exhaustion/soreness versus a real injury/issue, but thankfully we both have triathlon friends/team-mates to turn to for advice, and Amanda at least should have a growing cadre of doctor friends on hand!

As a last hurrah for freestyle fitness, I went for a 10 mile lope in Prospect Park.  No pace, just a strong run, and enjoyed the sunshine (until the last 3 miles, when the sun started to fade and it got COLD very quickly!)

Tomorrow, the plan calls for a 50 minute L1 run (L1=low intensity, near warm-up/cool down levels, and able to carry on a conversation easily).  Onward and upwards we go!

One last workout before the CRUNCH!

As I'm sure most of you know, it is almost time to start of our 8 month CRUNCH!  i.e I actually need to start training regularly instead of this willy nilly workout schedule I have going on right now.  As one of my last workouts before I start actually following a training plan, I went on a bike ride this morning.  There were actually a lot of cyclists and runners out this morning even though it wasn't that warm.  This can be nice and not so nice...nice because I'm not as afraid of getting run over by a car, not so nice when a zillion cyclists pass me (many of them old white haired men and women).  In every bike ride, no matter how many people are out, my adrenaline is always pumping due to my constant fear of making a HUGE fool of myself on my new Cervelo by falling over.  I try to tell myself it doesn't matter, but apparently it doesn't work because I can already feel my shoulders and back are tired from being so tense the entire ride...although maybe I'll tell myself that it's because I'm not used to riding in aero...bahh I wish. 

In case you've forgotten how wonderful my bike is...

It was a short ride (around 30 miles), as I needed to get back to the library to study for all my exams this next week (who knew the lungs and renal system could be so complex!), but to try to compensate for the short distance, I tried keep a pretty good cadence the whole time.  It was really nice to get my legs going for those 30 miles, and yes, the Cervelo is still very exciting.  I still get giddy talking about how beautiful it is, and I'm sure my friends are tired of hearing about it, but I'm pretty sure the novelty of owning such an awesome bike will never wear off.  

Once Jessica and I finalize our pick for the training plan, the real fun will begin!!

Swim, bike, run, but not in that order...

As Amanda mentioned in her previous post, we both really fell off the wagon last week with our moves/study schedule/general life madness.  I couldn't even pop out for a quick run last week because I couldn't find my shoes or sports bras! I wore the same socks for three days, ha, but at least Sasha's toys were packed on top so she wouldn't be too traumatized by the chaos around us.

The most precious commodity of all!

That said, Monday was the start of a new leaf, and I had already scheduled in a swim with some of the NYAC folks, but was also dying to get out there and run, as the weather was half-decent, so I did a 6 mile run in Central Park and THEN the swim workout, which was surreal to say the least.  We used to always run then swim in the morning in college, but I wasn't running much due to residual injuries from a broken leg, and also, when I was finally back up and running, I had the benefit of youth.  No small thing to take into account, I am realizing!

Anyway, I actually felt good during the run (probably because I was so RESTED), but when I jumped in the pool, I literally felt like I weighed 700 pounds! It was a struggle to get "up" on top of the water and gain any sort of speed, but about halfway it finally picked back up, phew. Not that swimming after running is anything relevant for the Ironman per say, but being able to transition your body from one thing to the other is a key element, even if it is in reverse order!

Yesterday, I finally got my trainer set up in the new place and popped the bike up on that for about an hour.  Now that hurt! I was sore as could be this morning, but our training plan begins in earnest 3/1, so I guess I should get used to the feeling!  Amanda and I are settling on a formal plan in the next few days or so for the "8-month-out" marker.  Crazy!

Nothing Like a Track Workout

Nothing like a track workout to make you feel...out of shape and slow! Knowing today's weather was going to be warm, I got myself out of bed this morning at a VERY early 1030 to go do a track workout before I came to the library to learn all about the kidney.  My warm up is running to the local middle school about a mile away and then stretch before my workout.  I know you are all very surprised that the word "stretch" voluntarily enters my post, but the only reason I stretch before track workouts is because I'm just trying to put the actual workout off a little bit longer hahaha, not for the good of my body or anything like that.

After wasting as much time as possible, I finally started my track workout.  I decided to do my favorite workout as it is the shortest time wise, but really works on my speed.  It is usually repeats of 400 fast then 400 recover, 200 fast then 200 recover, on the 1:30 and 0:45 respectively for the fast runs.  I can usually get 6 or 7 of these repeats in before wanting to die and before I start to miss my intervals, but today I only managed a measly 4 before I decided to call it quits and prevent embarrassing myself in front of the model airplane flyers that are ALWAYS there when I do track workouts, no matter what time or day it is.

Now I knew going into this workout that I am uber out of shape because, well, you can't really stay in shape if you don't workout...which is exactly what has happened to both Jessica and me in these past weeks.  School, moving, work, etc. have really shut down our workouts.  But if I ever needed a kick in the but this track workout really did it for me.  And the fact that the IronMan is only 8 months away is really quite terrifying!  Ah well, like the beginning of the blog said, there's nothing like a track workout to kick your ass, to show you you are out of shape, to give you a wake up call, to make you sore only an hour later, etc. etc.  I'm sure you all can think of more things a track workout can do to you.  Despite all my moaning and groaning about track workouts, I actually do enjoy them every once and awhile because they break up the monotony of long runs and can really make you feel fast!

Moving > IronMan

I am going to come out and say it.  Moving > Planning a Wedding. At least in the latter people are trying to make it "the best day of your life" instead of the worst.  And whereas I've moved a lot in the past, it was never with another person (plus a dog), nor did I ever have anything of real value, whereas now I have adult furniture, kitchen gear, fine china, and a piano (and don't even talk about my Cervelo...I moved that myself!)

I might even venture as far as saying Moving/buying a place/renovations > IronMan. And I've never even done an IronMan, but here's why I think the above. 

IronMan: Friendly and perky volunteers offering you water and snacks
Moving: Angry Georgian men telling you that you have too much stuff. 

IronMan: Expensive, but it is a set fee and sometimes money goes to charity.
Moving: Expensive, plus lots of hidden fees.  Cash only. No charity.

IronMan: Staged in some faraway, potentially exotic, place.  No danger presents itself to my floors of any kind.
Moving: Puts a giant hole in one of the bedroom floors even though they were perfect 2 days ago when the contracts did their final walk-through.

IronMan: Blister and chafing potential is huge.  But that is why the good Lord gave us BodyGlide.
Moving: Blister and chafing potential is huge.  Plus cuts on hands.  Too bad I've packed my BodyGlide.  And my band-aids.

IronMan: A very long day, but wow, won't I feel triumphant in the end!
Moving: A very long day, and now I can't find any clean clothes, dishes, cups, soap, or towels.  Also, toiletpaper.

Alpine training and rentry

While Amanda was being a dutiful granddaughter and flying across the country to see our grandparents (I am going in March/April), I was being a decadent newlywed with the husband and taking an impromptu trip to Austria.  We had cashed in all of our American Express points and got two tickets to Vienna, which for me, is the city of joy.  It's purely subjective, but "to me, it is perfect," to crib off of "Love Actually."  Don't get me wrong, I love New York, and London, Paris, Saint Petersburg, are all fantastic, but Vienna has this strange combination of being a manageable size, not too crowded, aesthetically beautiful, filled with history, and the music is right up my ally.  I'm a huge classical music nerd, from Opera to symphony, to string quartets (in Mozart's house, natch) and solo piano, with a bit of ballet tossed in for flavor, it was all within walking distance from our hotel.  Heaven!

The hillllls are alive!

And it isn't like I couldn't get all of that in NYC, but you just don't, because wherever you live in your real life, you're too busy doing all the things that accompany real life (work, laundry, family obligations, social obligations, TRAINING), but when on a mini vacation, you can! So we did.  And it was perfect! I would do runs around the Ringstrasse, around the Opera House and Hapsburg palaces by day, with some museum-ing after lunch, and then shower, nap and music in the evening.  This is why it is my city of joy!

One thing that put a bit of a damper in my Viennese jaunt was the fact that after a few days in Vienna we were scheduled to go into the Alps for skiing.  Skiing is my nemesis.  I stink at it, am terrified to death of it (hence the stinking, and then therefore more fear, etc. etc.), and the knee on the leg that I broke a few years ago has always been a bit wobbly.  It's never given me any problems running, but it is just a bit unstable when it comes to sudden side-to-side movements or something, and will pop out and then pop back in.  It hurts like crazy, and can happen at the weirdest times (once it happened while I was jumping up during a funny picture), and so I was skittish about it happening on skis with the IronMan on the horizon, as one day, it is going to pop out and not go back in.

I love these babies!

But when we got to Saint Christophe, the conditions were insane! And they don't groom their slopes in Europe, and after 3 days of non-stop, white-out snow, the hubs said that it was going to be way to hard for me to ski...he could barely manage, and he's good! So we went snow shoe-ing, which was AWESOME! The Alps are so gorgeous, and this way, I could actually enjoy them instead of sweating buckets of fear, AND get a good cardio workout in the process! The snow was almost up to my waist, so snow shoeing was quite challenging, and also the lack of skiing meant I would just hang out in the "Fitness Center" and do runs on the treadmill (shorter ones, since the altitude would kill me after about 5K), and then lots of pushups, squats, lunges, and knee/joint strengthening exercises, and the like.  I was as sore as a mofo afterwords--and by the end, my lungs felt strong!

When I got back to NYC/sea level, I went for a seven mile run and felt great, despite being on a plane for the entire day prior, and now it is back in the saddle for real.  I had essentially one last big romantic trip and now my main relationship will probably be with my bike for the next eight months. And one thing this did reinforce for me is to keep up the "dryland"/strength training for the ol' joints on the side in addition to focusing on the aerobic base.