Questions

For the past couple of days, I've been thinking alot about my 1/2 Ironman. It is 34 days away and I'm really starting to wonder about my preparation. The past four weeks have not been good training weeks. On Tuesday, I'll be doing my June wrap up and I'm actually embarassed to check back to see how many workouts I've missed.

Why have I missed these workouts? It boils down to a variety of reasons. I have been lazy. I have been tired. I have been traveling. I have been busy with other things, etc. etc. etc. I haven't been dedicated to my training and I'm really worried that my lack of training is going to show up on race day and that I'm not going to be able to finish the race or that I'm going to have a really non stellar sort of day. These missed workouts are weighing on me and are causing alot of doubt regarding my decisions, goals and dreams.

When I was doing the BAM tri and I crashed and burned on the run, I started to question my ability to do any long course triathlons. I'm not really sure what happened on that race. I don't know if it was nutrition or lack of training or lack of ability or what. In last weekend's race, I saw a man die during the swim and he was probably a better swimmer than me.

So, yeah, I've been worrying about this race quite a bit. I'm not sure how it's going to go and I'm very disappointed in myself for not being diligent with my training. I feel like it I had been more consistent with my training during the build phase, I might feel more confident going into the peak phase. My family is going to Hawaii for 10 days and I know that I'll struggle to get my training in that week. That's adding to my worry, as well as the fact that I only have 34 days until I step up to that starting line, knowing that I'm going to have go 70.3 miles.

While I've been thinking about this, I've also been thinking about my own race day plan and what I need to do to be a little less anxious for race day. Over the next few weeks, I need to get my nutrition in place. I've never been very good at nutrition in my marathon training, so I need to get some sort of handle on that. I need to start pulling together a race day plan and some race day goals. I've got some ideas floating around in my head, but I haven't been able to really put them together into any sort of coherence.

The main thoughts going in my head concern my ability to actually do this and my decision making ability. I wonder what I was thinking in January when I signed up for this 1/2 IM. I wonder what I'm doing thinking that I can be ready for IM Wisconsin next year. I wonder if I'm totally nuts thinking that I can race at Kona someday. I struggled with a distance shorter than an Olympic race and I only have one more race (and it's in a pool) before this 1/2 IM. What in the world was I thinking?!?

Week 15 Utah 1/2 IM Training

I've reached the peak phase, although I'm not certain that I'm ready for it. I'll be writing more about that later. The peak phase consists of long endurance workouts to make sure that I'm ready for race day. The second training priority is to complete the threshold intensity workouts. The goal for this week is to complete Friday's threshold swim intervals at the same pace as I did last week...except that I didn't do that swim workout. So, we'll see how it goes.

June 30, 2008

SWIM - I made it to the pool this morning so I'm 1/1 on workouts this week. I had to skip my kick set because I ran out of time, but I did get 2300 yds done in 56:42. I did complete all of my lactate intervals, even though I wanted to quit after 2. I really don't like lactate intervals, but after the fifth one (I had decided to stop after 5) I realized that only had 2 left, so I went ahead and finished them. I did my lactate intervals in 1:44, which is somewhat disappointing since I usually do 100 yd. in 2 min.

Warmup (300), Drill set (8x25), Base intervals (8x100), Lactate intervals (7x100), Kick set (8x25), Cooldown (300) - Total 2500 yds.

July 1, 2008

BIKE - I did this workout tonight in spite of the 90+ degree temps and I actually had a pretty good ride. My average HR was 145 and I burned 1754 calories. After I finished the ride, I changed shoes and headed up to the treadmill.

Foundation Ride (2 h.) - steady ride at moderate aerobic intensity

RUN - I got this workout done right after my bike and while it was tough (kinda like a brick), I did my tempo run at 6.6 miles per hour. My average HR was 166 and I burned 776 calories. I finished 4.5 miles, so I'm pleased with that. I've had my recovery drink, so now I'm off to bed. One more thing...I'm feeling pretty good about being 3/3 on my workouts this week.

Tempo run 22 min. (42 min) - Steady run at threshold intensity; warmup and cooldown long enough to reach total time

July 2, 2008

SWIM - I woke up to do this workout this morning, but when I got up to use the bathroom, my body wasn't happy at all. My legs are sore and tired and my shoulder was achy. So, I decided that I needed to just skip the swim. I wish that there was a pool that had open lap swim at a different time than 5am.

Warmup (300), Drill set (8x25), Threshold intervals (4x300, 30 s. rest), Sprint intervals (6x50, 20 s. rest), Kick set (8x25), Cooldown (300) - Total 2500

RUN - I started this run, but my legs were toast from last night's workout, so this was a no-go.

Long run (1 h. 5 m.) + Strides (6x20 s.)

July 3, 2008

SWIM - I had to make a choice this morning on what workout I was going to miss because of a work scheduling issue. So, I decided to skip the swim because I really felt like I needed to spend some long hours on the bike.

Warmup (250), Base intervals (2400), Cooldown (250) - Total 2900

BIKE - My dad and I headed out for a gorgeous bike ride this morning. We left at 6:15am and rode until 9am. We rode from Logan to Benson to Amalga headed towards Clarkston, skipped the big long killer hill, turned towards Cornish and then headed to Lewiston (which is like 1 mile from the border of Idaho). We were headed back home and stopped at a gas station in Richmond and my dad told me his lower back was hurting. He asked me what I wanted to do and I said it was up to him, so he called my mom to come and pick us up. We headed towards Logan, and my mom met us somewhere north of Smithfield. I tipped over because my left cleat is being backwards again. I tried clifblocks and had some really great results. I drank 2 bottles of water, 1 bottle of heed, and took a clifblock every 15 minutes. This actually worked really well, so I think I'm on my way to getting my nutrition plan straight.

Long ride (3 h. 30 m.) - long steady ride at moderate aerobic intensity

July 4, 2008

RUN - Well, I had great intentions of doing this race, but I woke up this morning with some serious nausea, so I talked to my mom and we decided to stay home. I'm feeling better now and probably should have just run, but I sure wasn't feeling it this morning.

Lewiston 10K

July 5, 2008

BIKE - I didn't get this workout done yesterday. I may try to fit it in today, but we'll see.

Tempo ride 2x14 min. (1 h. 15 m.) - 2 blocks of riding at threshold intensity with 10 min. active recovery; warmup and cooldown long enough to reach total time.

July 6, 2008

REST, STRETCH, CORE

How to Have a Fantastic Day

Today I had a fantastic day. It started off with a trip to the gardener's market where I was able to buy some fresh lettuce that looked yummy, as well as some new potatoes and some delicious cheese from a local dairy. Then, I headed to my brother's to pick up my nephew John. Yesterday, I talked to John, I told him that we could do whatever he wanted today and when I talked to him this morning, he told me that he wanted to hike the wind cave trail. I called Karen, my sister in law, and she wanted to join us as well. So, after I picked up John, we drove over to Karen's to pick her up and then headed up Logan Canyon.

Before I start talking about our hike, I should talk about the trail we decided to hike. The Wind Cave Trail is about 3.2 miles roundtrip and rises about 1000 feet in 1.6 miles, so it's a pretty steep trail. The trail is actually fairly tough and is classified as moderate difficulty.

When we arrived at the parking lot, John was super excited, so we headed to the trailhead with John carrying his backpack full of snacks. He led the way. As we headed up the trail, he started paying attention to his surroundings and was on the lookout for any wildlife. He has quite the imagination and at one point, we came upon a dead tree and John asked if it was a really big insect. Anyways, after a couple of very short piggyback rides, and the question, "Auntie...Why are you all wet?" we arrived at the wind cave.

The cave is quite large and we walked around on top and then headed down into the cave. John was slipping and sliding, which made me a little nervous since the cave is on the edge of a cliff, but we managed to grab a seat and start eating our snacks (thank you Brooke!). We ate some chocolate chip cookies, grapes, and string cheese and washed it down with Gatorade. We also took some pictures of us in the cave and on top of the cave. My brother is learry of having his kids' pics on the internet, so I'm not posting any of the pics, but they did turn out very quick. John, whose a pretty nervous little kid, was very brave and wanted to see the edge, so we carefully walked over and he looked around. You can see the road where we parked and he was so surprised that we had climbed so high. He also peed out of the wind cave which he's quite proud of.

On our way down, John said that his legs were tired, which we were expecting, but at some point the snacks kicked in and he practically ran down the mountain. We stopped a little spring and splashed around. John even took his shoes and socks off and walked around. We made it back to the car and then it was time for lunch.

Karen picked our lunch spot, so we headed to the Center Street Grill. John had his standard "ketchup, chicken strips, fries" and was really excited to see the donut that came with his kids meal. He kept asking to eat the donut, but we did manage to eat most of the chicken before it was time for our next adventure. My food was awesome and tasted great after the hike.

After lunch, we headed off to do some shoe shopping. My family is going to Hawaii in three weeks and John told me that he needed some new flipflops for the trip. We found some really cute Keens, but he wanted red and the store was out of red, so we headed to Payless, which is next to the Charlies, the ice cream place, which was next on the list. I let John have free reign on the shoe picking and after much decision and a close call with some knock off camo crocs, we left the store with some camo flip flops and some really cool water shoes. I couldn't believe he picked out the water socks, but he liked them, so oh well. We grabbed some ice cream at Charlies and then headed back to Grandmas.

John wanted to run through the sprinklers, so Karen and I changed clothes, John put on his new water socks, and we were off. John discovered that when his shoes get wet, sting rays appear, which made them even cooler (in his eyes). We ran through the sprinklers and watched an airplane do tricks, watered Grandma's flower pots and tomatoes and then John's family showed up. John helped his dad cut the grass and John's little sister Kate and I shared my raspberry shake and played with her new jewelry. Kate is 1 and is very into jewelry and shiny things (like Reese's PB cups).

After John left, Karen and I watered the garden, which takes 2 hours and caught up on all of the drama that goes on in our family. We worked on our tans in preparation for Hawaii. We talked about where personalities come from and I guess talked about the whole nature vs. nurture idea. We grabbed some sandwiches from Subway, watched a movie, and ended up at the grocerey store getting stuff for dinner tomorrow.

Now it's time for bed and I'm thinking that today was awesome. I think John said it all when we were sitting in the car. He said, "Audrey, that was SO fun!" I'm pretty sure that life really doesn't get much better than this!

Perspective

If you've followed my blog, you know that I raced in the Cache Valley Classic triathlon last weekend. During that race, as I was exiting the swim, I came across a group of EMTs performing CPR on one of the racers. There are more details regarding the incident in my race report below. In the paper, it stated that the paramedics were able to get the man breathing in the ambulance, which made me feel a bit better. However, this morning I found out that the man died. I'm still processing this, but since I've had almost a week to think about this incident, I have a few thoughts that I would like to share.

I have my reasons for racing, one of which is because I can. I can think of no better way to start off my day then to be standing at some sort of start line. Those of you who know me know that I truly love to race. It's one of my most favorite things in the world. As I stood in the water at the start of the race, I worked very hard to remain calm and focused, in an effort to swim in the open water like I know how to. I remember thinking about how nice the water felt and I remember smiling, thinking about the fact that it was a race day! The thought never crossed my mind that someone might die during the race.

For me, the race turned out to be a pretty okay day. I was able to finally have a good swim in the open water. My run was one of my best runs of the season. My bike was slower than it should have been. I can attribute some of that to being distracted because during the bike, my thoughts kept returning to the man and his family. I kept thinking, "Please let him be okay." At the end of the race, I spoke with the race director who didn't know any details regarding the man.

I'm quite certain that this man wasn't thinking about dying when he entered the water last Saturday morning. I wonder if he was thinking about how great it is to start off the day with a race. I wonder if it was his first triathlon and if he was feeling all of the emotions and feelings that come with standing at the start. Another thought that kept crossing my mind was that maybe dying in a race wouldn't be such a bad way to go. Perhaps triathlon was one of this man's passions and he was able to enjoy it one last time.

For me, that day was really just another race. For him and his family, it was a day that will change their lives forever. I want to remember this experience because it really reminds me to take advantage of the opportunities that life offers up. We never truly know when our time to live is up and I believe that if we want to live life to the fullest, we do have to discover our dreams and then live them.

I know that the next time I step up to a starting line, I will think of this man and will say a quick prayer for his family. I will remind myself to race like this is my last race and to remember the love and passion that I have for racing. One of the reasons that I race is for all of the others who want to but can't. This man can't race anymore, but I'm certain that he will be racing with me for a long time. My perspective on racing has shifted a bit, and I think that this experience will make me a better racer.

Week 14 Utah 1/2 IM Training

The goals this week are to dig deep in the tough lactate interval session on the bike, swim, and run. This might be an interesting week with training since I've been out of my groove with the training the past 3 weeks. The good news is that I'm feeling ready to go, so hopefully it will be a good week trainingwise.

June 23, 2008

BIKE - I just finished this workout and it's 10:30pm. We got home from Lagoon (an amusement park) at 8:30pm and by the time I got the bike set up on the trainer on the deck outside, it was 9pm. This was a tough workout for me, but I got through it. Have I mentioned how much I like my new saddle? I burned 1348 calories and my average HR was 148.

Lactate intervals 7x3 min. (1 h. 30 m.) - 3 min. intervals at VO2 max intensity with 3 min. active recoveries; warm up and cooldown long enough to reach total time.

June 24, 2008

RUN - I did not get this workout done last night, but I'm hoping to fit it in either today (Wed) or later in the week.

Lactate intervals 4x3 min. (44 min.) - 3 min. intervals run at VO2 max intensity with active recoveries with 3 min. active recoveries; warmup and cooldown long enough to reach total time.

June 25, 2008

SWIM - I made it to the pool this morning for the first time in a couple of weeks. It was definitely hard to wake up this morning, but I did it and made it to the pool. I ended up cutting the workout short (100 yds cooldown and 50 yds kicking) because it was time for water aerobics to start. I finished 2250 yds in 55:58 and I did all 6 lactate intervals. I hate lactate intervals, but I'm thinking they may pay off.

Warmup (300), Drill set (8x25), Base intervals (8x100), lactate intervals (6x100, 1 min. rest), Kick set (8x25), Cooldown (300) - Total 2400 yds.

BIKE - I got this workout done today after work. I thought about taking my bike out, but it was over 90 degrees and it was high traffic time, so I decided to stick with the trainer, which was probably a bad idea. The first 30 minutes flew by, but the next hour was torture. I actually had to talk myself into staying on the bike and the only thing that was working was reminding myself that I have a 1/2 IM in 6 weeks and that I need to be able to stay on the bike for 3+ (hopefully just 3) hours. My average HR was 136 (yes, I wasn't motivated) and I burned 1558 calories. This was definitely a small victory for me, both mentally and physically.

Foundation ride (2 h.) - Steady ride at moderate aerobic intensity

June 26, 2008

SWIM - I missed this workout. I wish that the pool was open later than 6:30am.

Warmup (300), Drill set (8x25), Threshold intervals (4x300, 45 sec. rest), Sprint intervals (6x50, 20 sec. rest), Kick set (8x25), Cooldown (300) - Total 2500 yds.

RUN - I was talking myself into going for this run and when I ran upstairs to check on something, I realized that my legs were completely done because I couldn't even get up to the top.

Foundation run (1 h.) + Strides (6x20 sec.)

June 27, 2008

SWIM - I slept through my alarm this morning and missed my swim. Apparently I'm still tired from my week of traveling. I hope that I can get over this tiredness.

Warmup (200), Base intervals (2400), Cooldown (200) - Total 2800 yds.

BIKE - I ended up skipping this workout because by the time I got time to do it, it was evening and I was planning on the brick early in the morning.

Long ride (2 h. 30 min.) - Long steady ride at moderate aerobic intensity

June 28, 2008

BRICK - Well, after about 3 hours of sleep, I was definitely in no shape to do this workout. I thought I might try in the evening, but after a 3 mile steep hike and running through the sprinklers with John, I still wasn't feeling it.

Bike (1 h. 45 m.)/Run (45 m.)

June 29, 2008

REST, STRETCH, CORE - I thought about trying the brick workout this morning and actually got everything ready to go, but after 30 minutes of spinning on the bike, I was struggling. The good news is that my legs feel much much better after spinning them out. The bad news is that I missed alot of workouts this week.

Cache Valley Classic Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Well, I did this race this morning and figured I would start writing my race report, but I will probably have to edit and add as I remember things. Like I mentioned yesterday, I was pretty tired and didn't really have many expectations for this race, mostly because I haven't been training and I was traveling last week and I did the BAM triathlon last weekend. However, apparently going to a race with few expectations works for me. Oh, once again, this will probably be a long post, so be warned.

This morning I woke up at 5:45am, got up, got dressed, brushed my teeth, braided my hair, and loaded up the car. I did remember to grab my PopTarts as I was going out the door. I had to stop and put gas in the car and then I drove the 15-20 minutes to Hyrum Lake State Park http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/hyrum/. I parked my car, unloaded my bike, checked the tire pressure, and headed down to pick up my race packet. I grabbed my packet and timing chip and then headed over to the transition area.

Once I got there, I racked my bike and started setting up my transition area. I must have looked like I knew what I was doing, because I had several ladies on my row ask me questions about setting up their transition areas. I put baby powder in my cycling and running shoes, put my clips on my bib number, checked out my bike and made sure it was in an easy gear, and made sure that my water bottles were open. Then, I walked down to the lake.

I should mention that last year, when I did this race, there was about 50 feet of beach. This year, there was no beach. In fact, the stairs that we ran up to the transition area on were about 5 steps underwater, so I was a little confused about the swim route. So, I decided to walk over to the docks and check it out. While I was standing there, I ended up chatting with a guy who was doing the Olympic distance. We chatted about the race course and then started talking about injuries and IT band stuff and I recommended my massage therapist to him. We walked back over to the transition area and I put on my wetsuit, found my mom, Simon the dog, and my sister-in-law Karen. I talked to them for a couple of minutes and then it was time to get into the water.

So, this was a "deep water" start, which was a new and different thing for me. However, the water only came up to my chin, so I didn't have to tread water. The water was cool, but I felt pretty comfortable. I swam maybe 20 feet and was feeling good. I got back behind the starting buoys, got ready to start my watch and was ready to go. The horn blew and we were off. I started swimming and was cruising along for about 2 minutes or so and I started to feel myself freaking out. so, I started breast stroking for a minute or so, calmed myself down and started swimming. I made it to the first buoy with no problems. I turned and then got kicked in the stomach pretty hard a couple of times. This man was struggling a little and wasn't swimming straight, so every time I tried to swim around him, I got kicked, which wasn't cool. However, I did not lose my cool and I kept swimming along. Did I mention that I was totally smiling under water? I was actually having fun swimming in open water, which was a huge accomplishment for me. I made the second turn and started heading for the finish. I was actually kinda wide, so I had to make a couple of turns, but the good news was that I was able to sight really well and get to the finish. I got a little high centered on the steps, since I somehow managed to get my legs under me and headed up the stairs into the transition area.

Quick side note...As I was swimming into the finish, I saw a kayak go flying by me yelling "MEDIC". I thought that maybe someone behind me needed some help. I kept going and made it to the finish and as I was running up the steps, I saw the EMTs doing CPR on a man in a wetsuit. They were at the top of the stairs and had kind of blocked the path to tranisition, which was completely and totally fine with me. I was completely shocked and actually had tears in my eyes. All I could think was "Please let this man be okay. Please let this man be okay." Since he was surrounded by EMTs, I made my way to my transition spot, still worrying about this poor man. He was actually on my mind for the entire race and really all I could think was "Please let him be okay." Apparently, he made it to about 10 feet from the swim finish and couldn't breathe, so he waved his hands and then went under. He popped back up (thank goodness he was wearing a wetsuit) and they were able to get him to the stairs and then up the stairs. Like I said, they were working hard doing CPR (I've never actually seen it done on a real person) and it was pretty scary. When I finished, I asked the race director if there was any word on his condition and the guy said no, so I'm definitely keeping he and his family in my thoughts and prayers. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to buy a newspaper to see if there is any word on how he's doing or if he made it or not. There were several people saying that he had a heart attack, but I don't think that anyone really knew what happened. (P.S. - According to the newspaper, the man died in the water, but the paramedics were able to get him breathing on the way to the hospital, but that was all of the details the race officials knew at the time the story was printed.) So, back to my race...

Anyways, T1 went fairly smoothly. My cycling shoes went on easy, thanks to the baby powder. I grabbed my bike headed for the bike exit, which was really close and then headed out for my bike. I started off very strong and was actually going 24 mph out of the race area, but then came the hills. I was trying to keep my speed above 18 mph, but that wasn't happening. I passed several people on the uphill and then turned south to head for Paradise, Utah (yes, it's actually called that). That was when I finally got in my groove. I should mention that for about 8 miles, the race is a good gradual uphill. I was riding in my aerobars and drinking my Mild Melon Heed and was feeling good and comfortable. I probably should have pushed myself a little harder on the bike, but no worries. When I made the turn, the downhills started, so I was cruising. At one point, I was going 33 mph, which was fun. I picked off a couple of people and since I did this race last year, I was familiar with the course, so I was feeling good. I made my way into transition, clipped out (seamlessly...I'm loving the big girl pedals), hopped off and ran my bike down to my spot. I knew that my bike time wasn't as fast as I wanted, but I figured that I did okay for not riding much lately.

T2 went great, I think. I racked my bike, slipped off my cycling shoes and slipped on my running shoes. I remembered to take off my helmet, grabbed my visor and bib, and headed off to the run. My legs were feeling surprisingly good; however, I was feeling thirsty, which is weird because I know I drank some lake water and I drank my entire bottle of Heed.

I grabbed some water at the first water stop, walked while I gulped it down and then headed off. I felt like I was getting in my groove, but then the killer hill came. My left hamstring started cramping up, which was uncomfortable, so I ran and walked up the hill and finally got going. I grabbed some gatorade at mile 1 and then headed out to the turn around. I made it to the turn around and then knew that it was mostly downhill and I was home free. So, I started pushing it. My watch stopped at some point, so I really didn't know how long I'd been going or my pace or anything, but I was watching my HR monitor and my HR was 173, so I kept rolling. I passed a few people (5 I think) and made it across the dam and up the short hill and then started opening it up. I crossed the finish line with a huge smile on my face (I think...it may have been in my head).

My times were okay and I did beat my time from last year by 9 minutes which was cool. My swim was awesome, and I'm looking forward to doing more open water swims to get more and more confident and comfortable in the water. My bike was not as good as I hoped, but it's all good. My run was exactly the same time as last year, which cracks me up. However, it is also a good sign, because my runs this year have all been slow so far, and it looks like I may be making some sort of progress in the speed area. My transitions went well. I used the Tri-Slide with the wetsuit and it definitely aided in getting the suit on and probably off as well. The baby powder worked and will be used again. I should mention that I was fairly distracted during the bike, because I kept thinking about that man and hoping that he was okay. My swim was awesome and I wish that I had a picture of me smiling in the water. I'll have to remember that image and use it in my next race. My run went well and I felt good while I was out on the course.

So, yeah, this race is done and in the books. I'm happy with it and feel like it went pretty well, especially considering all of the factors. I'm actually a little sad because I don't have another open water race until the 1/2 IM in August, but I may be able to come up with a solution for that. I was able to beat my time from last year in all of the areas, especially my swim by 5 minutes.

Results

Swim - 16:57 (12/18)
T1 - 2:05 (4/18)
Bike - 45:16 (14/18) (16.4 mph)
T2 - 1:03 (3/18)
Run - 28:31 (14/18)
Total Time - 1:33:54 (11/18)

Gender Place - 31/82
Overall Place - 105/218

2007 Results

Swim - 21:57
T1 - 2:08
Bike - 49:21 (15.1 mph)
T2 - 51:04
Run - 28:31
Total Time - 1:42:50

What's My Theme Song?

I found this little quiz and just thought I would try it out to see what happened. I couldn't believe it when I saw that my theme song just happens to be my power song. I was totally surprised!?!

Your Theme Song is Beautiful Day by U2

"Sky falls, you feel like It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away" You see the beauty in life, especially in ordinary everyday moments. And if you're feeling down, even that seems a little beautiful too.

What's Your Theme Song?

Striving

On the plane, I was reading Self magazine and a little blurb mentioned a study that said that reading inspiring words such as strive can motivate you subconsciously. The blurb suggested that writing "emboldening" terms on sticky notes to help with achievement and productivity. So, I'm looking for a list of "emboldening" terms. Any suggestions???

Cache Valley Classic Pre-Race

I'm sitting on a plane, flying back to Utah, after spending the last 5 days in 4 states, 3 hotels, 4 planes, a taxi, a train, a bus, and a rental car. Oh, and I got three hourse of sleep last night, so as I sit here, thinking about the race tomorrow, I'm a little surprised about the lack of thoughts, goals, plans, anxiety, etc. that I have about this race. This is an interesting dilemma for me and I'm actually pretty interested to see how this frame of mind works out for the race tomorrow.

I haven't swam since my open water swim at the race last Saturday. I haven't been on a bike since the race last Saturday. I did run 4 miles on Wednesday around the Arch in St. Louis. Oh, I ran in my 3" heels at the airport on Tuesday night. I walked around the St. Louis Zoo on Wednesday and I spent 5 hours on my feet walking through the exhibit hall yesterday and mostly spent way too much time sitting, so tomorrow will definitely be interesting.

I really don't have any big goals for the race tomorrow other than being faster than I was last year. My time last year was 1:42:50, so I'm pretty sure that I can beat that. The swim is only 750 m. which will be nice. I know the bike and run course and I know that I can take quite a bit of time off of my bike. I would like to reduce my freak out time in the water, so I'm kinda wanting to settle in nice and quick and just push through my anxiety and get into my groove.

So, I guess I'm feeling fairly zen about this race and it will be interesting to see how the lack of training the last 3 weeks will effect my performance. That does remind me...I'm actually looking forward to getting back into my regular training habits. I think that this break has definitely been good for the body and soul.

Week 13 Utah 1/2 IM Training

According to my training plan, this week's goal is to finish strong in my long swim, ride and run. However, I'm leaving for Chicago this morning and then will leave from there on Tuesday to fly to St. Louis. I'll be back in UT on Friday morning, but I'm guessing with the traveling and the unknowns of workout facilities, I probably won't be able to train like I might normally. Also, the past two weeks haven't gone so well training wise and I think that part of that is due to feeling a little bored/burned out/tired/etc. So, my plan this week is to do what I can training-wise, work on my core strength and flexibility, and work on my visualization and centering for my OW swimming.

June 16, 2008

BIKE - Long hills 7x5 min. (1 h. 30 m.) - 5 min. climbing intervals at threshold/VO2 max intensity with 3 min. active recoveries; warm-up and cooldown long enough to reach total time

June 17, 2008

SWIM - warmup (300), drill set (8x25), base intervals (700), lactate intervals (5x100, 1 min. rest), kick set (8x25), cooldown (300) - Total 2200 yds.

RUN - lactate intervals 12x1 min. (44 min.) - 1 min. intervals run at VO2 max intensity with 1 min. active recoveries; warmup and cooldown long enough to reach total time

June 18, 2008

BIKE - Foundation ride 1 h. 45 m. - steady ride at moderate aerobic intensity

June 19, 2008

SWIM - warmup (300), drill set (8x25), threshold intervals (4x300, 1 min. rest), sprint intervals (6x50, 20 sec. rest), kick set (8x25), cooldown (300) - Total 2500 yds.

RUN - Foundation run (55 min.) + Strides (6x20 sec.)

June 20, 2008

SWIM - warmup (300), base intervals (2000), cooldown (300) - Total 2600 yds.

BIKE - Long ride (3 h. 15 m.) - long steady ride at moderate aerobic intensity

June 21, 2008

CACHE VALLEY CLASSIC TRI - Swim 500 m. - Bike 12.5 miles - Run 5k

June 22, 2008

REST/STRETCH/CORE

BAM Triathlon Race Report

So, here is my race report. I actually wrote it in a hotel on June 16, after I'd had some time to do some processing. Oh, FYI...this is long.

On Friday afternoon, my mom and I drove up to Soldier Hollow to the expo. I was pretty excited because according to the website, the expo was supposed to be kind of big. Well, I got in line to pick up my packet and timing chip and realized that there were only 3-4 booths. The trisports.com was teeny and I was really disappointed. Anyways, we left the venue and headed over to T1 to drop off my bike. I got a great spot at the end of the row. After I got my bike racked and stickers put on, we walked down to the lake. It wasn't as cold as I expected, which was good news. The race officials were taking the temperature and it was 62 degrees. There were some people swimming and this guy said that the water wasn't too bad, but he and his wife had been sitting in their hot tub filled with ice water every night for the past few weeks. My mom looked at me and said, "I guess they're pretty hard core." I said, "Yeah, I guess. I'm pretty sure I would never do that." I forgot to mention that when I racked my bike, I made sure that my bike was in a good easy gear and that my bike computer was reset so I would know how far I had gone. (That was a lesson learned from my least race.)

Once we were done at T1, we headed out to drive the bike course. My mom was the navigator and we actually missed turns a couple of time. One time we actually kept driving up the canyon and we kept going up and up and up, and I kept thinking, "I don't know if I can do this ride." The race was uphill from miles 5-8 and there were some tricky hills and sharp turns, so I was really glad that I took the time to drive the course. After we drove the course, we headed back down the canyon to my aunt and uncles house. We all went to dinner, where I had an omelette and a strawberry caramel shake. Once we got back to the house, my mom and I helped my aunt put together my cousin's wedding invitations.

I think I ended up going to bed around 10:30pm. I remember starting to visualize and mentally rehearse the race, except that I fell asleep. I actually slept through the night until my alarm went off at 3:42 am. I got up, got dressed, brushed my teeth, and then my mom and I headed to the grocery store to pick up some PopTarts. In all of the packing on Friday morning, I remembered my chocolate milk, but I forgot my PopTarts. So, we grabbed some strawberry (unfrosted) PopTarts and then started the 45 min. drive up Provo Canyon back to Soldier Hollow.

When we arrived, I headed down to T2 and set up my run stuff. I packed up my swim and bike stuff, and then my mom and I hopped on the shuttle and headed for T1. We got in line for the toilet and then I headed over to set up my bike transition area. I chedked out my bike and then it was time to stuff myself into my wetsuit and head down to the water. I talked to my dad and told him to have fun on his century ride and he told me to relax and just swim. The grass had frost on it and my feet were FREEZING cold. I walked down to the lake and walked in up to my waist. The water was around 56 degrees, but it was steaming and warmer than the air temperature, so while it was cold, it wasn't too bad. My mom was standing there and she said, "Good luck and have fun." I said, "Remember, I want to be cremated if I die." She just looked at me kinda funny.

The pros (apparently Mirida Carfrae was there) started at 6:30am and then at 6:35am, my wave (women and elites) started. I started at the outside of the group and tried to start swimming. My goggles kept fogging up (note to self: buy defogging spray) and I was freaking out. I tried to swim freestyle, breast stroke, back stroke, doggy paddle, sidestroke, anything to make forward progress. I absolutely did not want to be in the water. I actually stopped swimming and looked at a kayak and seriously considered calling it over to haul me back in. I actually thought that several times. It took FOREVER to get to the first buoy and I still felt like quitting. I knew that wouldn't happen, but I was still freaking out. When I got to the second buoy and turned right, I realized I was heading straight into the sun and I couldn't see the next buoy. There was also a good wake from a boat that made breathing kinda tricky. I finally made it to the next buoy and there was a woman swimming near me who was struggling. She asked me if I thought we had gone 3/4 of the way and I said maybe 2/3. I told her she was looking good and she said, "At least we haven't drowned yet." At this point, we were heading back to shore and I finally calmed down and back to shore and I finally calmed down and started to swim. I felt like I had been in the water forever and I really just wanted to be done with the swim.



I finally got close enough to the shore that I could see the bottom. Then, it got too shallow to swim, but too deep to walk/run easily. So, I stood up and tried to get oriented and finally realized what direction I needed to run in. We actually had to run up a really steep dock and then I finally figured out where to run into transition. While I was running up I managed to get my wetsuit halfway off. I also realized a this point that my watchy had stopped at some point. I asked my mom how long I was in the water and she said, "40-45 minutes." I was disappointed but not surprised. I finished getting my wetsuit off with minimal problems, but I will definitely use the Tri-Slide for the next race. I grabbed my helmet, skipped the arm warmers, grabbed my bike and was off.

My swim time ended up being 39:07, so I really only freaked out for about 7 minutes or so. It wasn't as bad as I though, but definitely wasn't my best swim by any means. While I was swimming, I realized that I only freak out when I'm going away from shore. I also realized that I didn't quit, although there were several times that I really seriously considered it and even wanted too. I also realized that I used all of my "tools" to get through that swim and that while it was only my third open water swim ever, I still did okay timewise.

My T1 time was only 12 seconds longer than my goal, which was cool, especially dealing with the wetsuit. I was actually 2/22 in my age group in T1, so apparently, I have a pretty good handle on my transition from swim to bike. I do want to try out the Tri-Slide to see if it makes a difference in my wetsuit removal. I also want to try putting baby powder in my shoes to see if I can get them on fastter. Oh, before the race, I made sure my water bottles were open which definitely helped on the bike.

I hopped on my bike and was really really glad to be out of the water. I started pedaling and was actually feeling good. I grabbed a drink and kept pushing hard in my big gear until I hit the hills. I actually passed a couple of people on the hills and was feeling good when I got passed mile 8. I was drinking and riding in my aerobars and I was definitely loving my new saddle. Around mile 13 or 14, I dropped my water bottle and considered leaving it on the course because I had already passed lots of droppsed water bottles. However, I didn't want to be penalized, so I clipped out (seamlessly), hopped off the bike, grabbed the bottle, and jumped back on. I was a little mad because I got passed by three women that I just worked really hard to pass. So, I started working hard to pass them again and to get back up to speed. I ended up really enjoying the bike and wasn't really ready to be done. The last half mile was up hill, which was tough, but I was feeling good. I managed to drink a full bottle of Heed, which I really liked, and I rode in my aerobars more than I ever have before.



My time on the bike ended up being 1:23:10, which was three minutes longer than my goal, but I really feel like I had a great ride and I definitely gained some confidence in my cycling skills. I did realize that I need to work on my cornering, but I feel like that will come with some practice. I still need to keep working on riding in the aeroposition and I think I'll be able to ride aeor quite a bit in my next race.

T2 was a little tricky. I was trying to find my spot, and thankfully, my mom was standing there and yelled. I was at the end of a row and was very close to the run exit. I struggled to get my shoes on again, so I really do want to try the baby powder thing. I swapped my helmet for my visor, grabbed my number and a Gu, and headed out. I thought about stopping at the portapotty, but decided I didn't have to pee that bad. (That was a mistake.) My T-2 time was 1:34, which I was happy with. My legs felt pretty good coming off the bike, but I was struggling to try to stride out.

The start of the run was actually going fairly well. I was slowly starting to get into my groove and then the first hill showed up. I got up it, only to find another hill and another hill and on and on. The hills just kept coming and I really had to pee. The run was on a cross-country ski trail and I was really starting to struggle. I love to run hills, but I do not love to run up and every once in awhile down hills, with no flats for 5.9 miles. I tried to get into a rhythm, but it wasn't happening. I tried taking Gu at mile 4, but that just upset my stomach. I remember coming across a photographer and so I started running and smiling, so at least I would look like I was having fun. When I got up to him (yes, he was at the top off yet another hill) I said, "Can I walk now?" He smiled and said, "You've only got 2 hills left...a long gradual one and a short steep one." I tried to get going again, but I didn't make it too far. I did make it to the steep hill and actually ran up it. Then, I could see the finish line, so I ran. Did I mention that the last 30 yards were yes, you guessed it, uphill. I crossed the finish line and got to run through the ribbon, which was pretty cool. I did forget to mention that I got passed on the run by 4 or 5 ladies in my age group, which was tough and demoralizing. I didn't like that feeling at all.



In the finishers area, I got my finishers hat, a bottle of Heed, and some water. The poste race food was pizza and the thought of eating pizza made me want to hurl. I skipped that and headed off to find my mom. My time on the run was 1:16, which was the slowest time in my age group. I'm not really sure what happened on the run. I know that mentally I couldn't find my groove. I hated the course and was so tired of going uphill. I'm not sure if I ran out of gas or if I just broke down mentally. I've also been wondering if the altitude played a role. I do know that I know how to run and I just needed to mentally toughen up. I forgot to mention that I did stop to pee somewhere between mile 2 and 3.

So, my total time ended up being 3:22:58 and I came in 20 out of 22 in my age group. My run had alot to do with that. I didn't like this race and I hated the run course. I'm definitely not doing this race again, although as I just wrote that I hesitated, which means that there is some crazy wacky part of me who wants to conquer this course, so maybe I'll be back.

I think my big takeaways from this race were that I kept swimming, even when I really wanted to quit. I realized that I need to overcome this fear of open water swimming and I even pinpointed my fear a little. Somehow, I have to change my perception of reality and make myself "forget" (for lack of a better word) that I'm swimming away from land. I need to trust myself to swim like I know how. I guess I need alot more practice with my open water swimming, so I'll have to go out to the lake more and just practice. I also need to practice sighting, which I can do in the pool. Another takeaway is that I need to continue working on my riding, especially my handling skills. I also realized that my new saddle totally rocks and that I can really enjoy riding. It was so fun to ride in my aerobars and to pick people off on the bike. I also need to work on my mental toughness and find ways to keep pushing myself.

The good news is that I have another race on Saturday. I'm doing the Cache Valley Classic, which was my first triathlon last fall. I'm anxious to see how it goes and to see if I've made any improvements. I'm hoping to decrease my freak out time in the water and to maintain 18 mph on the bike. I know the course so it should go well.

Results
Total time - 3:22:59
Swim - 39:07
T1 - 2:42
Bike - 1:23:10
T2 - 1:34
Run - 1:16:27

The First Open Water Swim of 2008

Well, I had my first OW swim of 2008 and it didn't go well. My brother and I headed out to Newton Reservoir, which is about 22 miles from my parents house. He has a little fishing boat, so he was planning on sticking with me while I swam, which was nice. We arrived out there and I wrestled with my wetsuit to get it on and then put on a couple of swim caps and my goggles and headed into the water. It was definitely chilly...like take your breath away chilly. My brother took his boat out to warm-up the engine and I just stood there in the shallow water wondering why in the world I was doing this. My feet finally got used to the water, so I decided to dive in.

I swam out a little ways and was a little freaked out. My brother took the boat out and headed across the bay, so I told him to stop and I would swim out there. The good news was that I didn't feel like my wetsuit impeded my swim much at all. In fact, I really noticed the warmth and buoyancy. Well, I made it out to the boat and had some vegetation touching my legs, which sort of freaked me out. I was shivering like crazy and a little nervous, so I told my brother I was heading back to shore. I tried doing the freestyle back to the beach, but I couldn't catch my breath and ended up breaststroking. I think I ended up doing about 300 yds.

Well, I was highly frustrated...with myself mostly. I am a strong swimmer. I am a good swimmer. I am even kind of fast. However, I struggle in the open water. It's all in my head. Somehow I need to wrap my head around the idea that I can do the whole swimming thing and that it's one of my stronger events. One of the positive things that I noticed was that my wetsuit was actually pretty warm. My hands and feet were kind of chilly, but I can handle that...I think. Another positive thing that I noticed was that I was able to keep my eyes open when my face was under water.

So, I have a 1500 m. OW swim on Saturday morning in some pretty chilly water. I have to figure out how to center myself and calm myself down enough to swim the way that I know how. While we were driving home, I was thinking about this and I remembered the article about "Buy a Bigger Bowl." I've been thinking about it and I think that may be my mantra for Saturday. I'm thinking that I need to remember that I'm just a little swimmer in a bigger bowl and I can do that swim. I'm also going to be doing a lot of visualization tonight, as well as some practice at centering myself. Hopefully, that will help...

BAM Triathlon Race Plan

This morning I woke up very excited to race this weekend. In fact, I've been walking around doing the happy dance in my head thinking about the fact that I'm doing the BAM triathlon in 2 days. I think that my anxiety issues are somewhat resolved, or at least manageable, so I've been working on my game plan for race day. I'm thinking that if I get it written down this morning, then I'll have all day to think about it and tweak it as necessary. I can also start visualization stuff, which seemed to really help me during my last race.

Friday afternoon, my mom and I will drive down to Midway to the Soldier Hollow Legacy Park (http://www.soldierhollow.com/this is the park from the Olympics 2002 where they did the cross-country skiing stuff) and head to packet pick-up. I'll pick up my packet and timing chip and then spend some time at the expo. Trisports.com will have a booth there, so I'm looking forward to checking all of their stuff out. After packet pick-up, we're going to head over to T-1 at Island Bay http://www.bamtriathlon.com/pdfs/SwimMap.pdf to drop off my bike, to check out the lake and temperature, and to get a good idea of what T-1 looks like. From the picture, it looks like there's a good uphill run from the lake to T-1 so, that should give me plenty of time to get my wetsuit off. After we take care of all of that, we're going to drive the bike course http://www.bamtriathlon.com/pdfs/BAMBikeCourseMap.jpg. I feel like if I do this, that I'll at least know where the hills are and where I am along the course. At some point, we're going to stop off to see some friends in Heber, which is in the same valley as Midway. Friday evening, we're staying with my aunt and uncle in American Fork (about 45 min. from the venue), so we'll go out to dinner, and then I'm hoping to be in bed nice and early. I'm pretty sure that I'll struggle with the sleeping thing, but at least I'll have some good things to think about.

Saturday morning, I'll wake up at 4am, get dressed, grab my stuff and my mom, and head back up to Midway. I will eat my 2 poptarts (since it's a longer race) and sip on some water...maybe I'll even get down the entire bottle. The temperature is supposed to be between 45 and 50, so it will be nice and chilly. I told my mom to make sure that she's dressed in layers. We'll drive up to Soldier Hollow, set up my T-2 area (it seems so weird to have to two different transition areas), and then catch the shuttle up to Island Bay. Once we arrive there, I'll go check out my bike, make sure the tires are inflated, set up my T-1 area and then at some point don the wetsuit (fun times...NOT) and head to the water for a short warm-up (it will probably be a freezing cold cooldown). I'll also need to get my dry clothes off and into my "dry" gear bag that will get shuttled back to T-2.

The pros and elites start at 6:30am, and then my wave goes at 6:35am. Since I'm in the second wave, I know that I'll be getting passed by all sorts of men, but oh well. Hopefully, they don't swim over the top of me. I'm thinking that for the swim, I'll push myself of course (my dad says I just need to swim faster than the guys so that I don't get mowed over), but I'll probably take the buoys wide and swim a little bit longer. I think that will help me to not feel as claustrophobic or whatever. After the 1500 m. swim (goal time - 32 min), I'll hop out of the water, start stripping the wetsuit off (maybe they'll have wetsuit strippers?), and head to T-1.

In T-1, I'll get my wetsuit off and into my "wet" gear bag. I'll grab my arm warmers, all rolled down and ready to put on, my sunglasses, my helmet, and I'll pull on my shoes. Then, I'll grab my bike, and start running out of transition and head out for the 22.9 mile ride through Midway.

During the bike, I have a few things that I want to accomplish. I would like to carry 18 mph again, but we'll see how the course goes. It looks like the last 4-5 miles are uphill, so that might be tricky. I want to make sure and take in at least 1 bottle of water and some sort of liquid nutrition. I was thinking of a slimfast shake, but I'm a little worried about the dairy. I may just end up doing Heed, which sits well in my stomach and tastes good. I'm actually in the minority on that opinion, but oh well. I've been working on drinking on the bike, so I think this will be a good opportunity to put that to the test. After the bike (goal time - 1:20:00), I'll head into T-2 with a smile on my face because I'll be happy to not be sitting.

In T-2, I'll drop off my bike, take off my helmet and arm warmers (probably), slip off my running shoes (hopefully not bloody this time), slip on my running shoes, grab my visor and race number, and head off to the run course.

The run course follows the cross country ski trails in Soldier Hollow and from what I can tell, it looks like it's all up and down http://www.bamtriathlon.com/pdfs/RunMap.gif. I enjoy running hills, so this may be a good course for me. Of course, I may not enjoy running hills after cycling for 22 miles, but we'll see how it goes. I'll be taking in water and Heed along the run course, and I may take a gel with me, but we'll see how it goes. Sometimes the gels don't sit well, so I'm hoping to get enough nutrition in on the bike to help carry me through the run. The last part of the run is a downhill and then an uphill into the Soldier Hollow stadium, so I'll finish there with a big huge grin on my face!

So, there's my plan for race day. I need to work out what I would like to take in on the bike to get the calories I need, but I think that's the only unknown that I can think of right now. I will probably edit this again tonight and possibly again in the morning, but like I mentioned earlier, I'm totally stoked to try out this race and distance, so it will be good times!

Pre-Race Anxiety

It's three days before the BAM triathlon and I have some serious pre-race nerves. I was planning on writing this up on Friday morning, but instead, I decided to go ahead and write tonight with hopes that I may be able to calm myself down a bit. So, here goes... I have alot of different thoughts rolling through my head, so this may end up being somewhat or alot random...

It snowed here in UT today. The high today was around 50 degrees and it's chilly. It hasn't been warm and sunny for at least a week. The water temperature for Saturday is supposed to be 56 degrees and wetsuits are being required. The temperature at the start will be around 45 degrees, but will warm-up to the 70s at some point. This weather is totally stressing me out. I haven't been able to do any open water swims because it's been so cold, so I'm feeling a bit stressed about stressing out in the open water. I'm worried about my wetsuit feeling weird and I really really really don't want to freak out during the swim.

So, what can I do about the weather?!? NOTHING! I have absolutely no control over the weather and I can't change the conditions that I've been training or not training in and I can't magically get the water temperature to rise. I guess that means that I just have to accept that fact and move on. I can only control how I respond to the situation, which means that I need to do some serious thinking/planning on how I will respond.

This is my first tri that is longer than a sprint and I'm really not sure how I will handle that. I know that I can do all of the distances. I've done them several times. However, I haven't done them all together. I haven't done them in race conditions. I know that I'll finish. That isn't even a worry. However, I would like to finish strong, so I have placed that pressure on myself.

I know that I can do this race. I'm not even concerned about that, but I am worried on how I will perform. My training hasn't been going as well as I would have liked the past 2 weeks, so that's playing a role in this worry as well. I guess that I need to just not even kinda worry about this because there are so many factors regarding training and performance on race day that I, once again, don't have any control over.

I'm a little concerned that this race has two transition areas, which is definitely a new and different experience. This is something that I'll have to mentally prepare for as well. I think a good way to handle this is to spend some time at both transition areas on Friday afternoon and get a feel for how things are laid out. That will give me a better idea of how I will carry out my transition...especially since I won't be laying anything out...which is so weird.

I'm a little worried about nutrition, but I have a plan, which I'll mention later. At tri-camp, Chris and Chris said that non-A races are great places to try out nutrition plans, so that's what I'll be doing. I have been practicing drinking on the bike, so I should be good to go with that and I'm thinking that I'll just be doing the liquid nutrition for the bike portion and maybe a Gu for the run portion.

I'm worried about the course, altitude and hills, but I'm planning on driving the bike course to get a good visualization plan in place for Friday evening. I'm sure I'll be using that while I sleep. The run is all up and down hills, but I dig hills on the run, so I should be fine.

So, these are a few of the things that I'm worried about, but like I was hoping, I'm feeling a little better. I'm thinking that tomorrow night may be a good time to lay out my plan so that it's in place and I can start or continue mentally preparing for this race.

One other thing that I wanted to mention...I've mentioned my anxiety about this race to a few people and they've all said the same thing. "You could always just scrap it." The first time it was suggested, I thought to myself, "That thought never even crossed my mind. Why would I do that?" The second time it was suggested I thought, "Wow...apparently that really is an option...but certainly not one I could ever consider." I talked to my parents about this tonight and my dad just looked at me and said, "Why would you even think about not doing the race?" My mom just laughed and said, "Yeah, right..." I've spent most of the day thinking about this and wondering why/how this even came up and could this even be an option for me. It's not an option. I may not sleep well for the next few nights, but I will show up on Saturday morning ready to race...nervous...but ready to go. Not showing up is not even an option. So, in spite of all of this nervousness, I'm still going to be at the starting line on Saturday morning.

Goals for BAM Triathlon

Last night, I realized that I hadn't put any goals out there for the Battle at Midway Tri on Saturday, so I spent some time thinking about what I wanted to accomplish. I haven't done a triathlon this long before, so it was a little tricky to think about time goals and that sort of thing, but I think I've come up with a few. So, here goes...

1. Finish the race feeling good with a smile on my face.
2. Push myself on the bike, knowing that the hills at the end will be tough.
3. Run the entire run course.
4. Not freak out during the swim.
5. Coast through transitions.
6. Finish somewhere in the middle of my age group, if not higher.

Oh, and I guess I should mention my time goals. I'm going a little conservative here, since I'm not really sure what to expect with the freezing cold open water swim and the hilly bike course. The run is also hilly, but I dig hills on the run, so I'm looking forward to that part.

Swim - 32:00
T1 - 2:30

Bike - 1:20:00

T2 - 1:30

Run - 55:00

Total time - 2:51:00

Week 12 Utah 1/2 IM Training

After last week's really awful training, my goal this week is to not miss any of my workouts. I have a massage scheduled on Monday afternoon, which I'm hoping will get rid of all of the kinks and knots and soreness I'm carrying around in my shoulders and legs. Another goal this week is to absorb my training and my training plan says that I should be doing an tune-up sprint tri this weekend, but I'm doing my first Olympic distance tri instead. I'm also hoping to get out to the lake a couple of times this week to do a couple of OW swims. The water temp. at the lake next Saturday will be in the upper 50s or low 60s, so I need to at least know what that will feel like.

June 9, 2008

MASSAGE - I just finished my two hour long massage and while I feel like I've been beaten with a tree stump. However, my shoulders are loose, my IT bands feel good, my lower back has relaxed and my neck feels fabulous. This was definitely a great way to start off the recovery week.

June 10, 2008

RUN - Well, I just finished this workout and it actually went well. I wore my new shoes and determined that I need to adjust the laces in the left shoe. I think I ended up doing 4.1 miles in the 38 min, which I'll take. My intervals were all at 8mph, except I did 2 at 8.3mph, 1 at 8.5mph, and two at 9mph, so I think my speed is improving. I changed the battery in my HR monitor, but I still had some issues with it. For some reason, the monitor doesn't really notice my HR rising during the first 5-7 min of the workout. Anyways, my average HR was 162 and I burned 665 calories.

Lactate intervals 18x30 s. (38 min.) - 30 s. intervals run at VO2 max intensity with active recoveries equal to intervals in duration; warm up and cooldown long enough to reach total time

BIKE - I skipped this workout last night.

Lactate intervals 4x3 min. (1 h. 15 m.) - 3 min. intervals at VO2 max intensity with 3 min. active recoveries; warm-up and cooldown long enough to reach total time

June 11, 2008

SWIM - I skipped this workout this morning.

Warm-up (300), Drill set (8x25), Base intervals (6x100), Lactate intervals (7x75, 45 s. rest), Cooldown (300) - Total 1925 yds.

BIKE - I skipped this workout too.

Foundation ride (1 h. 30 m.) Steady ride at moderate aerobic intensity

June 12, 2008

SWIM - I didn't make it to the pool this morning and this week has turned into a disaster as far as training goes. I was reading something in Triathlete magazine that mentioned that in the middle of a training program, triathletes usually get a little burned out or bored with their workouts and that really resonated with me. So, I figure that I'll get through the rest of this week and the race on Saturday and do some evaluating of what I can change, especially since I'll be out of town next week. I am planning on an OW swim tonight, regardless of the weather or water temp, so that may a good time to get at least one swim in before Saturday.

Warm-up (300), Drill set (8x25), Threshold intervals (5x200, 45 s. rest), Kick set (8x25), Cooldown (300) - Total 2000 yds.

RUN - Foundation run (45 min.) + Strides (4x20 s.)

June 13, 2008

BIKE - Recovery Ride (20 min.) - Steady ride at recovery intensity

June 14, 2008

BATTLE AT MIDWAY TRIATHLON - SWIM 1500 m. - BIKE 22.9 miles - RUN - 5.92 miles

Celebrate Providence 5K Race Report

This morning, my mom, sister-in-law Karen, and I did the Celebrate Providence 5K. Providence is a little town just south of Logan and the race was part of the town's summer festival. I had great intentions of waking up early and running to Providence, but I didn't sleep well and felt fairly crummy, so I decided to just do the race.

Yesterday, my mom and I went shopping and stopped at the local running store. They do a foot analysis thing to determine what shoes you should be wearing or that will work with the type of foot/gait that you have. I just replaced my running shoes at the end of April, but I ended up buying a new pair of shoes while I was there. Apparently, I've been running in the wrong type of shoes...I've been running in stability/motion control, when I have a neutral foot. So, I now have a new pair of running shoes (Pearl Izumi Surge) and after some internal debate, I ended up deciding to wear them this morning.

We arrived at the park where the race was and proceded to sign up. Instead of doing bib numbers, they did labels, which was different, but actually was a good idea. There was also a 1 mile race that several kids were taking part in. The little kids were so excited and couldn't wait to get started. There were quite a few people there, maybe around 50-75.

At the start, Karen turned to me and asked me what my time goal was, and I said that I really didn't have one. She said, you should try for 28 min and then the horn went off. As I started running (uphill), I heard her and my mom shouting lower and lower times. I figured I would just run and see how it went. We ran uphill for a block, and then turned north and ran for a few blocks which was a gradual uphill with one noticeable hill. During this stretch, my legs felt so incredibly awful. They started to cramp up, they were aching, and they just didn't want to run. I actually considered sitting down on the curb and quitting. I couldn't believe how rotten my legs felt. Anyways, we turned east and ran up to the street that my brother and his wife live on. It was somewhat downhill, but then headed up. I passed a few people on the downhill, which is something I'm good at. When I'm running downhill, I hear Coach Terry in my head saying, "Ride the hills." There was a pretty steep little uphill and then we turned back west for maybe 5-6 blocks of downhill. I continued to pass people but then the dry heaves started. My legs were still killing me, but I could see the finish line and so I just pushed through it. I crossed the finish line at 28:05, which means that I was running 9:03 miles, which I think I'm okay with.

After I crossed the line, I grabbed a bottle of water and an orange and then headed back out to pick up my mom and Karen. I found them about 5 blocks back and then ran them in, along with a woman from Kona who was really struggling. I think they finished in 33 or 34 minutes. There weren't many people behind them so I changed my clothes and then they started the prize drawings. They actually had prizes for everyone who raced which was totally impressive. Not only did they have prizes for everyone, but they had some really great prizes. There were several gift cards to several local restaurants, to a spa, lots of car wash tokens, a recumbent bike from NordicTrack, and 19" flatscreen monitor, as well as lots of other things like t-shirts. Karen and I won t-shirts and my mom won a 5 punch pass to the Logan Aquatic Center. I forgot to mention that I came in 4th place in my age group.

I think the best part of the day for me was when we headed to the local gardener's market. We ended up buying some fresh lettuce and baby spinach, along with some radishes and baby red potatoes. Oh, and there is a local dairy that makes delicious cheese so I bought a couple of blocks of that and some fresh baked yummy gooey chewy brownies. I can't wait until the other vegetables start coming on! I love the gardener's market.

So, what are my takeaways from the race...my legs are shot and I really need to figure out how to get that taken care of. I do have a 2 hour massage scheduled Monday afternoon, so I'm hoping that will help clear out some of the junk from my legs and especially my neck and shoulders. Apparently, I can still run okay, even when my legs feel rotten. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with my time, because at the beginning of the race, I told myself that I would be happy if I could just do 10 min miles. I didn't eat anything before the race, mostly because I just wasn't really in race day mode. I also didn't drink anything, so that may have had an impact on my performance. My new shoes worked well, but they were definitely different than what I've been used to. They're seamless on the inside, so I had absolutely no trouble with blisters at all. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with my performance in spite of feeling so awful! I guess it's time to start preparing for the BAM Triathlon next Saturday!

Week 11 Utah 1/2 IM Training

This week's goal is to achieve a better performance in the swim time trial than I achieved in the week 6 time trial...basically maintaining an equal pace over a longer distance. I will probably be switching my rides around because my dad and I are riding together on Monday and Wednesday, so I may end up doing my longer ride on one of those days, or maybe even Thursday.

June 2, 2008

BIKE - This morning, my dad and I took the bikes out for this workout. We left at 6:15am and it was a bit chilly. We rode up to the foothills and then proceeded to ride up and down the hills for about 55 min. Then, we rode home. My average HR was 133, but I burned 924 calories, so I'll take it. I'm still riding high on the win from Saturday, so it felt great to get on the bike and ride.

Long hill climbs 6x5min (1 h 20 m) - 5 min. climbing intervals at threshold/VO2 max intensity with 3 m. active recoveries; warm-up and cooldown long enough to reach total time

June 3, 2008

RUN - Today turned into a rest day. I decided to move my swim to tomorrow morning this morning, because I couldn't wake up this morning. I was going to run after work, but just couldn't seem to generate the energy. I think I may be able to fit this workout in on Sunday, but we'll see how it goes.

Lactate intervals 10x1min (44 min) - 1 min. intervals run at VO2max intensity with active recoveries equal to intervals in duration; warm up and cooldown long enough to reach total time

June 4, 2008

SWIM - This swim workout did not go well at all. In fact, I couldn't even finish it. I got to the pool right at 5am, and the pool was pretty empty. I started with my warm-up and felt okay, but then I started my drills and just struggled through them. I was dreading the lactate intervals. I made it through 3 of them, but on the last 25 of the 4th 75, I totally crashed. I couldn't keep going. I wanted to, but I had nothing left. I'm so frustrated because this is my third build week and I need to get these workouts in.

Warm-up (300), Drill set (8x25), Base intervals (6x100), Lactate intervals (9x75, 45 s. rest), Sprint intervals (6x25, 20 s. rest), Kick set (8x25), Cooldown (300) - Total 2425 yds.

BIKE - I skipped this ride yesterday and opted for another rest day. I actually slept for 3 hours yesterday afternoon, so I guess that maybe I needed the rest.

Foundation ride (1 h. 45 m.) - steady ride at moderate aerobic intensity

June 5, 2008

SWIM - I also skipped this workout this morning, mostly because I think I might have got a total of 3 hours of sleep last night. Apparently my nap was not the best idea.

Warm-up (300), Drill set (8x25), Threshold intervals (6x200, 45 s. rest), Sprint intervals (4x50, 20 s. rest), Kick set (8x25), Cooldown (300) - Total 2400 yds.

RUN - I am still struggling to find the energy for any workouts. I didn't run, but my dad and I did take the bikes out and rode for about an hour. I tipped over, but had no injuries, so I'm okay with that. I'm planning on my swim workout tomorrow and while I'm not sure if I'll get the entire ride in, I do plan on getting a bike ride in.

Foundation run (55 min) + Strides (6x20s)

June 6, 2008

SWIM - I actually made it to the pool this morning and did the entire workout. My lats were definitely tired and I could feel them with every pull, but I finished, so I guess that is a small victory. My warm-up took 8:34, and I was definitely taking it slow. The time trial took 35:16, but I'm pretty sure that there was an extra 50 yds in there. The cooldown was probably the best part of the workout; it took 6:16. Apparently, it took 2000 yds to get warmed up. Wow...I just looked up my time trial time from week 6, and it was in 28:??. I was super slow today, which makes sense considering the week that I've had, but I'm pretty disappointed in myself.

Warm-up (350), Time trial (1650), Cooldown (350) - Total 2350 yds.

June 7, 2008

Celebrate Providence 5K - I'm thinking that I'll run from home over to the 5k and then back home after the race to fit in my long run.

RUN - I woke up this morning feeling rotten, so I decided to skip the run to the race. My mom and sister-in-law and I ran the 5k and I think my time was 28:04, which I'm okay with. My legs felt like crap (like the worst they've ever felt) through the whole race and I really just wanted to stop and sit down on the curb, but I kept going. I think I ended up coming in 4th in my AG.

Long run (1 h. 30 m.) - long steady paced run at moderate aerobic intensity

BIKE - Because my legs are feeling so awful, I'm thinking that I'll just let this workout go. The weather is rotten and I will have to ride on the trainer if I do end up doing it. Maybe tonight?

Long ride (3 h.) - long steady ride at moderate aerobic intensity

June 8, 2008

REST/STRETCH/CORE - Today is definitely a stretching day. My body is so tight and uncomfortable. I'm hoping that with some good stretching, I'll be feeling ready to start another week of training tomorrow.

May Training

Today is the first day of June and I'm getting ready to start week 11 of the 1/2 IM training program. I've been training diligently for 14 weeks now and am starting to see the payoffs. I liked looking back over my month of April so much, that I decided to do the same thing for May, so here goes...

Total Training Time = 29 h. 7 m. 40 s.
# of Training Days = 22
# of Planned Workouts = 39
# of Skipped Workouts = 11 (1 swim, 3 bike, 6 run, 1 brick)

Improvements

- Swim - My swim is continuing to improve. I feel like the drills that I've been doing are working and that my speed is coming along with that. I also think that I'm becoming more and more comfortable and confident in the water.

- Bike - I think that my bike has improved as well. I was a bit surprised by my ability to carry an 18.1 mph pace during my first triathlon of the season, so apparently all of the saddle time I've been putting in is paying off.

- Run - I did manage to get some of my speed workouts in this month, which I'm hoping will pay off long term.

- Race - I won my age group in my first triathlon of the season! I think that's a huge improvement!

Things to Work On

- Run - I missed alot of run workouts this month and while running is something I don't typically worry about, I think that if I don't get these workouts in that I'll definitely find myself lacking on race day. My run times are not where I would like them to be, so I will definitely have to keep that in mind and continue to work on that.

- Bike - I need to get outside and ride more, especially on the days that my dad and I can ride together. My dad is a stronger cyclist than I am and I think that riding with him will help me push through some of the limits that I have on the bike.

- Swim - I want to continue to work on my speed. I don't think that I've tapped out on that yet, so it will be interesting to see how all of the lactate, threshold, and sprint intervals help me to improve. I hate them when I'm doing them, but I think that they will help me to get faster.

- Bricks - I need to make sure that I'm working on the transition from cycling to running with minimal cramping and slowing. I want to be able to get off the bike not feeling so wobbly and get into my running groove sooner than the 1 mile mark.

- Core strength and flexibility - I want to keep working on that and get that in place because I know it will help my overall performance in my triathlons.

Achieved Goals for May

- Speed workouts - I did get all of my speed workouts done on the run this past month, so I
managed to achieve this goal.

- Ride outside - I did not achieve this goal, sometimes due to weather, but sometimes due to my fear of riding alone outside. I think that my dad and I can ride together outside at least twice a week, and I'm hoping to force myself to head outside once a week on my own. I've been scoping out some routes and I'm feeling much more comfortable in my pedals, so I'll definitely need to keep working on this.

- Bilateral breathing - I have not been doing this since I've been in UT, so I need to start back into that. I think that part of that may be the altitude, but it's also a little bit of staying in my comfort zone as well.

- Flexibility/Core work - I think I've done 2 flexibility and core workouts in May, so I guess that's better than none. However, I need to hit those at least once a week. My mom has mentioned that she'd like to try yoga, so maybe I can start doing that to fit these workouts in.

- Lose 5 lbs. - Well, I don't remember what I weighed on May 1, but I think I've lost 3-4 lbs. Part of that is just being on my feet more with my job, but I've also been eating out ALOT less and eating much more nutritious food. I'll take the loss and I hope to continue to see the scale drop.

Goals for June

- Finish the BAM triathlon feeling strong and good. - I'm a little worried about this course because it's at a higher altitude, the water will be cold, there will be hills on both the bike and run courses, etc. It's also my first olympic distance tri, so I'm a little uncertain about how it will go.

- Continue to lose some weight. I guess I should go get on the scale this morning to see where I am, so that I can get a better handle on how that's going.

- Skip less run workouts.

- Work on my cycling, especially on maintaining speed over varying terrain.

- Miss less than 10 planned workouts this month.

I think that will work for this month. It was interesting to note that I missed the same number of workouts in May as I did in April, so I'll have to work on that. However, I will be traveling in June for a week, so I'll have to keep that in mind. I'm off to get some breakfast and start getting ready for the day.