Ironman 70.3 here I come!

Training is winding down. Went for a nice easy 90 minute trail run yesterday. Not sure if it was the smartest idea given my knee issues. But it was a gorgeous day! No knee pain until the last 30 minutes, but I was smart as soon as I felt pain I stopped and walked the rest. Then I iced last night. This morning I will stretch and do my PT exercises before work. Had a pretty miserable bike ride on Wed. It was supposed to be a nice relaxed "pizza ride" with the local cycling club. However, I didn't pay enough attention to my nutrition earlier in the day and somehow managed to screw up my electrolytes. So I ended up getting my ass kicked by the slow chicks in what was an incredibly painful and hilly experience...lol Remind me to kick Johns's butt next time he says he has a "flat" ride planned out. Good mental workout though and a lesson that I don't want to have to learn on race day. Will def make sure my nutrition is right on point. I am nervous about the fact that there are two transition areas and the fact that I will probably be dropping my bike off the night before. We have to label all of our stuff and put it in separate bags...blah blah blah. I need to make sure I read the athlete's guide again. And we aren't allowed in the T2 area before the race. Am totally nervous I am going to forget something. Guess the anal retentive, obsessive compulsive character trait that all of us triathletes have will come in handy. Am working on my pre-race playlist right now...so far we have...

Stretching Portion

Johnny and June
Pray for you
I run to you

Pumped up, I'm gonna kick your ass portion

I'm the ish
Crazy Bitch
Lets get it started
What I've Done
It was a good day
Bring me to life
Mein Herz Brennt
You give love a bad name
Wo bist du
Everybody's Fool
Maneater
How you remind me
If Everyone cared


Haven't put them in order of play yet...I'm def starting to get nervous and jumpy...Its gonna be a long week! Thank goodness for the Tour and the fact that I will be at my parent's house for the majority of it. I had my last drop of alcohol pre race last night though. And I'm thinking I might switch to decaf coffee to give me that extra boost before the race....or maybe not. I'm cranky enough already...lol

Soapstone Mountain 24k Trail RR..a painful experience!

Got to the race around 8:30ish..picked up my bib, last minute bathroom stop...ect...I love the trail running crowd...we are a scruffy bunch...lol Loved all the wild hairdos, hats, bright outfits! Def a change from triathlons! First 7 or so miles was a blast! I felt great! Loved every minute of it. Had no clue about the "Killer Hill". As we are turning towards it one of the guys directing us joked "Its all down hill from here". I laughed along and then I saw "it"! A line of runners, crawling straight up into the sky! Wasn't sure if I'd be able to walk after that much less run. But on we went. Splashed in a few puddles! Passed a ton of people! After I went through the mid point aid station I thought to myself "I feel pretty darn good!" and then it kind of hit me..."hey my knees aren't feeling so hot!" And from there it was all downhill. I kept trying to run, but every downhill portion was agony. I kept thinking man this was supposed to be fun, but my body wouldn't cooperate. I wanted to keep running, to enjoy the puddles and the mud! My nutrition was on point, I had tons of energy! My heart rate was good, I could have gone faster. But at this point all I wanted was to make it to the 11 mile aid station by the 3 hour cut off. I was aiming for between 2:30 to 3 hours (finish time). I kept saying to myself...just keep running and once you get to the 11 mile aid station you can walk the rest. At least that way you can finish this thing. It seemed like it would never come and then there it was! Grabbed some Gatorade and a cookie and hobbled on! Almost the entire last 5k was down hill. If there hadn't been so many rocks I probably would have just slid down on my camel pack...lol A group of runners who I started with caught up to me and urged me to run with them. I tried to, but when we hit the long downhill portion I just didn't have it. I had a momentary high once I finished the race, but once I got home I sat on the floor in my shower for a good while...I didn't feel like crying, but I was def pretty damn miserable. I try to view every bad ride, run, race as good mental training for my half ironman this summer. I was feeling a little low after the race, so I got myself a new tatt to remember the fact that I didn't quit!

Sheriff's Sprint RR May 3rd

Swim 300, Bike 9, Run 3
Overall Time: 1:04:24; 1st in AG (F25-29)


Swim-5:18

Set up so we went up and down one lane, under the lane line to the next one and so on....when I went to make my second flip turn under the lane line I got disoriented and ended up in the same lane I was in instead of moving on to the next. Spent the rest of the swim worrying that I accidentally skipped a lap and would be DQ'd. Probably could have been faster....

Transition was good...this is the first time I've used my bike shoes in a race. Wasn't sure whether I should bother since the biking portion was pretty short, but figured since this was supposed to be a practice run it was the best way to go!

Bike-28:16

Nice flat course! Really felt like I smoked the bike course. I was worried I would be scared since it was my first real ride since the crash. I slowed down a lot for all the turns, need to work on that a bit. Managed to stay aero for most of the course!

Transition...nice and fast...put on my running shoes, grabbed my visor and I was off!

Run-30:49

Def not happy with this time. I clearly need to do some shorter, higher intensity bricks. I know I can run fast then that.

Great race to start the season off with! Really enjoyed myself!

New Battle Scars!

Eye on the Prize!

I thought I'd beat off all my demons with a baseball bat in the therapist's office, but turns out a few of them showed up for my ride this morning. The wind was hitting me head on like a brick wall, I had snoot running down my arm and leg and my Aero bottle was splashing Heed (or whatever the heck it is I bought last time I stocked up)in my face. Half the time I love that thing and the other half I want to pull it out and slam it on the road behind me. Or maybe I could use it as a weapon next time some fat chick leans out her window to tell me to "get off the road"??! No??!! At least half a dozen times I was tempted to turn around and just call it a day. I kept asking myself "why the hell am I doing this to myself"...I can't remember a time when I wasn't sore...even my recovery weeks involve twice as much training as I did at my peak last summer! "For what" and "for whom" am I torturing myself like this for??? The only answer is because I CAN! And of course "for who?"...ME! And I can't quit on myself! So on I plowed...up those hills and into the wind like an angry, determined bull. And finally my positive attitude returned to me. Positive thinking is a powerful tool I tell you! I like to talk to myself when I ride! "You F**N rock, self!". "You're a beast!"..."You are going to slay the competition this year, self!" "You climb like a moutain goat, self!" The wind really is a great training tool, but its also demoralizing when you're already having a tough time. But I slayed it today! And I actually conquered a monster of a hill that I've never attempted before, because I was afraid of that hill. Its about a mile (more or less) of straight uphill...most of it is gradual but there are a few steep bits thrown in there! And then the best parts are the false flats...you see them and thing ahhh a break! But noooo!!! SO yeah to conquering inner demons! Tomorrow its on to 11 miles of trail running! That's my treat!

Slacker

As in posting not workouts....

50 minute trail run with the dog! Not sure what distance I covered. Accidentally left my gloves in the other car which went with Josh to work. Boy were my hands chilly. Took 15 minutes for the to warm up.

50 minute swim (not sure why this took so damn long)

200 warm up
6x100 free ( to determine cruise interval)
3x100 (no touch_
8x50 drills
4x100 (50 kick; 50 pull)
200 warm down

yardage: 2,000

Had to rush from the pool to work, forgot my brush so I ended up walking around all day with knotty hair...not that anyone could really tell with it up in a pony tail. Glad I work at a gym where everyday is spandex and pony tail day! =) Twenty more minutes and the little man will be in bed. Then I can sit down and relax with Desperate Housewives and Cinnamon Bread. I ordered a new black two piece from TYR and some Tri shorts to go with! Figured it was time to get rid of my see thru ones from last year. On second thought...that could be a race tactic.

Just another manic monday!

35 minute tempo run
10 minutes easy running
10 minutes 9 min/mile pace ( a bit harder then I thought it would be...guess I have a lot of work to do)
15 minutes easy

Immediately followed by swim....

1x 200 warm up
4 x 250 free (no push off wall) these were tough
3x 100 (50 kick, 50 pull)
1x 100 cool down

Total yardage: 1,600
Total Training Hours: 1 hour 5 minutes (30 swim, 35 run)