Singing the Ironman Blues

I'm having a hard time writing my B2B race report!  Every time I sit down to write it - I start to cry. I feel more like a sissy than an IRONWOMAN! At first, I was overwhelmed by gratitude. The number of people I am thankful for is out-matched only by the number miles I swam, biked and ran this season. Plus, I'm overwhelmed by the words and memories that are forcing their way into my head - fighting for space on the page. That's what happens when I don't write consistently! Plus, I miss IRONMAN! I miss the training, the adventures, the race itself! I'm in recovery mode - my first workout was yesterday in the pool - a short set of easy intervals and I did yoga this morning. I'm missing the endorphins of workouts and the anticipation of the race itself. 

One Sad Puppy

In a way, I feel like I'm re-entering the earth's orbit, or experiencing culture shock. What do normal people do on the weekend anyway? What do you do at 5:30a on a weekday? I know it's perfectly normal. It happens for lots of big events in my life. Here are ways I'm working on it [via ideas from this blog]:

A few things that may help:

• Expect it! Know that you’ll be coming down off the high, and that it won’t last. I know it's normal. And I knew it was coming. Heading to Florida the week after my race to support Jenni Sunshine at IMFLA was part of the plan! But now I'm experiencing double excitement-withdrawal blues. Ironman/Vacation is OVER. 
• Reflect on the positive and negative aspects of the race, and move on. I am -- slowly -- writing about the race. I've been collecting pictures and videos from friends and family and writing thank you notes to all those who texted, called and facebooked me in the days leading up to and following the race.
• Admit it to yourself or those around you for support. I'm blogging about it - does that count?
• Distract yourself with other activities you love and find meaning in. Ace and I went out for sushi - on a Friday night! I visited a longtime friend over the weekend (hi Sue!) and I'm going to Cucalorus this weekend.
• Set new goals to work toward. I have big ideas in my head for next year. I am eyeing a 10k in January and a big ride in the spring. BUT, I haven't registered for anything. It's fun to dream about all the races - before even committing!
• Recover Completely. I'm being kind to my body.  I am being careful to listen. It says: ouch. It says: don't run. My head and my heart want to go on a long ride and out for a run - but my legs say: no, thanks. I'm sleeping and foam-rolling and swimming and yoga-ing. But spin classes and my awesome run shoes must wait. Instead, I will rock the FINISHER pajama bottom - and my medal. 

 

Back to Work

Today, I got back to work. I've taken a break (and not just from blogging). One of my favorite parts of racing is recovery and this week has been no exception. For several days after a race I eat junk food, I sleep late and I do not run.  

Progressive Lunch: I couldn't decide WHICH so I ordered it ALL.

I have been sore - my quads are tender and I have had phantom pains in my hands, forearms and feet. On top of that, I faced my biggest fear on Tuesday: a root canal! So my face hurts, too. (I know, it's hurt you for a long time. Good joke. Ha Ha) It was the perfect excuse to stay in bed and eat milkshakes! If only my hamstrings had received a little novocaine love. 

Salted Caramel Shake from Arby's

   

It's Thursday and playtime is over. I've been moving a little - I taught a spin class and walked on Monday and Wednesday. But, with 43 days, 18 hours, eight minutes and two seconds left - it's time to step up! The first order of business - a run.

I'll admit I had a disappointing run at Patriots (more on that to come). It was not what I wanted and I needed a few days to pout. Unlike IM Raleigh 70.3, though -- where my confidence was shot and I contemplated quitting triathlon -- I am fired up.

I nailed my run today. I didn't feel fresh and it wasn't easy, but I did the work anyway. My instructions were to build to a 9min/mile pace.  I divided the hour into 10 minute intervals and set out. My 10 minutes included dynamics and an easy jog. Here are my splits for the rest:

10 min at             10:11

10 min at             9:43

10 min at             9:19

10 min at             9:09

10 min at             8:54

Average pace for five miles of work is 9:27/mile. Plus, that last 10 minutes included a stop to chat with the neighbor!   

I am excited. I have had a shift in belief and a shift in commitment. October 26, here we come!

 

A Bucket of Suck

Pardon the expression, but that's how I described my run on Sunday. 

My plan called for a brick - a back-to-back workout that included three hours on the bike and a solid 50 minute run. I treated the entire workout like a race day. I prepared the day before - hydrating, eating well, sleeping long.  I rode with race-day precision. Erica, Jen and I warmed up for seven miles and then split up for an hour. The goal: to ride at iron pace for two hours, regroup and then ride back to the start for the run. 

I had a solid, strong ride. My cadence was high, my spirits were high. I had a few transcendental moments. I quieted the monkey mind. I thought of games to play and songs to sing in preparation for B2B. When we regrouped, I was proud of my effort.

The success of the ride was reversed in the run. My workout included 2 x 25 minutes of running separated by five minutes of a walk break - to reboot my form. The first 18 minutes were okay. We ran across the drawbridge, towards Johnnie Mercer's pier and halfway to the north end of Wrightsville Beach. I slowed down at mile two

I'll admit the heat was stifling. The heat index was 89 degrees and the humidity was 74%.  I sang Alicia Keys: my skin is on fi-yah! My feet are on fi-yah-ah-ah-ah-ah. My heart was racing more than usual and I swear I could feel the hair growing out of my head. The five minute walk break equaled me standing in the carport of the nearest home and wondering if I should sneak a shower from their hose. 

The next 25 - 30 minutes were torture. I honestly don't think it was physical. I COULD run. I wasn't cramping. Nothing really hurt. I just couldn't get it together. I spiraled mentally and emotionally. I slowed to a walk and watched Jen melt away into the distance. When I walked I got mad: I can't believe this is happening again. This feels just like White Lake/Raleigh 70.3/Beach 2 Battleship Half Iron. I should be able to hold my race pace. When I stopped to get water I got sad. This is pitiful. What am I going to do? I can't believe this. I'm never going to make it.  I admit it: I cried. Right there on the loop at Wrightsville Beach. I tried to figure out who to call to come pick me up - and I didn't even have a phone. I started to play LET'S MAKE A DEAL. If I run for 100 steps, I can take a sip of water. If I run to the fence by the boat ramp, I can walk up the bridge. If I can run to the last stoplight, I can walk to the finish. I eased into a shuffle and finished - knowing it wasn't my best day.

Afterwards, I pouted for an hour. I had a cup of coffee and treated myself to waffles. I texted/whined to my coach. I took a hot shower and a long nap. I sang loud in church that night and allowed myself the last of the pina colada sorbet I made.

Coach and I spent time on Monday - and again yesterday -  troubleshooting. Was it the heat? Nutrition? Hydration? I've also spent some time working on my heart and my head this week. I am interested in the fact that my emotions were much like grief: denial (this shouldn't be happening), isolation (I pulled back from the other runner), anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. I've been looking at ways to get out of the bucket - quicker. 

It's been a few days and I'm actually grateful for my bucket of suck. It was hard to shake the feeling that I had on Sunday. But, I know everything works together for good and I'm a firm believer that almost every moment is a teachable moment. 

I realize that there are more dark moments out there. I know that they will likely meet me somewhere on the bike or the run course of B2B. I know that there will be moments in training that I'll want quit. I hope I will remember this bucket of suck. I hope I only carry the memory of it and the lessons I learned from it -- and leave the bucket at one of the aid stations.

100 Days to Go

This week marked 100 DAYS to GO to the B2B Ironman! In fact today equals 96 on the countdown. I can't believe the summer is flying by............and so is my training. My miles are starting to build on the bike and the run and my technique is starting to improve in the swim. It's been a big weekend - a track workout after my 40+ mile ride yesterday and 120 lengths (3000 yards) in the pool this morning!

I thought I'd simply add a few pictures this week to get you caught up. I still owe you a report from my Raleigh 70.3 race and I can't wait to tell you about the coming three weeks. I've peeked ahead at my plan and it's going to be a doozy. I'll be doing an 11 mile run this weekend and four hours on the bike! At least it will be flat!

Last week's ride was NOT flat. But I loved it. I was in Raleigh for my sister's fortieth birthday celebration. On Sunday morning, I tacked on a metric century - 62 miles - in the triangle. It included part of the Raleigh 70.3 course and lots of countryside. I'm always surprised at the farms and acreage just a few miles out of population-heavy Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. The challenges, of the course, were the hills; especially the Col d'Lystra. A monster climb for this flatlander. Here's how another blogger described it:

It starts out around the 6-8% range and quickly pitches up to 10-11%. It doesn’t stay there long, leveling back out to around 6-8%. There is a false summit and an easier grade, then some up and down rollers with an upward trend. Overall there is around 300 feet of elevation gain. Not a bad hill for being smack dab in rolling hill central. It was big enough that I think it warrants inclusion in my NC Climbs section.

The best part of the ride was Marian Bergdolt (above). She is a fellow TriStacey athlete, an amazing runner and all-around athlete. She was great company - I loved getting to know her and loved that she pulled most of the way. [Don't tell coach.]

Tis the season for open water swimming. A few weeks ago, Erica, Ace and I jumped in Banks Channel for an excellent out and back. We swam against the current for 25 minutes. It was not quite mid-tide and it was a challenge, but it was a gorgeous day and a great way to find my stroke. When we headed back to the start, we eased up on the freestyle. We floated and side-stroked and made it back to the Seaside Club in only 10 minutes.

 

A few weeks ago, this little fairy popped out on one of my runs. She was propped against a fence near the boat ramp at Wrightsville Beach. I was in mile nine of ten and she was a sight for sore eyes. She gave me a little boost of energy right before I climbed the bridge and picked up my pace to the end. I went back to take her picture (and prove that she was not a figment of my imagination) and she jumped into my car. Her name is La-A.

[Pronounced:  Ladasha]

And finally, I've been obsessed with the Tour de France. I'm kind of glad that today is the last day. I might get my life back. If I haven't responded in a timely fashion to your email or call, it's because I've been watching Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana climb the mountains of France. I've been working downstairs at the kitchen counter in front of the telly. I even created a spin class -- complete with slides and graphics  -- around the Tour. I've won my Fantasy Tour League and I made dessert crepes on the day the riders climbed Alpe D'Huez! [I bought my first jar of Nutella and have put it to good use.]

Pain & Glory Since 1903

Speaking of.....I best go. I want to go watch the last few hours of the 100th Tour de France. They're riding into Paris at night. Love.   

Ironman Training Week One

Technically, this isn't week one. You could say that I've been training for the B2B since I signed up on New Year's Eve. But, this week marked a new beginning. I took two weeks off after Raleigh 70.3 to reflect, recover and renew my body.  It was a tough race [There will be a race report, I promise.] I spent some time playing - my swims and bikes were more for fun - not training. I ran once in those two weeks.  I spent a few days with the post-iron blues and then even more days with the half iron pride.  I recharged my brain, too. I'm reading non-sporty books and magazines like Pat Conroy's My Reading Life and Garden & Gun. 

This week kicks off a new adventure. For starters, I'm working with a coach full time! Back in January I joined TriStacey Coaching's Try-It program for Raleigh 70.3. Stacey Richardson set up a plan for athletes wanting a glimpse of her coaching. Each month, I received guidance and feedback on my planned workouts and a weekly chat to keep me on track. It was a success to say the least! I PR'd in my 5K and 10K races in the past six months and on June 2, 2013 I rocked Raleigh 70.3. 

That's Right, I Rocked Raleigh

For B2B, I'm working with her full-time. For the first time in a long time, I'm not using a plan out of a book. I'm trusting her with all my training. My first workout was an in-depth assessment and discussion about my goals, my medical history, my strengths and weaknesses and even my equipment and how all of that plays into my training for 140.6 miles. I'm excited to see what happens. This week, she  posts all my workouts on my TrainingPeaks calendar. In turn, I post all my data (splits, heart rate, comments on how it feels).  She sees what I'm doing - how I feel and perform and adjusts and tweaks my plan accordingly.

Banks Channel at Sunrise

So far this week, I've already done a two-mile open water swim (the B2B course backwards!), a breakthrough run (a fartlek ladder) and two VERY wet bike rides. Yesterday I came home soaked to the core.  One of the lessons Stacey taught at triathlon camp this spring: train harder than you race. You never know what the conditions will be on race day  - so be ready for anything. Yesterday, I showed up to a group ride - and only one other person showed up! We did 44 miles in what felt like a tropical storm:  10mph winds with occasional gusts and walls of water. On the way out of town, the rooster tail of water off the bike in front of me either landed in my shoe or on my face. My nutrition: Amino Vital, an Island Nectar Rocktane Gel and dirt.   Gross.

Train Harder than You Race

  

Stick around for more adventures!