Back to our Regularly Scheduled Training

This week I tweaked my Monday/Wednesday pre-swim routine to include standing on one foot a few times, at the suggestion of my bike fitter. So now my routine consists of 30-35 chinups, 60 pushups, 65-70 abs variations, 2 sets of 90" bridges on each side and to center, and standing on one leg. I still want to add jump rope to the mix, but will wait one more week as my legs adjust to running. All this takes about 20', and I've added a few more things to my regular strength routine as well, so somehow I ended up doing almost 2 hours of strength work this week. Oh well, I need it, with all the swimming I'm doing and making myself strong to withstand the amount of training I am throwing at myself.

Running went well this week--on Wednesday, the body decided it was ready for some 5K pace work, even though I was trying to hold back. Oh well! Sometimes you just need to let things happen.

Weather here has been mild for this time of the year, so all my running has been outdoors. Tuesday I biked outdoors on the MTB, since I just couldn't see being inside when it was so nice. Thursday brought some extra stress, so I decided to skip my bike workout, figuring I might make some of it up on Saturday.

Friday morning I did my longest swim workout to date--6200 yards--and it went well. I got in and started swimming and thought it was a good day to swim continuously, which I did for 5,000 yards, and then I kicked 700 and did backstroke for 500 (I'm adding backstroke in here and there just to balance out my over developed pectorals). I'm already ahead of schedule for my Friday long swims, and it got me to thinking about looking at other training I have scheduled for Fridays which is usually a run. Well I'm OK running on the same day as 2-2:15 worth of swimming, but once those swims start taking 2:30 or more, I'm not so sure. So today I once again tweaked the training plan to account for that. I can move those Friday runs to Tuesday or Thursday depending on what else I have going. But I did run on Friday, and it was a good run.

Yesterday I was thinking I'd do 1-1:30 on the bike indoors and then head outside and make up a little for my missed Thursday workout. Instead, I started out by raking leaves for about 1:45, and while I was out there, for some reason I thought I'd see if I could fire up my old Trek road bike which hasn't been ridden since 2006, which is when I got LGL. So I took that bike down from the hooks in the garage, pumped the tires and lo and behold they held air, waited a few minutes, wiped down the frame, lubed it up and got ready to ride.

I thought I'd ride for 2:30-3:00, but ended up around 3:20, maybe 56 miles, but who knows since I had no computer. And I bonked nicely, recalling I hadn't really eaten enough carbs on Friday night. I am still getting used to fueling myself for these really long swims--I know to eat well the night before, but need to get used to eating more the day of, too. Finished up the ride and was plenty tired and bonky, but slammed down some leftover Halloween candy (Juicy Fruits) and guzzled some Gatorade and took off for 1/2 hour run. Oh boy, I felt like I was running through mud, but really didn't do all that bad and did my :30.

Needless to say, I ate a lot yesterday, or so I thought, but in retrospect should have had more. When I woke up this morning, it felt like I had a hangover, but I couldn't have (2 beers), so figured it was just the shock of 4 hours of working out (more like 6 if you count raking leaves). Still, I wanted to go for a 1:30 run today, so luckily I had defizzed a can of Coke for the run, and decided I better slam one down before I started, too.

I went to Waterfall Glen and felt like I was really struggling. So much so that I thought of just bagging the run, but then I thought, hey what if I feel like this in Ultraman am I going to suck it up or what? So I kept going, and was even managing a decent pace, although I stopped every 1/2 mile or so just to stop and stretch and continued on. I managed to get in 10 miles, and I had packed a swim bag, but on the way home I was thinking food seemed like a better idea than a recovery swim. But I went to the Y anyway, and even though I took my sweet time on deck, once I got in and started swimming, it felt great, so I got in 1200 yards, showered and hit the sauna, and went home to have lunch.

I spent the rest of the day just relaxing, and now I've got dinner going (roast chicken w/garlic, lemon and rosemary, cranberry sauce which is done, and steamed asparagus once the chicken is just about ready), and have things ready to go for tomorrow's AM core workout and swim.

The Midwest Indoor Triathlon Series has been announced with official dates. There are only 3 races next year, and the first one is 2 weeks after Goofy Challenge, so unfortunately, I won't be doing that one, but I'll do the other two. It's sad that there are only 3 races, but for me, I guess it's a good thing because on the week of those things I just about thrash myself training, and next year's schedule is worse than ever.

At least once a week, I get to thinking about what I am trying to do in training for Ultraman, and I have this huge sense of fear. Which, I think, is healthy. I look at my training plan and wonder how I will get it all done, but then I put myself back in the moment of today, of now, and enjoy the fact that I still have some time on my hands on the weekend where I can enjoy cooking, reading and spending time with family and friends. When I am training, I have a smile on my face, and I know it because I get a lot of people smiling back at me. As long as that keeps up, I will maintain my motivation!

Taper Kicking in Nicely

After last week's pile of running (after already having decided I would only do a two-week taper, since I only had 8 weeks between ROTPM and North Face), I made sure I checked an actual training program for a 50-miler to make sure I did an adequate taper.

Originally, I had myself doing a 2-hour long run this week, but instead that got chopped into (2) 1-hour runs, which was fine by me.

On Monday, I was predictably fatigued, and opted to let myself sleep in, and then I swam around noon, and it felt good to do it. On both Saturday and Sunday prior, I had wanted to do recovery swims, but was more interested in food, stretching and resting than another workout, so the Monday swim was nice.

I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to run on Monday, and it was funny when I went back and looked at some ultra training plans that called for not running the day before and day after these long runs, but of course, I am used to that, but in this case, I knew my legs could use the rest. I have run the day before and the day after every other long run I've done for this segment of my training.

But even though I wasn't going to run Monday, I felt like getting in some strength training, so I did that and it felt good, too, especially since I tapered it down to one set of 15 reps, which is pretty damn easy.

Tuesday called for a :30 run and 1:30 bike, so I decided to get the run done in the morning, and my legs felt pretty peppy, although sidewalk and asphalt feels like crap after the nice, soft trail runs over the weekend. When I got on the bike, I felt like going hard, and so I did.

Wednesday morning was another swim, and then around noon it was time to go run for an hour. Even before I got started, I could tell my legs weren't too interested in running, and I ended up having one of the crappiest runs I've had in a really long time. Part of it was because I think the hard ride on Tuesday wasn't exactly good for recovering from the previous week, but also on Tuesday night I had dinner with my niece and some of her friends (they call me "Auntie" which I think is so cute), indulged in things I wouldn't normally eat, and my stomach was just a mess while I was running on Wednesday. Oh well, one crappy run does not a race make or break, and I knew I wouldn't start feeling tapered until maybe Saturday, so on with the show.

On Thursday I was going to do another 1:30 ride, but I could tell my legs weren't feeling like doing it. Still, I got on the trainer, and 1 minute later, I decided that nope, this ride was not happening, it wasn't necessary, and in the big scheme of things, might even hurt me. So I rested the legs and felt better for doing so.

Friday morning I had a 5,000 yard swim planned, and when I woke up, I felt good and rested for it, and ended up swimming 5300 yards just so I could make it an even 3 miles! Afterwards, I felt no more tired than I used to feel after maybe 3,000 yards, so I have declared 5,000 yards to be the new 3,000 yards! Which is a good thing, because between now and Ultraman Canada, I will only have 5 more Friday long swims which are shorter than that!

All I had to do Friday afternoon was another :30 run, and although I took the first mile out easy, I picked things up and ran around 5K pace for the remainder, and man that was fun! I found it entertaining right after I finished that I had swam and ran about the same distance, and I thought ahead to coming Fridays when the swim and run will be the same distance. It feels somehow Zen to me...

Yesterday I let myself sleep in since I only needed to run for an hour, but I did need to run with a hydration belt as I will do in the race. I bought a new one at REI, but decided I'd go with the double bottle Fuel Belt that I already had. I filled both bottles even though I didn't need hardly any of the fluid at all for just an hour just to get used to the weight on me.

Boy am I glad I am a few pounds lighter than last year! When I first started running (at Waterfall Glen), I was like, ick, it sucks to weigh this much, but then I got used to it and was fine. Thing is, my waist is so small that I have the straps tightened as much as possible and I still have the Velcro part overlapping way more than it's supposed to, but at least it stays on. I did my run 5'/walk 1' thing, and didn't feel particularly peppy yesterday, but I still enjoyed the hell out of a 1 hour run that went by so quickly.

Just as I was about to leave, I spotted someone getting out of their car, and I recognized a friend, Chad, from behind, called out his name, and chatted with him and his wife for a few minutes. I told them about what I'd been doing and my training, and they both assured me that what I've done plus my background I should be fine for 50 miles. But still, this is something I've never done before and I am sure it will be new territory for me. But hearing a few ultra distance athletes that I highly respect telling me I'm good to go felt good.

Even though I only ran an hour, I felt suitably tired, which is pretty normal for a taper for me. Still, it was nice to have pretty much most of the day to get some chores done, and then I needed to get to sleep early so I could run this morning in the dark.

Why? Because I had to try running with the headlamp on (North Face 50 starts at 6AM in the dark and you are required to use a headlamp). I bought the thing weeks ago but hadn't used it, so today was the day. It was about 30 degrees this morning, but no wind, so actually quite pleasant. I woke up before the alarm went off just before 5AM, drank 2 cups of coffee and ate a Powerbar, loaded up the Fuel Belt bottles again so I'd have all the weight on me, strapped on the lamp, and got going just after 6AM.

Right away I noticed how interesting my breath looked in the cold air under the light of the headlamp, but other than that, it wasn't a big deal. Although with all the light pollution where I live, it wasn't exactly pitch black. Still, I had to watch where I was going, using the light coming from my head. The weight of the thing didn't bother me, but once again I thought thank God I am so light because of all the extra weight I have strapped to my body!

I didn't feel like run/walk this morning, so I just ran nice and easy, but negative split and enjoyed the run, and now I feel like the taper is really kicking in. I never did drink anything I had carried with me, and as soon as I got home I fixed myself another cup of coffee. Hot coffee after a cold run is the best!

Tomorrow I will only swim 3000 yards as my long swim (ha ha like 3000 is long), a short run, nothing on Tuesday, a shorter swim and run Wednesday, and that's all she wrote. I am just hoping it doesn't rain on race day, but if it's in the 30's when we start, no problem.

Fill in the blank: The thing that helps me recover the most is _______________.




The correct answer is SLEEP! I have been sleeping like a champ since June, and my training and racing has reflected it. In registering for Ultraman, I know that it is critical that I get as much sleep as I possibly can, even if that means I have less of "a life" than I did before. So this coming week I will continue to get 8.5-10 hours a night, knowing that the night before North Face I may not sleep too much, but that's OK.

I am oddly calm about all of this, but I remember feeling the same way before IMLP this year. I think that's a good thing.

Reverse Goofy Challenge Weekend

Goofy Challenge has the half marathon Saturday and full marathon on Sunday. This weekend, I ran just over 19 miles on Saturday and 13.75 miles today. Not a lot for an ultrarunner, but plenty for someone like me who is a triathlete first.

My run training has been going pretty well, and I've been getting the hours in that I had hoped for. This week, I wanted to shoot for 8 hours of running, including back to back long runs of 3 and 2 hours. I've never done that before, even in the past when training for Goofy Challenge, but I figured what the hell, all I can do is try.

Part of me thought I should do the shorter run Saturday because I know for sure I could run the day after a 2-hour run--I do that all the time in training. But running 3 hours the next day? I though it was more important that I got the 3 hour run in for sure, and then if I needed to cut back the 2 hour run, so be it.

On Friday morning, something in my furnace went kaput. It sounded like a motor about to die, so I had to shut off the heat until I could get a repair man in on Saturday. I went to the Y and swam 5,000 yards (including 2800 yards of hard intervals) in the morning, bundled up a little extra, worked, got in a 1-hour run on the treadmill mid-day, got a massage, worked some more, took a really hot shower and got to bed early, thinking I may as well get running as early as possible since my house would be cold.

Saturday morning I awoke to about 32 degrees outside and about 60 inside, but who cares, I am just going outside to run in colder temperatures! I'd slept in, but managed to get on the trail at Waterfall Glen just after 8:30. My goal was to get in 18 miles, but 17 would have been fine. I would do the run 5'/walk 1' plan as I'd done during last week's 18-miler. I had defizzed Coke with me in some bottles I'd received as a gift from a friend in Wisconsin that is in the Headhunters triathlon club. I needed to try running with a bigger bottle like I will do in the 50-miler.

I wore my good fleece-lined Pearl Izumi tights, a regular bra top, one of my long-sleeved technical Goofy shirts, my IMLP 2007 finisher windbreaker, my PI sushi hat and a pair of light gloves. Initially, I thought I'd run 9 miles, refuel and then head out for another 9 miles, but about 3 miles in I though I could go 12 miles on what I had with me, and then I'd only need to do 6 more which would be easier mentally.

I saw a lot of runners in there, and many of them were wearing shorts. All I could think is either I am a wimp or they are running short and fast. I was quite comfortable in all my outerwear, and never felt overheated. I kept to my run/walk plan except that if I was headed downhill and it was time to walk, fuck that, I just ran. No sense EVER in walking downhill!

When I was about 3 1/4 miles from finishing my first loop, a guy ran by me and waved, and I looked at his running stride and recognized him from the Y and called out his name! I thought it was so funny that I knew who he was by his stride, even though he was just as bundled up as me (which made me think we were the smart ones). Mike and I ran a few steps together, but then I told him to go on ahead since I needed to take my walking break and really wanted to stick to it. I am sure I will see him a lot this winter at the Y. He's really fast, has BQ'ed a few times, and is a really nice man, and it seems that whenever we talk, we are all smiles and laughs. It was nice to run into him!

Either I was tired from my accumulated training load or because of the cold or whatever, but I did the first 12+ miles at just over 9:35/mile, but I was happy because I was still well under 10mpm pace. I stretched a little bit, grabbed another bottle of Coke and headed out.

Mentally, I always want to slow down when I go out for another loop. I was OK with that plan yesterday, since I knew I had to run today as well. Since I'd gone about 12.6 miles on the first loop, now I had it in my head to get in 19 miles--may as well go for a nice, round number! When I got to mile 3, I was running even 10's, so I just ran 2 more minutes out which would give me 6.4 miles, so I should get my 19 in.

Even though I'd slowed down a bit on the second loop, I actually felt pretty strong and I am pretty sure I was smiling a lot. I was thinking about the training I was doing, that this has been the most concentrated running I've ever done, and that I'm feeling pretty good doing it! I was amazed that the run didn't suck at all, and that I really wasn't running that slowly for this distance for me. I was even starting to think I might be able to finish the 50-miler, but I had to recover from this run and get out on Sunday.

When I got home, there was a snafu with the furnace repair guy. My doorbell wasn't working since I'd killed the circuit breaker for the furnace that also controls the doorbell. But the guy didn't knock, either, and my car was in the driveway! So I had to call the place and let them know I was here, and the guy got here about 2 hours later than planned and had everything fixed pretty quickly. It was the blower motor which had died. I should get a whole new furnace, but at least now I have some time to think about it (and find the money!).

I stretched, and was pretty much glued to the computer watching Ironman Hawaii the rest of the day, but I could only managed to stay awake to watch Crowie win it. I was exhausted, and ended up sleeping almost 11 hours. I guess almost a marathon will do that to me!

When I got up today, I felt really well rested, and about the only sore thing was my calves for a few minutes. After I was awake for about an hour, though, I started to feel like I'd done something major the day before. But I didn't feel bad, and figured what else am I going to do except run? And I only needed to do 2 hours, so I figured I could get in 12 miles.

It was cold again this morning, even colder than yesterday, and I took my time, reading part of the newspaper, and doing some housecleaning. I figured today I would drink Coke before I started and then just use Gatorade, which will enable me to sleep well tonight.

Today I wore my other pair of thermal tights, a bra top, another Goofy technical shirt, a pink Nike running jacket, a Lake Placid beanie and gloves. I decided I'd head to Greene Valle and run the flat loop which is about 7 miles, and then run up and down the hill 2 or 3 times, depending on how I felt.

The flat part went well, and I held a 9:26 pace doing the run/walk thing, and I felt just fine, not cold, not hot. Once again, I saw a few runners in shorts and thought no way I'd be doing that.

Next, I drank some more Gatorade and headed out for my first hill repeat. I really wondered how this would feel, and surprised myself making it up the first time in 10:06. I was sort of shocked, especially since I'd let myself walk about a minute and change somewhere in there, but I figured, hey, all good, and then ran down in 8:08. Great! I assessed myself, took another swig of Gatorade and headed up the second time. I made it up in 9:55 and down in 7:57, so faster than the first time! I was enjoying the hell out of this, I don't know why--probably just because I was feeling so good considering I'd run 19 yesterday. The third time, I made it up in 9:54 and down in 7:52, and I know I was smiling the entire way down because it felt so good. I finished today feeling like I could have run more, but that's good, right?

So I ran about 33 miles this weekend (6 shy of Goofy, oh well), and did the longer run first, and ran well the second day, so that makes me feel really good. I got in 53 miles of running this week, and now I get to taper for a few weeks. I need to check around for some training plans to see what I should really do next weekend. I was going to just do a 2-hour run, but now I think I should do a 2 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. We will see! Whichever I choose, I know it will feel easy!

I actually feel pretty good right now, and the proof will be whether I can run tomorrow. Well, I'm pretty sure I can, but I might push it off until Tuesday. I do look forward to swimming in the morning since it will help flush some of this out of my legs.

I commented to someone on Facebook that I was starting to think I might be getting the hang of this ultra thing. I sort of wish I had another 4 or 5 weeks of mostly run focus, but this period I am sure will serve to toughen me up for the coming months. And oh, by the way, Goofy Challenge will seem fairly easy! How fun to go into an event having done most or all of the full distance in training! But I guess that is sort of my MO, huh? Although I've only done close to Ultraman over 4 days instead of 3. But it's stuff like this that convinces your brain that you can do it. And I know that once my head is on board, my body usually obliges.

So to Lee and some others who tell me periodically to do something I've never done before, well, I am doing that all over the place! Some days, like today, I really wonder just what all I can do. And that is a wonderful feeling!

Revenge of the PirateMan (ROTPM) Day 4 Race Report and Overall Summary

As you might expect, this is a long report, so go grab some beverages!

Full set of pics here.

Let’s back up to Friday night.

It was like preparing for an Ironman, only worse, since I was completely supporting myself. I prepared a swim bag, bike bag and run bag and I put extra clothing in the swim and bike bags to account for various conditions. I lined up all my bottles in the fridge and made a list of what would go in the cooler for biking and then for running so I wouldn’t forget anything.

I made 2 sandwiches in case I wanted them for the bike or the run, and I peeled 2 hardboiled eggs, anticipating eating 1 before biking and 1 during or after. I loaded the coffee pot and set the alarm for 4:30. After all this was done, I got to preparing Bitch. I did it in my house since it was cool outside and I just didn’t want to deal with that.

I lubed her up, put on the race wheels, strapped on a spare tubular, and was good to go. I think I finished up all my preparations by about 8:30, took a couple of Advil PM and got into bed to try and sleep.

I laid there for about ½ hour just thinking about what I had been doing and how I felt. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening, that I’d planned to do this and then got into Ultraman Canada, that I’d had an Ironman PR only 5 weeks ago, that I had been biking and running well so far, and that despite thinking I was sick, I wasn’t. I had a little soreness in my legs, but not bad, having had a great massage 5 hours prior. But I fell asleep shortly after 9, I think, and slept really well, waking only a few times to pee and drink some water.

Race Morning

When the alarm went off, I did hit the snooze, and I rolled over on my belly and said “arrrrrrgggggh” kind of quietly into the pillow. It made me laugh! And then I realized no snoozing today, I have lots to do, so I got up and thought, “Here we go!”

Coffee was ready and so I fixed a cup and grabbed a Powerbar and took 400 calories worth of Ultrafuel out of the fridge. My goal was to leave for the pool at 5:40AM, but between loading the cooler, then putting everything into my car and moving rather slowly, it all took much longer than I thought, and besides, I had to get all those calories down. I remained relaxed about it yet focused, since it was going to be a long day.

I think I got on the road just after 6, but on a Saturday morning, there is no traffic to speak of that early, so I made it to Good Sam in a flash. As I got out of my car, all I could think was, “This is going to be kind of epic.” The woman at the front desk couldn’t deal with my prepaid receipt for 7 swims, and she just waved me in, so I guess I swam for free yesterday! I got my shit together and snapped a few pics, and then headed into the pool.

The Swim

I was surprised that there were a few other lap swimmers, but still I had a lane all to myself. As I sat with my feet dangling in the water, I wondered how this was going to feel, and I looked at the clock and saw I was starting at 6:23AM, so only 3 minutes earlier than Friday! Goes to show you all that moving crap around takes longer than you think!

I got in and started to swim and thought that once again, the water felt nice and it was relaxing. I decided to just swim easy, easy, easy (which is just a little slower than my normal pace!), since today was all about energy management. Whereas during the 3 days prior I was thinking about a lot of things while I was swimming, today I was just swimming. It was like I was in a zone, and I realized that all I needed to do today was keep going, and so I did. There were a number of times that I felt like puking, since I’d pounded down almost 650 calories under 2 hours before, but this is what I put up with in order to let myself sleep longer. I just hadn’t felt like waking up at 3:30 or 4:00 just so I could get my calories down 2+ hours prior to starting. I thought this was good practice for Ultraman, too, since I will probably be in the same boat and trying to sleep as much as I can. It’s worse, though, when I’m wearing a wetsuit and have stuffed myself full, so note to self—2 hours before starting is a good idea, or maybe I’ll do the old wake up at 2AM and eat and try and go back to sleep.

T1

2500 yards later, and I thought to myself, “Huh—done swimming for the week!” And I thought what the heck, go into the hot tub for maybe 5 minutes to warm myself up, since it was cool outside (maybe 60 is all), and it’s easy for me to become hypothermic. The hot tub felt great, and the shower felt great, and I once again dried my hair thoroughly, and took my sweet time putting on my bike clothes.

Back in the car for the drive to Fermilab. Good Sam is just off the Interstate that I take to get there, so the drive was really quick. I ate an egg on the way there, which tasted good, but my stomach was still full so not sure that was a great idea. Oh well, I’d burn through this all eventually, right? When I got to my usual parking spot at the East Gate, there was a gentleman pruning trees and shrubs, and also they had placed a porta-potty right there! I grinned and inside my head I was thinking, “Hey, I get my own private bathroom today!”

I got Bitchie out of the car and loaded the bottles and had my bike shoes on when I turned around and saw one of the resident coyotes in the prairie just in front of me! I stared at him/her, who stared right back at me, and I thought this was some sort of good omen for me to have a good ride.

I put on the aerohelmet and sunglasses, asked the nice man to snap a few pics of me, and he said he’d do as many as I wanted, and I told him if he was there after 25 miles maybe I’d ask him!

The Bike

The winds were predicted to be NNW or WNW, I forget, but as soon as I headed west, I could feel them. I go west maybe a mile and then turn north, and oh boy, the north wind was brutal, and I’m looking at my speed and I’m maybe going 15. I thought, crap, I am going to suck today, but just kept going easy and right away I noticed my legs were telling me this was going to be hard.

As I made my way around and into the west winds again, I just hunkered down aero and was seeing better speed numbers, so maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. I didn’t start in on the Infinit for at least 30 minutes, since I was still sort of full from breakfast plus an egg, but then I got down to my nutrition business.

When I got to the Pine Road area which is slightly wind sheltered, I decided I would do 2-mile loops there so I’d hit 40 miles on my first “lap” around the lab. A little less than 1 mile was right into the prevailing west winds, and then a little more was with mostly tailwind, so on average, I guess it wasn’t too bad!

I don’t remember how many laps of Pine Road I did on that first go around, but eventually I decided I should go and try out riding on the Big Ring. When I got in there, the winds were just swirling all over the place, and I decided I would just go around once and that would be it for the day. I did remember that it was time for me to leave some of Dad’s ashes in Fermilab, and the Big Ring seemed as good a place as any!

When all was said and done and I got back to my car, I was at 43 miles for my first time around. The man pruning trees and shrubs was still there, but I didn’t want to dally too much, so I let him work, and I ate half of a sandwich, only because I had a taste for real food. I wasn’t drinking as much as I’d planned because of the cool temperatures, having learned my lesson from IMLP 2007 and also from Rockman this year. I was grateful for my personal bathroom and made use of it before heading back out.

I’d been wearing a windbreaker, and hoped it would warm up enough to remove it, but that was not happening today. I saw a number of other riders also pretty bundled up, and I think when we signaled one another we were both probably thinking we were pretty tough to be out in that today.

Starting my second lap, I figured I had enough on board fluids and nutrition to stay out for the remaining 50 miles. When I was at about 48, the Ergomo started going into sleep mode, and good thing I noticed, because I was adamant about meeting my mileage objective! I got to 50 miles messing with it, and since I knew it was almost exactly 2 miles for the Pine Road out and back, I decided I would just do 20 repeats of that, and then it’s about 3 miles back to the car from there.

I would say that about at mile 60, I was wanting to quit and just bag it. Every time I would head straight into the wind, I’d hate it. And I was all by myself and I hadn’t seen the sun all day (and really not much the 3 days prior, either), and here I am doing 2-mile loops over and over again. And I thought, hey, this isn’t a race, either, and I can cheat if I want. But I squelched those thoughts because if I don’t finish this, I won’t know what it’s like to do ultra-distance, will I?

And then I just relaxed and kept going. I kept going by a security guard near Ledermann Center, and many times he would wave at me or give me a thumbs up, and many times I would wave at him or give him a thumbs up. I usually tried to smile, because in reality he was my one spectator! I’d decided that on my last loop (90 miles), I would stop and say hello, because I felt I owed it to him.

I was so happy to be on that last loop, and I pulled over to the gate to chat for a bit. I asked if he’d been there the entire time, and he said yes, how he’d been watching me go around and around, and he asked how many miles today (since he’d no doubt seen me there other times). I told him, and he said he was impressed, and I just said I really like riding! I also asked him to tell Lt. Fry that I said hello (the man who said I could use his name whenever I wanted to ride on the Big Ring), and that I probably wouldn’t be back until next year! I said goodbye, and took off for home.

I got a little sad knowing that I might not be back here until next year. I love Fermilab, not just to ride, but it is beautiful in there and it’s just a great cycling haven. I know I put in hundreds of miles in there, and I’m sure next year will be even more! Since I had a tailwind going back to my car, I got all amped and just hammered, passing a number of recreational cyclists.

T2

The guard at the East Gate signaled to me when I arrived, and after I put the bike, helmet and shoes away, I went over so he could snap a few pics of me and we chatted. He said I was his hero, and I said, “No, I just do this because I enjoy it.” And even though there were moments when I didn’t enjoy it, all in all, I was pleased.

I got out the other egg and half of a sandwich to eat on my way back home. I was pretty happy that I rode faster than I predicted—16.9 mph average as opposed to 16mph predicted—not bad considering the winds! Here is what the winds looked like—I was riding between 8:15 and 2:15:

No wonder I was wigging out around 60 miles because that's when the winds were at their peak!

At a stoplight on my way back, someone in a car next to me was waving their hands at me, so I rolled down the passenger window and asked him if I could help. He said he saw the 140.6 sticker on my car and had seen them on other cars and wanted to know what it meant. So I nonchalantly said that it is the Ironman triathlon distance, and then I said, “Oh by the way, I’m doing one right now!” And he thanked me for the explanation and said, “You’re an inspiration!” I wonder what sort of sticker I should put on my car now?

When I got home, I unloaded the bike, my bike bag, the cooler and got my run clothes out of the bag in my car. I’d decided somewhere along the way that I should put on tights to run, and I didn’t want to wear the pair that was in my bag since they were rather light and not too compressive. I knew that my legs would appreciate a little compression at this point!

I put the chicken broth on the stove to warm, retrieved my thermos, put on my running clothes, put the bike away, restocked the cooler, loaded the Thermos, and drove to Waterfall Glen, drinking a Coke on the way.

There was an open house in Argonne today, so a little traffic getting in there, and boy was I antsy to get going! I was ahead of schedule, which if I played my cards right, meant I might be finished running by 8PM!

I got a great parking spot and asked a guy nearby to snap a pic of me and then I snapped one of him and his entire family, and I hit the trail.

The Run

I didn’t feel like I was moving hardly at all, and I really didn’t care what my pace was, but I hit the first mile in just over 10 minutes. I was like what the fuck, I can’t believe I can even run at all by this point! But run I did, and first I completed an 8 mile out and back, averaging about 10mpm.

I swigged some more Coke, grabbed another small bottle of Gatorade and headed back out. I was starting to slow down, but I expected that, and my legs were starting to hurt. They didn’t hurt as bad as at IMLP only because I was running on a softer surface, but I could feel aches and pains cropping up pretty much everywhere—my glutes, hips, quads, calves. But it’s not like I didn’t expect it!

I was toying with how much I wanted to do in my second loop and finally I settled on doing a 9 mile out and back. That way, I’d have only 4 miles left, and I’d either get them in there or head back home and do it from home. In retrospect, I should have shortened this loop because I really wasn’t drinking enough, and I may have been low on calories, but it was hard to tell. All I can say is that when I was 14 miles total in, I was a little weirded out in my head. Part of me thought maybe I should have had someone along with me running, and the other part of me thought, hey, I am in uncharted territory here for me—I guess this is what happens!

And I’m pretty sure it was just all mental stuff and also my body reacting to what I had been up to, but amazingly enough I was still running, albeit now only about an 11mpm pace. I actually had predicted 12-13mpm at this point, so in that respect, I guess I was doing OK! It was more that I just had this overwhelming urge to stop, but it was good that I was by myself and on a trail, because I had no choice but to finish out at least 17 miles!

I soldiered on, and since the sun was low and I was in the woods, the deer started coming out, and that made me smile since I’d never run there in the evening, and yet there were still people out on mountain bikes and walking dogs and such. While it was pretty cool out, it was absolutely beautiful, and sun was occasionally peeking through the clearest blue sky. I got choked up a few times, too, which I suppose was part of the whole doing something I’d never done before. I remembered to leave the rest of the bag of Dad’s ashes I’d had with me along the trail, and thought how nice that he’d been able to be with me in so many big events!

I wish I could describe all of what was going on in my head, but I suppose that's something you would only understand if you put yourself through this. It's a combination of stuff hurts, but it doesn't. I hate myself, but I love myself. I want to feel pride, but I don't. I want everyone I know to know what I'm doing, but I really don't care since I know they wouldn't understand. I'm not entirely sure why I keep doing this stuff, but something draws me to it. I want to know what's inside my head, and I guess I am finding out, and by all accounts I should be laying on the ground unable to move by this point, but I'm not. In the past, I've broken my body down to the point of injury doing far less than I've done this year, and yet here I am running 21 miles, for fuck's sake 52 in only 4 days--I'd run 56 in a week when I did Goofy Challenge in 2007--which I'd forgotten about, but remembering that I know how I'm able to do this today. I want to stop, but if I stop I'm a total loser, and that is my biggest fear--believing I am a loser. Because some people think people who do ultras (ultra ANYTHING) are just big old losers who have no life. Maybe I don't have their life, but I have this one, and it seems to suit me well. I must be a little nuts to do these things, and I'm OK with that.

When I was nearly done with my second loop, I realized it was a little too cold in there for me to continue, and that I had better head home. Mentally, I really wanted to be done and thought it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t finish all 21 planned miles, so I just let that thought settle while I poured myself a cup of chicken broth.

Man that tasted SO good! On the short drive home, I realized that I would totally hate myself if I didn’t finish what I’d started, so I decided I’d just throw stuff into my house and head back out after some more chicken broth and a Twinkie.

I guess I was a little out of it by now because I decided I’d run up and down the hill from my house over and over until I was at 21 miles. It made perfect sense to me, but it was sort of a stupid thing to do because it meant I was climbing the hill actually 7 times since I needed to do 6 full repeats plus ½ of another. But you know what? I really had wanted to finish running up my own driveway, and now that I was out of the wind (or it had died down), and I put my windbreaker back on, I felt perfectly comfortable. And a bit silly. What possessed me to finish a 21 mile run like this? Pride, I guess.

And so I did, even though I took it really easy and was running around 12:30mpm. Now I was starting to feel happy and good and I thought that now I can finish my finisher’s shirt! I didn’t want to finish ironing on all the pirates until I was actually done, and at one point while I was in Waterfall Glen, that was the “one thing” that kept me going—that I wouldn’t be able to wear that shirt with honor unless I completed all 21 miles!

On my last trip down the hill, I decided to see if I could pick it up a little, and I did, and for a moment there, the pain left my legs. Isn’t it always like that? And I know that if anyone could have seen me in the dark (it was near 8:30), they would have seen my face light up like a beacon!

Totals for Day 4 and Overall Revenge of the PirateMan

Day 4:

Swim 2500 yds in 48:55 (1:57/100 yds)

Bike 93 miles in 5:30 (16.9mph)

Run 21 miles in 3:46.09 (10:46/mile)

Total Time: 10:05:04

Grand Totals

Swim 10000 yds in 3:10.15 (1:54/100 yds)

Bike 224.13 miles in 12:22.20 (18.1mph)

Run 52.5 miles in 8:37.46 (9:52/mile)

Total Time: 24:10.21

Total Miles: 282.31 SHOULD I GET A STICKER MADE FOR MY CAR WITH THIS ON IT???

I had predicted almost 28 hours for this, so I guess I did well! It's funny that in my training spreadsheet I have a chart that has swim distances in yards, meters, and laps/lengths based on pool lengths of 25 yards, 22.5 yards (there is some pool that I swam in at one time that was that length) 40 meters (some other pool that I swam in for a summer) and 50 meters, and I extended it all the way up to Ultraman (10,000 meters) a few years back. I guess I was thinking ahead!

T3

When I got back into my house, I pumped my fists, snapped a quick finisher photo, stripped off my sweaty, stinky clothes, weighed myself (109 on the nose—I guess I really had hydrated enough), decided I couldn’t stomach any more sports nutrition and cracked a beer, showered, finished my finisher’s shirt, and then heated up some pizza.

I was surprised that I was doing OK walking up and down stairs, and I know from having stayed in that 2-story house in Lake Placid twice, that it actually helps to keep those legs moving in that way for recovery.

Sunday

I passed out around 9:30PM last night. I was pretty tired, and while I knew I probably should have eaten more (I managed 3 slices of pizza and only 2 beers), I didn’t even have the energy to eat! I am surprised today that going up and down the stairs doesn’t feel bad at all. I am really happy that today I get to watch many friends online doing their own Ironman races (Canada and Louisville), and I hope they can all feel the good energy vibes that I am sending their way!

I feel really good that I was able to finish what I’d started this week. It has given me a confidence boost about Ultraman Canada, although that will be a different story since it’s do ALL the swimming, then ALL the biking, then ALL the running, and it’s only 3 days. I do plan on doing several training weekends just like that, but obviously not the full distances, just so my body knows how it feels to do it that way.

I am especially happy that this is the closest together that I have ever done 2 Ironmans—the last 2 years they were 8 weeks apart, and the first time I did a double in 2004 they were 7 weeks apart. I was a little worried about the 5 week spread 2 weeks ago, feeling like I’d nuked myself pretty good by averaging 200 miles per week on the bike 3 weeks in a row right after IMLP. I started feeling my piriformis acting up a bit, but after I started icing them after long runs I felt fine. I was worried about my running until I nailed a glorious 14 miles a few weeks ago.

While there are a few things I should try and accomplish today, the only requirement is to get my lawn mowed. I should have done it yesterday, but oh well, I was doing an Ironman, eh? I am going to really celebrate tonight with a dinner of lobster and steak and a bottle of champagne. I could care less if I wake up with a hangover tomorrow!

Now all I gotta do is be able to swim the 10k all at once, bike 260 miles over 2 days and run a double marathon! Ultraman Canada, here I come!!!

ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

I DID IT!!!

I faxed in my application for Ultraman Canada just about :45 ago, and I emailed a head shot (above--from transition the morning of IMLP) that they require as well. I didn't feel the same sense of "what the hell did I just do?" that can accompany pressing the SUBMIT button online for an Ironman race, but then again, I haven't had any problems doing that for many years now. Besides, this is just an application--I am sure that if I am accepted to race, then when I receive that news is when it will hit home with me.

Yesterday I had a good, short run, and my legs felt fine, but not super-peppy, which is fine--not like I'm expecting to bust out 5K pace or better yet. This morning I had the pleasure to run with a friend of mine, Peter, who is in town with his wife Salome, to visit Peter's parents (Peter grew up near me but now lives in Miami). We met up at Waterfall Glen, and it was an absolutely gorgeous morning--only about 60 and sunny. The place was jam-packed with runners training for the Chicago marathon and who knows what else. Peter and I ran about 9.75 miles and got to catch up on one another during that time. It felt good to run and talk, so we kept our pace pretty easy--around 9:25/mile. Below are some pics of us in various combinations after running (Salome went for a nice long walk while Peter and I ran):



We will be getting together later today for some cocktails!

When I got home, as a preventive measure, I iced the upper part of my hamstrings--really my glutes--since they have been a little on the, um, overused side, drank some Endurox while icing, then went and got my pre-ROTPM Brazilian wax (I still laugh everytime how Caryn thinks it hurts, and I am always like NOT!), then went and faxed my UMC application, came home and ate some lunch, and now I'm just deciding what I should be doing next.

I forget--last night I did my final (I hope) grocery shopping before ROTPM, and I decided I needed some treats, since it is going to be a calorie festival, right?

I also bought some lobster tails, wild sockeye salmon, scallops and crab cakes. The lady at the seafood counter said I must really like seafood, and I'm thinking, DUH, yeah. I plan on loading up on some Omega-3's next week before and during ROTPM. Depending on how tired/motivated I am at the end of each day, I might just go out for dinner, who knows? I may want pizza every night, or I may want sushi especially after the HIM.

I've got my finisher shirt designed, but I can't show it here since I won't finish assembling it until after I'm done! But it will be a daily work in progress, so I promise to put up pics as I march through each day and also distance and time totals.

It feels a little strange sitting here the weekend before I'll be doing something (double Ironman distance) I thought about maybe taking a full 7 days to do next year, but that somewhere along the way this year I came to the realization I could do it this year and in only 4 days, and one thing led to another and I've submitted an application for Ultraman Canada. Sometimes I marvel at how these things come together and other times I see these things as my destiny, but that I had to be ready and believe I could do them. I'm not yet convinced I can finish Ultraman Canada, but for right now I'll just be on pins and needles waiting to see if they let me in. If and when that happens, then I will be hell bent on doing every possible thing I can do to ensure I can cover that distance and make those cutoffs, and of course, I'll be looking for my support crew, because I already know that Ultraman is not a solo effort--sure, it will be me wrestling with the demons in my own head, but I do not want and could not stand for anyone along with me for the ride to tell me I look good or that I should give in. No--I want people by my side telling me that I am there to do what I said I'd do.

But next week--that is going to be about me battling my own demons on my own. And that will be the sort of party that I will happily attend! Tomorrow will be my last bike and run before ROTPM, and then it's 2 full days of rest and in I go! Or should I say down?

Feeling Stronger Every Day

Yesterday I had to squeeze too much into my day, so I only swam 2600 meters at the outdoor pool in the morning, although it was another glorious day, and I totally enjoyed them. I saw 2 meteors from the Perseid meteor shower right after I woke up and walked outside! I guess seeing them set the tone for a basically happy day.

I had several consecutive meetings at work, and so I couldn't run until about 1PM, and I should have known I was low on calories from Tuesday's series of staggered workouts, since I had a sugar craving. So I ate a handful of Swedish Fish (I'd eaten 6 or 7 figs earlier) and headed out to run. In retrospect I probably should have had a can of Coke as well.

As soon as I started, I didn't feel right. I had that bonky feeling of just nothing being there to power my legs. But it was such a nice day out, that I HTFU'ed and ran almost 5 miles anyway, even though it didn't feel too great. I loaded up on calories right after, got a much needed massage later in the afternoon, ate a solid dinner of pasta and lamb chops, and got to sleep right at 8PM.

This morning, my alarm went off, and I immediately got up and went outside to see if I could catch some meteors. Sadly, the moon was too bright, and I didn't see any, so I commenced drinking a cup of coffee and eating a Power Bar to get ready for my long run. My plan called for 1:40, but I was thinking even last week that I wanted to see if I could run 2 hours just because, well, I will be running A LOT in 2 weeks. I took 2 12-oz. bottles of defizzed Coke with me to Waterfall Glen, and was on the trail by 6:20.

I made myself pay attention to my breathing, knowing that if I'm "hardly breathing" that I am actually running a nice, easy pace. I wanted to be sure I didn't go out too fast, and besides, I didn't know how I'd feel after yesterday's bonk festival. I started out with a nice, high cadence, and my legs felt pretty darn good, and I did, in fact, run an easy pace for the first 2 miles.

I then tried to just keep things nice and easy, and since I'd drunk 2 big glasses of water right before I left, I didn't need to dip into my Coke for awhile. Originally, I thought I'd go out for maybe 4.5 miles and back, but after 3 miles were gone, I figured I could just run the full loop (9.65 miles) on the 12-oz. of Coke that I had with me. And it was feeling great. I had walked the first 2 hills on miles 1 and 2, but after that I ran every single hill, and they were feeling great, just great. The weather was nice and cool and not too humid, so a perfect day for running.

When I finished the loop, I stopped briefly at my car to get more Coke and leave my singlet which I had doffed at mile 8. Usually there's something mentally in me that makes me feel like UGH when I start a second loop, but today that feeling was not there at all. Since I'd finished the loop in 1:27, I thought I'd go out about 1.5 miles and back and that would be enough, but I was running faster now, so I decided to go out 2 miles and back, and when I got out to mile 2, man I really just wanted to keep going! It was just one of those days where I think I could have run 20 miles, but I didn't have time because I needed to be at work, and besides I knew that almost 14 miles would be enough on the day.

My legs still are not sore at all, and so I am going to do a little running tomorrow, too, even though it's not called for on my plan. That will make 5 days of running in a row, about 35 miles worth, which is a solid week before my run taper for ROTPM begins. But I am going to swim 5500 meters in the morning first! That should be interesting! It will be my longest swim ever, and it's supposed to be beautiful again tomorrow.

In one respect, I wish I'd been going to do Ironman Canada, because I think I would have a great race. But in another, heck, making it through ROTPM will be an achievement, too, so all good! My massage therapist said my muscles felt like I was just really peaking now, and that is how I feel...like IMLP was the warmup, but we shall see, as ROTPM begins TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY! I am excited about it and am feeling good about it now based on how this week has been going. I don't really need to swim 5500 meters tomorrow, but what the heck, I guess maybe I'm training for Ultraman already? I did exchange email with someone who coached a few finishers of this year's event, and asked him if I was an idiot to think I could do it, and he said he thought I was good to go! But I'm still not applying until after ROTPM.

I need to stay focused on one day at a time--do the training, stretch, eat properly, sleep and stay in a good mental place. I think this is about the best mental place I've been in for about 3 years--it feels to be a combination of my excited, exuberant self, but also that deeply thoughtful and quiet person that is just working towards yet another goal and trying to stay locked into integrity--which is being who I want to be.

This weekend I plan on riding 80 on Saturday and 100 on Sunday. After that, it's all taper, baby!

Good stuff, right?

Big Week!

I am just back home from spending the weekend in Verona, Wisconsin to do a race rehearsal on the IMWI course and some other stuff. Please note I am drinking a glass of Grumpy Troll Amnesia Baltic Porter as I write this, so I may pass out or need to stop for awhile and go take a nap. OMG it is SO good!

I am going to back up to Thursday. My training schedule called for a 2:00 run, but fuck that, it's 3 weeks out from IMLP and I did a little over 16 last week, so I decided to go for 17. Since for once I didn't have any meetings in the morning, I let myself sleep in until 5:30, finished a Power Bar Triple Threat and a couple of cups of coffee, loaded a small cooler with (3) 12-oz. bottles of defizzed Coke, and headed for Waterfall Glen, where I was on the trail running at 6:45AM. Even though I arrived there what I would consider late for a weekday morning, I got the very first parking spot closest to the trailhead:

I thought I'd take a picture of the trailhead, too, since I have spent many, many hours here!



I wasn't absolutely positive that I would do 17 miles, since allegedly I didn't need to, so armed with 1 bottle of Coke, I started out. Since it hadn't been too long since I'd had breakfast, I didn't think I'd need any Coke for awhile. Whenever I do these long runs, I usually split them into 2 out and backs, but how much I do for the first leg is always unknown, and I just play it by ear, thinking how long I can go on whatever I'm carrying. I didn't want to run down into the hole (to Mile 5 and a little beyond) because I'd have to run out, but I didn't drink anything before Mile 4, so I figured why the hell not, and I ran down in there, meaning I'd need to run uphill out, but so what! On Tuesday, I'd done a brick run on a street near home that I'd never run, and it was a good one because it includes a 1-mile fairly steep hill that I just charged up, so I wasn't having too much trouble with the Waterfall Glen hills today, although I typically walk the first 2 in the first 2 miles just because it's warmup time, right?

Still, I was pleased that I was running fairly well, even with running out of the hole, and got the first 11 miles done feeling pretty great. I had run about 8 1/4 miles the day before pretty much all at tempo pace, and this was the day after the hilly brick run, so I was like what the fuck, I guess I'm running well!

As I was out there on the first leg, I kept forgetting how to do basic math to figure out how many miles I'd need to run on the second leg, but after I finished 11 and stopped briefly at my car to get some more Coke, my brain kicked back in and realized I only needed to do 6 more.

Those last 6 miles I slowed down about 20 sec. per mile, but that was fine, I shouldn't have been running that fast in the first place! Still, overall, I ran a little faster than I think I can run an open marathon to qualify for Boston for the full 17, so I have to chalk it up as a good run.

Hmmm...3 solid hard fast runs in 3 days...what's next? I hadn't fit in my strength training, so sometime in the afternoon I decided to get on it even though my legs were pretty shot. Still, I got in :55, and I thought that was pretty good after a 17-mile run.

Friday called for a 3800m TT in the pool, and with some warmup and cooldown, it would make for a nice 3 mile swim. I wanted to swim outdoors, but got lazy again and slept in until 5:30AM, so I ended up driving to the Y to swim. I forgot how many yards an IM swim is so I just settled on 4400 yards, and I split it into 4x1100, alternating pull, and pull with paddles, so a real strength building swim, huh? I swam about even paced the full effort, even though my swimming sucks, but at least I felt like I have the necessary endurance to pull off a decent (1:15) IM swim, if you consider drafting. Still, the IMLP swim has way too many athletes, and I've seen my swim time go up the more people get added. I hate getting beat up. But who knows what will happen this year? Sometimes I think I'd just rather swim alone, because I know what I can do. Whatever, I digress. I did complete 3 miles of swimming.

I thought about running a little bit, but my legs were on the verge of not liking it, so I didn't. I packed for Wisconsin, and got on the road around 1:30, experienced some holiday traffic, but got there around 4PM, unloaded the car, chilled a little bit and then headed to The Grumpy Troll for dinner and to refill my 2 growlers that I had back from April when Jostein and I went up there to ride a few hours. I was going to fill one of them with Imperial Stout, but when my waitress told me it was $40 for it, I decided to get the other stout that I've had before, Spetsnaz Stout, and the second growler is the Amnesia Porter that I am still nursing. I had some spicy chicken/andouille sausage pasta thing and their usual good salad, and returned to home base, the Super 8 in Verona. Of course I didn't finish the entire dinner, and so brought a box back to the hotel, where I later basically ate the rest of the chicken, and had one more beer while watching highlights from past Tour de France's. Below is a pic of the two growlers I bought being iced, since we wouldn't want this good beer to spoil before I get home, now would we?


Alarm got set for 4:15AM as I was to meet a new friend, Ken, at Fireman's Park so we could ride the stick (the out and back section of the IMWI course) before meeting up with Ali to ride 2 loops. I slept rather fitfully, but still got in about 8 hours since I'd retired early, even though I awoke several times to fireworks booms.

I got to Fireman's Park with a few minutes to spare, and Ken was a few minutes late, but we headed out at about 6:15am. We rode to the Sheraton on John Nolen Drive, which is close enough to the beginning of the actual course, then turned around back for Fireman's Park. It was a cool, overcast day with 30-60% chance of rain depending on which source you consulted, so I'd worn a bike jersey and shorts and carried a rain jacket with me. We were fine for this part, and when we got back to the park, I called Ali, and he was 10-15 minutes out, so Ken and I decided to roll for a few more miles just to make sure we got in a full 112 on the day! So we rode out backwards on the loop for a few and back, Ali was just arriving with Deanna, whom I'd met a few times before but didn't recognize until she took off her sunglasses.

We all headed out on the loop, and we all knew Ali would take off ahead of us, which was fine. Deanna and Ken sandbagged that they were slow, but it turned out they and I were about the same pace, but we somehow managed not to draft one another much at all for the first 40-mile loop. I got ahead of them for a bit, but stopped at the Kwik Trip in Mount Horeb to pee, they both went by me, and then I caught Ken peeing by the side of the road at the intersection of J (or is it S?) and Witte Road. Ken got ahead of me for a bit, and then he launched some bottles on railroad tracks, and I went ahead, and then all 3 of us were pretty close the entire time.

We reloaded our bottles and headed out for loop 2. I had made (2) 3.5 hour bottles of Infinit, but we were 4 hours in and I hadn't finished the first bottle. That was OK since it was so cool out. I felt pretty good as on the first climb off of Paoli Road my legs didn't feel too bad at all, and this is always a marker for this course.

Somewhere before we got to Mount Horeb, I was ahead of Ken and Deanna and I didn't stop to pee at all, so I just kept going. As I was riding, I kept thinking, "hey this kinda sucks but not nearly as much as Horribly Hilly" and that kept me going. I was ignoring the power meter (which won't display speed right now, but who cares?) and just riding based on my breathing, so all was good. I never did take off my arm warmers, but unzipped the jersey a little as it did warm up a little bit.

When I got back to Fireman's Park, Ali was already running, and I had left my run stuff back at the hotel, so I needed to go back there. Deanna had cut a tire and so hadn't gotten very far into the second loop at all, and my car was packed up when Ken arrived back, and I told him I had to go back to the hotel, and thanks for the ride and all that.

I had only drunk 2.5 bottles of water and 1.5 bottles of Infinit for the entire ride, which seemed a little low to me, but oh well! My legs didn't feel all that bad, so I hurried up and got the bike back in the hotel and suited up to run. I knew it was actually warm out as I was pretty sweaty, and as soon as I headed out, I realized how humid it was, but still not too hot. I ran back to Fireman's Park in hopes of catching Ken, which I did, and he'd run 3 miles, but was headed home, and I continued on. I was supposed to run 6 miles, but I just decided on running about an hour whatever that would bring. On my way back to the hotel, I caught up with the Military Ridge Trail to run on which is nice crushed limestone.

I didn't know how fast or slow I was running until I got to a mile marker and then timed myself, and I was extremely please with how I was running! Plus, this was the best I can ever remember feeling running off of a 112-mile bike ride except maybe for a few IM races over the years. Still, this is not race day, so let's just get it done.

And I did. Here are a few pics from after I finished up the run:





I guess I'm a skinny little thing now, aren't I? When I was finished, I was famished, but I had to shower first and start in on my Endurox R4, which I did, and then since I was conveniently next to McDonald's, I just walked over there and got one of the new sandwiches I'd read about--the 1/3 lb. Angus Burger with mushrooms and swiss cheese, and small fries:

The burger was actually tasty from what I can remember since I think I inhaled it in like 2 minutes! I actually ate a bunch of fries on the walk back to the hotel and polished them off before I started in on the burger. And then I got to laying down to watch a replay of Stage 1 of the TDF wearing compression tights and laying down and generally moaning. My legs felt pretty well trashed, but I've felt worse, and I was pleased with the time it took me to cover the IMWI course and my brick run.

Finally, I motivated to stretch, and then I got in the hot tub:

for a little bit while watching some comedy on TV (I still haven't hooked up the converter box to my TV at home and hadn't watched any TV since June 12 or whatever that date was). The hot tub was blissful, and I polished off the last of 3 beers while in there before getting (or trying to get) to sleep early, as I was pretty tired.

I was pretty pleased with the 3 past days of training, having covered nearly full Ironman distance (OK so I was off on the running part by by 2.2 miles, fuck me, OK?) in 3 days (actually went over on the swim), and thought that can't be a bad thing, seeing as how I want to do double IM distance over 4 days. This made me think maybe I can do it, although I'll be doing it all brickie-brick style, which will be harder ;)

I slept fitfully, as there were more fireworks, my legs were throwing off all sorts of heat, and I'd had plenty of caffeine on the bike. Still, I think I managed about 8 hours of sleep, finally waking up around 6:30. I had thought about doing some more biking this morning, but knew I didn't need to, but I've had some significant training weekends this year where I've been able to do something the day after something where I'd normally take a day off, and it was a gorgeous day, so I thought, what the hell, what else am I doing, I'm here--may as well ride, right?

I went to the hotel lobby and fixed myself a waffle, which was just the thing I needed plus 2 cups of coffee, and before I could think too much about it, I had most everything in my car and was on my bike by about 8:10AM. I was going to wear bike shorts, but since it was so sunny, I decided on panties, and as soon as I started, realized what a good choice it was. It was so beautiful--I should have taken my camera with me the sky was so perfect, and all the crops so green--this is what I live for--to bike in an area like this with this kind of weather! I rode pretty well considering, and I think it was the right thing to do.

Here's my trusty Bitchie after this morning's ride. She did me proud this weekend, and I decided I still love her, even though I wouldn't mind another tri bike in my stable!


And here's me with Bitchie.


I wanted to keep riding, it was such a nice day, but alas, I need to start thinking about actually tapering for IMLP, so I'm going to review my past records to see what exactly I will do. I am in my run taper for sure, but I think I can knock out one more solid week of biking before I drop off.

I feel so great now, which means I am definitely peaking. I just want to keep training. Training is what I love. Training well is what I love. Training well in the company of other good athletes is what I love. It's all good. But I guess I'm signed up for this damn race, so I had better get my head in that game, right?

Hope everyone had as great a weekend as I did!

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD

Not that I'm religious--that's just an expression I use when I feel like my life is spinning out of control, or at least that I'm trying to control it.

I will hit 15,000 yards of swimming this week. In thinking about running, I looked at the total time and thought how the hell will I hit that??? But then I looked at the workouts (prescribed my evil fucking bitch of a coach), and I am supposed to run off the bike both Saturday and Sunday (4 and 3-hour bike rides, respectively). Oh, OK. Fuck me in the ass, I'll do it. This is how Triple T is going to be anyway.

So I'm swimming this morning and I swam a bit more than I needed to (which was NOT AT ALL!) and I'm thinking I should run more than 2 hours today--2:15 would be better. Hell, 2:30 would be even better, but I don't think I have time for that, so I'll go for 2:15. I'm heading to Waterfall Glen in the middle of the day, and it is awesome running weather so that will be all good.

We had some thunderstorms last night, and I was awoken at 10PM (I was asleep I think by 8:30?), but the strong stuff passed through pretty quickly, but still the broken sleep got to me a little.

Today sort of begins the countdown to Triple T in terms of all the shit I have to get done before leaving...organize my race nutrition, final grocery shopping for the cabin, baking, cleaning (I'm a girl, eh?), etc. And then assembling my pile of crap for racing. Remember, the rule for Triple T, just like for an Ironman is find all your triathlon crap--ALL OF IT--and put it into your car. You are going to maybe need pretty much anything, especially clothes. I have heard the water temperature is in the upper 50's again, and I am happy about that, but I learned from last year that I should start off the bike ride with more clothes. I am so fucking vain about tanning, though, that I'd rather shiver my ass off while biking.

And then there is this slight inconvenience called work. You know the drill, if you are in the business world--you need to work extra hard before you go away so that all hell isn't going to break loose when you get back or else it's useless to take a vacation in the first place!

Still, as hectic as things are getting for me right now, I am enjoying it because, well, this is one of the reasons that I train, right? But I will have a spot of sadness in attending the funeral of a close friend's Mom tomorrow. I am sure that will put a lot of things in perspective. I am a little frightened that I won't be able to hold my own emotions back for my friend, because this will bring up the past 3 years of my life which have consisted of death and its aftermath, and it's still not finished. But I will try and be strong for my friend, because he's got a long road ahead of him and I only hope that I can give him some comfort.

Tomorrow morning I am going to throw on my wetsuit for a nice, long swim in the fucking hot pool. Oh well! It will be good to see how that works. I am sure it won't be tight on me, but it may still feel that way putting it on before it's been properly soaked and absorbed some water.

Bear with me as my madness continues, but I know that this is the part where those 5 people who actually read my blog start to really enjoy things. Watch her go nuts! Maybe even the Tiki Hut will make an appearance in the next few days...you never know!

Namaste!

Recovering, Running, Tapering and Tanning

I knew it would be difficult to recover from Sunday's ride and execute this week's planned training. Monday was pretty rough, so I only swam 1800 yards, but I had a pretty good 7.5 mile run, choosing a course straight uphill into the wind on the way out. It's rollers all the way, and I ran on sidewalk most of the time. I was pretty trashed after that, and slept really well Monday night.

Tuesday morning I still felt trashed, knowing in my head that a normal person would have taken Monday as a rest day, or run maybe on a soft surface, but I'm not normal, so I didn't, and yet I headed to the pool and knocked out 3000 yards, albeit slowly, and decided I'd better run on trail if I wanted to have any legs left at the end of the day. So I headed to Waterfall Glen and decided I'd just do 8 miles out and back. It was yet another gorgeous day to run. Two in a row! I was stoked, and fucking tired.

It was Tuesday that I decided I would begin my taper for Triple T by cutting out all the extra pushups, chinups, crunches and jump rope. I just couldn't see doing all that in addition to a goal of 45 miles of running as part of a 19-20 hour training week. Plus my little stick arms were a bit sore from all the climbing on Sunday. It was hard for me to JUST SAY NO to the extra stuff, and this may be the end of it for the season since I'll start riding my bike to the outdoor pool right after Triple T, and I just don't have the time for 18+ hours of training, :30 of stretching daily, a massage once a week and biking to/from the pool 3 times a week. Oh and manage to feed myself, wash dishes, bottles and laundry, get my yard in shape and keep it maintained, keep up friendships and throw in a few races!

I slept really well again Tuesday night (are we seeing a pattern here?), but still felt like I wasn't fully recovered from Sunday. Ya fucking think??? I was intentionally shelling myself knowing that hey, I've felt way worse in an Ironman or during Triple T's Sunday race or well, just in general--I mean nothing feels as bad as grief or being treated poorly by someone who is or who you thought was close to you.

Wednesday morning I knocked out 3300 yards in the pool, and I was actually swimming at a decent pace, so I could tell I was starting to be recovered (in the bizarre way that I define recovery) from Sunday. But I still needed a can of Ultra Violence to perk me up a bit for my run, and I decided I needed to run flat-ish, so I just headed west from home and ran along a route that I sometimes bike on, so the run served dual duty as reconnaissance. Still, it wasn't completely flat, as that just doesn't exist where I live, and I actually felt hot. I also fucked up a split on my watch (because I had stopped to piss or something), and tried to remember how long ago I had started up again but couldn't figure it out, so I just decided to keep going to some "logical" turn point which happened to be 4.3 miles out, and I turned around and made it back home feeling ultra fucking tired, but I had time to get into the bath tub (for the first time ever in the new bathroom!) and soak my legs in some cold water. I showered, dried off, put on my compression tights and actually thought I might feel ok the next day. I did stretch more in the evening (I've been stretching a little in the sauna after each swim), and thought I was starting to feel human again.

Today I woke up, again after sleeping really deeply and well, and did a short swim of 1900 yards just so I'd hit 10,000 for the week (I may still swim Sat. or Sun. not sure yet). I felt hungry while I was swimming, so I know my metabolism is all jacked up. Running a lot will do that to me. Luckily, my buddy the lifeguard, Vladko (who is the Masters coach), offered me half of a Clif Bar Nectar in a new flavor I hadn't tried--Cherry Pomegranate. It was tasty (I'm going to order a couple of boxes for snacks), and I washed it down with the rest of the coffee I had brought to the pool with me (you know I'm training hard when I forego Gatorade and just go with coffee or Ultra Violence while I swim), headed to the showers where I shaved down and then got in the sauna and stretched a little bit.

I hadn't planned on tapering down my strength training until next week, but since I'm not really tapering swim/bike/run until the week of Triple T, I figured what the hell let's start a strength taper this week. And I felt good enough after swimming this morning (since it was short) that I could knock out some of my weekly strength workout before heading out to run again.

I could tell while lifting that I am really pushing my own envelope. My muscles are pretty gnarly right now, but hey, I'm getting a great tan with all the sunshine while I'm running, so who the fuck cares??? I knocked out :41 of non-stop strength training, and now I'm getting ready to head to Waterfall Glen to knock out another 8 miles of running. As of this minute, I feel pretty good, but I'm trying to decide whether a Coke will do the trick or I need the Ultra Violence again. I'm thinking Ultra Violence since it feels like my tapeworm has taken up residence again and I could use the extra 30 calories and caffeine over Coke. I feel like I'm eating non-stop pretty much from when I wake up until I fall asleep, and yet waking up hungry and feeling hungry even while I'm eating!

I FUCKING LOVE THIS STUFF!!!!