Ironman Brazil 2006 Race Report, or You Can’t Always Get What You Want (but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need)

I was trained up to the max for this race. My hope was for a sub-13, maybe even 12:30. Things had gone as well as I could have hoped for all along, save for the death of my mom. In a way, I was bemused that my body hadn’t broken down very much along the way, which, in retrospect, may have been a foreshadowing.

It’s a long way to Florianapolis, Brazil (south of Sao Paulo) from Chicago. I tried getting the distance from Google Maps, but it can’t give me driving directions. I didn’t plan on driving, anyway. I know it’s at least 5,000 miles.

I left on Tuesday, 5/23, at 11:00AM from my house, and 3 flights later, arrived in Florianopolis on Wednesday, 5/24 around 4:00PM (Brazil is 2 hours ahead of Chicago). Sans bike. But I wasn’t worried—at least I had my clothes. Several athletes did not receive their clothes for 3 more days. One girl had been in town since Monday and didn’t get her stuff until Friday. When I picked up my bike in Sao Paulo to clear customs, I saw that one of the airlines had mangled the case. Nice. I just hoped my aerobars were OK, because it was the corner where they were seated.

I didn’t get much sleep on the overnight flight from Miami to Sao Paulo (I flew Chicago to Miami; Miami to Sao Paulo; Sao Paulo to Florianapolis through Curitiba). Breakfast and dinner were provided for us at the hotel, so after a late dinner, I fell peacefully asleep. Around 11:30PM, I received a phone call that my bike had arrived, and did I want to come down and get it? Hell no. I’ll get it in the morning. I got 9.5 hours of sleep that night, the most I would get the entire trip.

Thursday, 5/25 morning, I went into the Atlantic for a little swim. The water was beautiful—flat and cool. About 68°. Not murky or anything, but I could feel something in my hands when I was pulling. When I was almost finished and near shore, I tried to see what it was. I couldn’t see anything! So I decided to pull and close one of my hands and capture whatever it was. When I stood up, it looked like I had 2 glass spheres. I figured on them for jellyfish, and I was right. Thousands, or perhaps millions, of them were washing up on shore. But they didn’t seem to sting (another foreshadowing), so I just laughed and got out.

I unpacked my bike and nothing was broken, and put it together. My little Bitch would be ready to go.

I went for a 30 minute run later in the day, and felt really good. REALLY good. I was running at a good clip with a really low heart rate.

Finally, I went and rode with a couple of guys I met from Lafayette, Louisiana (Charles and Axel). It was a fun ride, albeit not part of the bike course. Lots of giant speed bumps and some cobbles.

On Friday, the ocean had kicked up quite a bit. It was very windy, and I decided against swimming, but still got in a short run in the morning. Once again, I felt great running, and I ran further and faster in 30 minutes than I had the day before on the same route. I thought this was a good sign.

Saturday I woke up and my throat was quite scratchy. I thought it could be anything—minor exposure to the local water (which I never intentionally drank, but there was some on fruits and vegetables), sea water, whatever. But it was noticeable, yet I thought it would pass overnight.

Nope. Saturday night (night before the race), I woke up at some point and my left arm was itching like crazy. After scratching it all over for a few minutes, I figured I’d better get up and see what was going on. I had huge welts in 4 places on my left arm, a new one forming on the right, and a few on my forehead. I didn’t freak out, but I was very concerned. A little over 10 years ago when I was still married, we were in St. Thomas, USVI, and I got bit by some local mosquitoes, and one bite was near one of my eyes, which promptly swelled to the size of a racquetball ball, nearly closed. So given I had been bitten by some Brazilian insect, I was concerned about my face and my allergic reactions. So I then pulled the sheet over my head to keep whatever it was away from my face. At one point I heard the thing right by an ear, and I think I managed to kill that one. This little episode just set the stage for a series of problems. At the same time, I noticed that my throat was beginning to close up, and swallowing was not easy. Oh well, carry on, just try and sleep a little bit.

I think I slept 7 hours or maybe not—it was hard to tell how long the scratching went on. I looked at my arms, and the welts had dissipated somewhat and didn’t itch too much, but I had 3 nice bumps across my forehead that looked like giant pimples to me. At least my eyes seemed OK. If I had gotten bit around them, making my goggles fit would have been difficult.

As I got up and did my race morning stuff, I noticed I was a little dizzy. My throat still felt like crap, and there was a trace of a cough beginning to take hold. Great. I could tell just from this that I was probably not going to have the day I was trained for. Oh well, just take things one step at a time and see what happens.

I went downstairs for breakfast and asked for some advice from an Ironman veteran—Danny, from New Mexico. He’s a really fast guy, but also extremely nice, and I figured he had to have done at least 1 Ironman while sick. He told me to just start out even slower than I had anticipated, to not get consumed by thoughts of being sick, and to be optimistic that things would clear up during the race. All very good advice. Better than saying, “You’re basically screwed.” I took the “start out even slower” advice to heart—knowing my body was already fighting off something, trying to go at my anticipated race paces from the get-go probably wasn’t a good idea.

I also noticed that despite getting sufficient sleep, that I just didn’t feel as awake as I usually do. It didn’t dawn on me until the next day that it was because my sinuses were very clogged up. I have NEVER had a sinus infection, so this was a first for me. It felt like someone had screwed a vise to my head. Oh yeah—complete with a nice headache, for which I hemmed and hawed, and then finally took 2 Extra-Strength Tylenol, because I just couldn’t stand it any longer. I didn’t want to take any NSAID’s or anything else. I figured my body would just have to deal with some minor pain control and a commitment by me to kick it down a notch or two.

When I got to the beach start area, I tried my best not to give away to any other athletes how poorly I felt. I have this thing that it doesn’t do me or anyone else good to know that I feel like shit on a race day, although, this was by far, the shittiest I have ever felt. And not just on a race day. I am going to the doctor today, this is nasty stuff! At any rate, I’m standing on the beach feeling dizzy. Not falling over dizzy, but like I had been drugged or something. So when the gun went off, well, here we go, let’s see what happened.

I started way to the back knowing I was going to have a crappy swim, got in, and the water wasn’t glassy the way it had been the day I did a practice swim. That combined with me being dizzy to start with was not a good combination, plus the headache really hadn’t abated too much. Whatever. I needed to try and get somewhere now, and I wasn’t good with quitting just yet.

The course was shaped like an “M”, and we started on its right. The right side or first half of it was longer than the second half. The first out part had 3 buoys marking 900 meters. Not really a lot when you think about it, but at least you could tell where you were going. When you turned to make the diagonal back to shore, there were ZERO marker buoys, which made it interesting, but there was a hot-air balloon on the beach which was the only thing you could use to sight. I could tell the current was pushing us back towards the start area, but oh well, what are you going to do.

I couldn’t believe I was “swimming” in the condition I was in, yet something kept me going. As I exited the water to run around, part of me said just stop right there, but then I found myself back in the water. I could also tell I had been stung by the jellies on both hands, but the stings didn’t really hurt—they just felt like blisters that were slightly annoying.

There was only the end marker buoy for the second half of the “M,” and it was hard to find. So now there were kayakers blowing whistles trying to get people on course. I waited a few seconds to verify where I was going, and then got back to swimming and immediately got kicked soundly in the nose. My goggles went up my head (but not totally off), and man that hurt like a sonofabitch. I had to stop and feel my nose to see whether it was broken or not. It didn’t appear to be, so I put my goggles back on and kept going. The way back was a huge cluster fuck, as the current continued to push those heading for shore into those going out, but somehow we were making it back to shore. I noticed during the second half of the swim that I had absolutely no power in my arms. It was an odd feeling, since I usually feel quite strong in the water, no matter how fast or slow I am swimming.

When I stood up, I noticed that my vision was fucked up, and played “one eye at a time” to figure out that I had no contact lens in my left eye. I looked in my goggles, and it was in there. Amazing! Even though I had packed a spare set in my T1 bag, I didn’t want to lose this one (they aren’t exactly cheap), and I was having a shit day anyway, so I figured I’d get it out in transition. I had to make hand signals at the wetsuit strippers to not futz with my goggles since there was something in there. Amazingly, I was able to jog towards the changing tent, and my body let me know that 1) my throat was just about closed up; 2) I was going to be coughing all day; and 3) the dizziness was going to continue. Oh well, just keep going. You can’t always get what you want. I didn’t come 5,000+ miles to give up this early.

I don’t know how long it took me to get that contact lens out of my goggles, and frankly, I didn’t care. But when I finally did, I rinsed it with water, popped it in my eye and it felt fine. Beautiful! After that, it took all of about 2 minutes to get my helmet, shoes and sunglasses on and head for my bike.

Of course, it was disheartening to see so few bikes left in transition, but I had plenty of time to finish this bitch in under 17 hours, so I’m going to keep going. As badly as my throat felt, I was still going to obey my rule of no drinking or eating for 15 minutes, to give my body time to settle. Well, I had spent at least that much time in T1, so I guess I could have drank something right away, but you know how anal retentive I can be.

The weather, at least, was beautiful. 60’s when we started, and it felt like maybe 70 as I started the ride. And no wind! Could this possibly be? A gift from the gods to make up for, in part, the awful way I felt? One thing at a time. Just ride the bike. At least I knew this was something I knew very well how to manage.

I settled into my first 2 hours of very easy power. Looking down at my meter, I was going over 20MPH at very low watts. That gave me something positive to focus on. Once we got away from town, the winds began to pick up, little by little. I was drinking on schedule, and all things considered, didn’t feel too poorly (although my throat hurt whenever I swallowed Gatorade). The race had the best flavors of Gatorade on the course—mango, citrus, tangerine. That was a nice thing to have considering how my day was going.

It wasn’t too long before the winds picked up quite a bit—about 2.5 hours into my ride. Post-race, athletes estimated them at 10-20MPH steady. I knew what to do, and I just kept pedaling. At one point, a film crew was filming my feet pedaling. That gave me something to focus on for a bit. I continued to feel dizzy while on the bike, and kept telling myself to not fall off the bike. My heart rate was unusually elevated, and not because it was a race. That told me that my body was working hard to fight off the infection. I ended up peeing 7 times during the ride (my actual ride time was 6:43, I guess not too bad for sick girl and headwinds), which was a new thing for me (not peeing on the bike—I’d done that before, but never to this degree). I think I was drinking the right amount of fluid, but oh well, ya gotta go, you go. I noticed that people had trouble with the wind—I did, too, but I forced myself to stay in the aerobars, as sitting up is counterproductive into a headwind. I also had 2 roadies with me most of the way—I heard there were many who thought how nice to have parts of roads closed—yet I worried several times they might cause me a penalty. Speaking of which—there were race officials all over the place—because of the course layout, they could keep circling in maybe a 10-mile area, so they really didn’t need that many draft marshals, yet there was more than adequate coverage.

There were several times during the bike when I wanted to give up and quit, but all I could think was I have no fucking clue where I am in relation to my hotel, let alone that I’m in Brazil! So that kept me going. My neck muscles were very tight, predictably, from all the aero position and very few climbs, but my leg muscles felt like they were on autopilot. I guess all that training paid off somehow, even though I couldn’t perform up to my expectations.

When I got to T2 and took off my bike shoes, my feet felt pretty abused. But I’ve learned from doing this a few times that that’s normal, and slipping into the running shoes would actually feel good, and it did. I told the volunteer to throw away my bike socks (I had fresh ones in my T2 bag). She made me confirm it, and I said, “YES, PLEASE GET RID OF THEM!” They were disgusting. I also changed into running shorts, decided to make an actual pit stop in the porta-potty before I exited for the run course, and in the short while I was in there all I could think was how the hell did I get this far today? Since I had such a crappy swim and was out in the back of the bikers, I didn’t get to see many people I had met, but I was looking forward to seeing them on the run.

As I began the run, my legs didn’t feel all that bad. They shouldn’t have—I hadn’t given the effort on the bike that I was capable of (although amazingly, it wasn’t that much less when I look at the wattage numbers). But I could tell this was going to be a big struggle. I still wasn’t convinced I had it in me to finish, but I just kept going. I didn’t come 5,000+ miles to not finish the race, did I? I noticed right away that the bridge of my nose hurt, and it seemed to be caused by my sunglasses. When I removed them, I could feel caked up blood on my nose. What the hell? I guess that kick in the face was pretty hard. When I touched the bridge of my nose, it hurt, and I just hoped I didn’t look too badly. Oh well, you can’t always get what you want.

Now that I was upright, the dizziness was much more apparent. Clearly, my balance was messed up no doubt by the infection being in my sinuses and probably the Eustachian tubes. Side note—when I was very young, I had recurring ear infections, so I am all too familiar with the structures inside my head. I still had a good headache going, my nose hurt, my throat felt like shit, so at least I had all that going for me.

I saw so many people I had met on the trip during the run, and most of them looked really good—Lisa, Danny, Peter, Dino, Axel, Charles, Peggy, Cathy. When they would ask me how I felt I’d say I was sick, but I’m sure they thought it was normal racing GI distress. I fucking WISH that’s all it was! My stomach was actually fine all day, and I was extra careful to make sure I was hydrating, taking in salt, etc. I think I peed 4 times during the run, so at one point I said a special “thank you” to my kidneys for continuing to function.

After about 15K, I could tell my legs were not going to do what I commanded them to. My entire body felt like it was shutting down. Never in my wildest dreams had I ever imagined that I would continue going in an Ironman feeling this way. I have read reports of other athletes continuing under poor conditions, and never imagined how they could keep going. It was around this time that I decided I had promised my mom that I would finish, and so I was going to do it, no matter what it took. Throughout all of this, I remembered to thank the volunteers, and try and crack a smile when I saw someone I knew.

When I had about 15K to go, I saw Peter coming towards me. It was his first Ironman, and he looked absolutely great, and was having a great race, from what I could tell. As he came next to me, I heard him say, “OH MY GOD.” At the time, I wasn’t sure if he was commenting on his own effort or if he was making a comment about me. The next morning when I asked him about it, he told me I looked like shit. It was nice to have some confirmation of how poorly I really was doing. It’s tough to put it into words, and it’s even difficult for me to write this down. I’m sure there are others, who have felt worse in an Ironman, and maybe I’m a wimp, but I wouldn’t wish even half of how bad I felt on someone else.

With 10K to go, I knew I was going in. Believe it or not, when I got off the bike, I had a glimmer of hope I could still come in at 13 hours, but when I saw that pass, I knew it was going to be a long day. So my next objective was to beat my second best Ironman time of 14:20. Well, I just barely squeaked by in 14:15. How about that?

When I have read about other athletes doing “a death march” in an Ironman, and they are coming in maybe 1-2 hours below their abilities, in the past I would laugh and think, “Oh sure, that was a death march, huh?” But now I know what it’s like. So I am trying to feel good about a 14:15 being a death march for me, and it’s going to take a few weeks for it to sink in, but I’m sure it will come. So you can’t always get what you want, but if you try (and try REALLY HARD) sometimes, you get what you need. I needed that stinking medal, and knowing I could tough it out.

Shortly after I finished, I walked my crap over to this hospitality house that was set up for those of us who had traveled with Endurance Sports Travel (Ken Glah’s company). Thankfully, they had good food for us there, and we could get our bikes and ourselves transported to our hotels by van. I went into the bathroom to clean up a bit, and when I saw my face in the mirror, I now knew why people were looking at me funny once they could see me in the light. My nose was half black and blue, there was blood where my sunglasses had sat, and my eyes looked like I was stoned. I should have gotten a picture of myself at that point, although if you look at my finisher photo, you can sort of see it in my eyes.

A lot of people had great days—there were some amazing first-time finishers—Peter, Theron and James—some good PR’s and some others who didn’t get what they wanted, but they still got what they needed. Like me.

I will be seeing a doctor today, as I seem to be getting progressively worse (yet I can tell this will go away), I will rest up, and at some point I will begin moving around again. I pretty much decided the day after the race that I would go to Ironman Florida, hope that I would be healthy on race day, and see how I can do. It makes for one really, really long training and racing season, but I know that I am extremely fit, and that I will be fine lying low for a few months. I have a lot of riding planned (I still LOVE riding my bike), a few shorter races (in which I hope to kick some major ass), and then I just want to enjoy my summer.

I feel very fortunate that I was able to go to Brazil and do this race. I met some of the finest people you can imagine, and I hope to stay in touch with many of them. Great athletes who are great people. In the end, that is what this is all about. Showing us who we are and what we can become and accomplish no matter what is thrown in our paths. I still have 2 functioning (not 100%, but still working) lungs, 2 powerful legs, and 2 arms that I believe really DO know how to swim. I still have loving family members and friends, a coach who believes in me, and my own sense that I am doing the right things for myself. Life is still very beautiful, even in the face of adversity, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else!

I think the following verse from the Rolling Stones song is very appropriate. Those of you who know me well will see the connection:

I went down to the Chelsea drugstore

To get your prescription filled

I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy

And man, did he look pretty ill

We decided that we would have a soda

My favorite flavor, cherry redI

sung my song to Mr. Jimmy

Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was "dead"

I said to him
You can't always get what you want, no!

You can't always get what you want (tell ya baby)

You can't always get what you want (no)

But if you try sometimes you just might find

You get what you need

Oh yes! Woo!

BADA BING, indeed!

Ironman Brazil 2006 Short Story

Folks, I was sick. Not race sick--"sick" sick. I caught some virus on Thursday before the race, was miserable when I started, dizzy all day (which is a lot of fun on the bike), sore throat, congested sinuses, headache, blah, blah, blah. But you are probably thinking, "Hey, she should be able to deal." My energy was sapped, and although I made it through the bike, my run ended up being a death march. But, that was still my 2nd fastest Ironman overall, so what that tells me is that I do have a sub-13 in me, and I will be going to Ironman Florida to prove it.

Oh yeah--I also have a very black and blue nose (luckily not broken) from being kicked smack in the bridge of my nose during the swim (after which a contact lens popped into the goggles, and that was the start of my first long transition time), I was stung by numerous jellyfish, and drank way too much on Monday evening, and I'm working on no sleep for 2 days. So at least I've got that going for me!

The 2 things that kept me moving towards the finish line were that I had promised my mom that I would finish, and then at some point I remembered you get a medal, and I wanted one!

Full report to follow, but in the meantime:

BADA BING! (Actually, para bens, which means "congratulations" in Portuguese)

Weekly Workout Totals 05/15/2006-05/21/2006: All Bank Deposits Have Been Made!

My good buddy, Mr. Tapir, is back again, and starting to feel good. I spoke to my coach on Thursday, and at that point I wasn't feeling particularly rested. We had the "talk," which by now I am all too familiar with, about race execution. My objective for Ironman Brazil is to pull off a good run. PERIOD. No matter what my finish time is, if it ends with a good run, then I did what I needed to. Of course, a decent swim and bike would be icing on the cake.

Friday, I did another 3-mile swim. My 2.4-mile time was the same as 2 weeks ago. I wasn't able to reschedule my massage, so I had it Thursday evening again, and my upper body felt sore in the morning. No matter. I swam strongly the entire time.

I went into the office nearby (I can go either to the Sears Tower or to my former office in Westchester) to do a few admin type things. I stopped in my former work health club to visit with the manager, who has given me most excellent strength training in the past. We measured my body fat, and it is about 10% (depends on what age you punch in for me and how hydrated I was). I'm calling it 10%. The last official measurement I had was in 2004. At that time I was 114 lbs. and 13.4% body fat. So I had a lean mass of 98.7 lbs. At my current 112 lbs. and 10% body fat, my lean mass is 100.8 lbs. So I've added 2 lbs. of lean mass and lost about 4 lbs. of fat. And I have become stronger on the bike, and faster on the run. This is good stuff! I have upped the weights and time that I spend doing strength training, and it has paid off. Too bad I miss those 4 lbs. of floatation in the pool!

Friday evening I felt pretty wiped out from my swim. Something about 3-mile swims just makes me very tired. But I looked forward to my last "long" ride on Saturday.

Saturday dawned cool and windy, completely opposite of the forecasted weather. Oh well, at least it wasn't raining! So with day-glo green jacket on, out I headed. I felt a little sluggish (normal for a taper), but in the end, I generated the required watts on the day for about a 2:30 ride. My :30 transition run was at a peppy pace, and I envisioned myself beginning the Ironman run as I did it. Of course, I hadn't ridden 112 miles, so of course my legs didn't feel bad at all. I didn't feel tired at all the rest of the day, and that was when I knew the taper was really taking effect

Yesterday was a full rest day, and I used it to do some yardwork and get my bike packed. How could that take all day? Oh yeah--I also made myself a race week schedule, did a pile of dishes (I won't say how many days' worth were waiting to be washed), did laundry, read the Sunday newspaper, washed my bike and relubed it before I packed it away, and had a few emotional moments (more of those to come, I'm sure!).

Today I work a little, pack my clothes and other stuff, do 3 short workouts (swim, abs/core and bike), and then I'm ready to go on my big adventure to Brazil.

Thanks to everyone who reads my blog; whether or not you actually comment--I know you're there! I will not be blogging while I am away; but I'll keep notes on things and will surely have a lot to report when I'm back.

God bless all of you, great training, peace and serenity!

Weekly Totals 05/15/2006-05/21/2006
Swim: 9500 yards in 3.18 hours; 28% of weekly workout time; approx. 1129 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 74.67 miles in 4.27 hours; 37% of weekly workout time; approx. 2004 calories burned
Run: Approx. 19.62 miles in 2.94 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1515 calories burned
Strength: 1.12 hours; 10% of weekly workout time; approx. 280 calories burned
All Sports: 11.51 hours; approx. 4928 calories burned
Sleep: 8.75 hours avg./night
Stretching: 1.32 hours

Season Totals 09/12/2005-05/21/2006
Swim: 308100 yards in 108.43 hours
Bike: Approx. 3127.25 miles in 179.97 hours
Run: Approx. 1034.24 miles in 162.03 hours
Strength: 54.21 hours
All Sports: 504.64 hours; approx. 224599 calories burned
Stretching: 55.53 hours

Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-05/21/2006
Swim: 8558 yards in 3.01 hours
Bike: Approx. 86.87 miles in 5 hours
Run: Approx. 28.73 miles in 4.5 hours
Strength: 1.51 hours
All Sports: 14.02 hours
Sleep: 8.5 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.14 hours avg./week

Goals from Last Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE.
• Stretch over 2 hours for the week. OOPS! Didn't make it. Didn't feel like I needed it.
• Continue race visualization, and assemble race plan. DONE.
• Stay on top of nutrition. DONE. I am SICK OF CARBS!!!
• Be careful to hold back during workouts when I am supposed to. DONE.

Accomplishments This Week:

• Kept a positive focus.
• Made it through a taper week with no weird physical things at all!

Goals for Next Week:

• Race well, as defined by solid execution: Swim strongly with good form. Bike according to wattage guidelines just as for my race rehearsal. Run strong and tough, dig on the opportunity to be 100% in the moment, and enjoy the incredible gift of fitness that I have. See you all at the finish line!

Weekly Workout Totals 5/8/2006-5/14/2006, or Am I Really Tapering?

Here are the weekly totals:

Weekly Totals 05/08/2006-05/14/2006
Swim: 12250 yards in 4.12 hours; 24% of weekly workout time; approx. 1532 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 134.46 miles in 7.68 hours; 45% of weekly workout time; approx. 3647 calories burned
Run: Approx. 25.21 miles in 3.77 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 1969 calories burned
Strength: 1.45 hours; 9% of weekly workout time; approx. 363 calories burned
All Sports: 17.02 hours; approx. 7511 calories burned
Sleep: 8.57 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.4 hours

17 hours doesn't look like much of a taper, huh? Last week I hit 17.61 hours, so in aggregate, the weeks look similar. No worries, though. Last week I swam 2.75 hours, biked 9.6, ran 3.93 and did 1.53 strength. So my bike, run and strength (I also decreased my total strength reps) are tapering down. Swimming not so much, and same will be true next week, but my bike and run will go down to not much at all. I'm starting to feel rested. My legs have plenty of spring in them while running (despite 3 brick runs this week). My legs have plenty of power in them (see previous post). My swim is coming around, and I think this Friday's TT will be good. So yep, I'm tapering, and loving it.

Last night I totally treated myself for dinner--I had pizza (more in a few minutes!), fried calamari (I removed a lot of the breading but added a lot of salt), beer, and angel food cake for dessert (I had some of that cake before today's ride, too). After tonight's meal, it's time to watch the calories and fats a little more closely, but I will be sure to replenish my glycogen every day.

Below is the usual data that I post as part of these weekly total reports. Enjoy!

Season Totals 09/12/2005-05/14/2006
Swim: 298600 yards in 105.25 hours
Bike: Approx. 3052.58 miles in 175.7 hours
Run: Approx. 1014.72 miles in 159.09 hours
Strength: 53.09 hours
All Sports: 493.13 hours; approx. 219671 calories burned
Stretching: 54.21 hours

Season WeeklyAverages 09/12/2005-05/14/2006
Swim: 8531 yards in 3.01 hours
Bike: Approx. 87.22 miles in 5.02 hours
Run: Approx. 28.99 miles in 4.55 hours
Strength: 1.52 hours
All Sports: 14.09 hours
Sleep: 8.49 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.17 hours avg./week

Goals from Last Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE.
• Stretch over 2 hours for the week. DONE.
• Continue race visualization, and assemble race plan. ALMOST FINISHED!
• Stay on top of nutrition. DONE.
• Be careful to hold back during workouts when I am supposed to. DONE.

Accomplishments This Week:

• Nailed all my bike FT intervals at or above FTP.
• Got through 3 brick workouts quite well.
• Improved my 2.4-mile swim TT time from last week.

Goals for Next Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
• Stretch over 2 hours for the week.
• Finish race plan.
• Stay on top of nutrition.
• Remember all the wonderful people who've helped me get to this point.
• Pack!

Weekend Taper Workouts, or Why my Nickname is Crackhead

Click on the chart to see it full-size.

This is data from my SRM for yesterday and today's bike workouts. Both rides were done on the trainer, due to cold, wet weather in Chicago. Both rides were followed by :30 brick runs.

Last year when I was tapering for Ironman Wisconsin, I posted information about some of my taper workouts to the tri-drs LISTSERV. Not in as much detail as here--just the minutes at each level. This prompted a gentleman to give me the nickname "Crackhead," as I guess these workouts might be considered a little intense. Last year they seemed that way to me. Not so much this year! These follow the pattern I've been doing for months now. Although doing 3 brick workouts in a week is a little, well, unusual.

There is a ton of information that can be gleaned just from the above charts:

1. I'm feeling good. Look at the normalized watts for the HIM and FT intervals. I was especially happy to hit 193 on today's FT interval. So, it was only for 10', but it was an effort to hit that.
2. I must be very fit. The average HR for the HIM and FT intervals is the lowest it's been. THAT is way cool--to be able to churn out the watts EASILY (and don't worry, I zero offset the SRM every time I ride so I know these numbers are correct).
3. I have gotten stronger very quickly. The NP for the HIM intervals is the same as what my FTP was just about 4 months ago.
4. I can execute 2 fairly intense rides (with brick runs, no less) back-to-back.
5. My cadence stays within the "sweet spot" of 85-95 RPM.

Last year I didn't execute my biking near as well as I have this year, and it clearly shows. It will feel really good to take this fitness into an Ironman (soon, I know!). It will be an effort to hold myself back on the bike ride, but hold back I will. Ironman riding is not about going as fast as you can go. My target NP for the IM ride is about 138, which is lower than the overall NP for either of the rides above. It will still feel like I "rode the bike," but should leave me fresh as a daisy (well, except for my stinky clothes and body) for the run.

Regardless of how I do in the race, I know I am going in with solid bike fitness.

Now about those 3 brick runs--they all went well this week. Today's run was amazing. I ran outdoors since it was not raining, and, gosh, it felt easy. My HR just would not go above "steady" zone, or Z2, yet I was running about 8:30/mile. I guess the 3rd brick was the charm, huh? Not to mention my running is seriously tapered this week (not so much on the bike and swim--see next post).

This year I have come to the realization that one of the greatest challenges in the Ironman run is being able to run at a pace that your stomach can tolerate. What I mean is, my legs are pretty tough now, but the feeling of "I want to stop" comes more from my stomach than anything else. It feels pretty darn good to me to run with as little as possible in my stomach. Yet I need to take in nutrition during the marathon or else I will just fall over. I am not worried about my legs' ability to muscularly keep going.

I've dialed in my bike nutrition to about 230 calories/hour. I'm burning 450-500 calories/hour while biking, so the 230 is a good number. On the run, I burn about 500 calories/hour, but it seems I can only tolerate 200 calories/hour, sometimes more, only liquid. If those calories came all from Gatorade, it translates to 30 oz./hour. No way! I drink more like 20 oz., but let's say 24 oz. because it will be warm. That's 156 calories, but since I will be swigging Coke and Ultra Violence, I'll hit my target, and I'll carry a few gels "just in case."

My guess is that most people feel better running with as little in their stomachs as possible. Which is why the less calories you burn (due to your weight and efficiency), the easier I think it is to have a decent Ironman run. This is not rocket science to me, yet it makes me wonder why more people aren't in a hurry to seriously improve their body composition, even if they aren't triathletes, but just runners. Sheesh, 5 years ago I was fat and inefficient and taking in all sorts of calories. No wonder I couldn't run for shit! Ah--the benefits of experience.

Another 3-mile Swim (1/2 Ultraman)

Holy crap! This morning I realized that the total distance I swam last Friday, including the 2.4 mile time trial, was 3 miles. That's a hefty swim!

I got to do it again today. I beat last week's time for the 2.4 miles by a minute and change, and my time per 100 yds. went down by 2 seconds, so I'll take it. I figured something out--I get my deep-tissue massages on Thursday nights, and it makes me a little sore the next day, so next week I'll get it on Wednesday so I can see how my last 3-mile swim goes before Ironman Brazil.

I actually thought I was swimming SLOWER today than last week. I could feel some tiredness in my arms and core. I am supposed to be rested!!!! I'm TAPERING!!! Ha ha. I will still hit almost 17 hours this week. So I guess I really am not that rested yet. Next week, though, the volume will really drop, so I will really get to see how well I can swim the distance next Friday.

Although, when you think about it, swimming 3 miles in 1:35 isn't too shabby (that's my total time for the 3 miles). I wonder if this means I could do the Ultraman swim (6.2 miles) in 3:30 or less? Checking the Ultraman website, that looks to be a competitive time. Silly me, always thinking about the next challenge!

At any rate, I am good with what I did today, and think I can beat my time by at least 2 minutes next week (actually I'm positive I can). If nothing else, doing (3) 3-mile swims will make the 2.4 on race day seem not too bad at all. I feel like my endurance is pretty good at this point. I'd be happier if I could 1:10 in the pool, but it is what it is. I am swimming strongly the entire time, and I feel fine (OK, a little dizzy) afterwards.

This weekend I only have to do a 3:30/:30 brick tomorrow and a 2:30/:30 brick Sunday. If I have time, I will add :20 recovery swims each day, which I find get some of the kinks out after these workouts. The forecast calls for shitty tomorrow and a little less shitty on Sunday. One or both of those days I'll be riding on the trainer. Oh well, too fucking bad. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Today's Workout Goes up to ELEVEN

Oh, boys and girls, did I ever have fun today! Here's the bike workout:

WU: 15' warmup, 3 x SpinUps. Then 3 x 2' (1') Zone 3 MS: FT repeats: 3 x 10' (6') @ FT, then 4 x 90" (3') @ best effort. CD: 5' Easy

This to be followed by a :30 brick run, with instructions to "put my head into the first 3-4 miles of Ironman."

OK, I was psyched for this one. Why? Because I felt so good yesterday after putting in a solid training week last week, and "all" I did yesterday was swim 2,950 yards (and pretty well, I might add) and lift for :50. No running! And today when I woke up, once again, I felt great. Sure I had wanted to sleep a little more (only 8.5 hours last night), but once I got moving around and had some coffee, I figured today was going to be a good day to workout.

I washed and relubed my bike yesterday, so my Bitch was all ready to rock and roll. The temps were high 60's, so very pleasant for a hard ride and run. I got out the door at about 12:15.

The usual warmup section of the workout is well, just boring, admin stuff. I was really looking forward to the FT work today because Sunday's ride was well, not really too exciting. Such is the nature of an Ironman ride--thankfully, on a race day it "feels" more exciting because you know what is going to happen next (a marathon), and you have all these other competitors around you and volunteers helping you--it's much more festive than heading out on your own to ride 112 miles in the aerobars with your head down. FYI, while I was riding on Sunday I kept thinking, "this is what the IMFL course is like." And the thought did not make me happy. I am still undecided about doing that race, even though I'm registered. I really am not thrilled by flat courses, except for a HIM or less. Too boring. I guess I'd rather suffer with hills and wind. I'm sure I'll get my wish on the wind in Brazil, though.

Since coach gave me so much rest between the FT intervals, I took this as an "excuse" for me to work harder that my current FT of 177. What the hell, it's only 10 minutes. Today was one of those rare and joyous days where I felt 150% ON, and figured my power could go up over FT. I certainly made good use of my ELEVEN cog. It was so happy to be used, and I just love the sound of the index shift into that cog. KER-CHUNK. It is the sound of big effort. I hit watts of 185, 187 and 181 (normalized power) for each of the 3 FT intervals. A solid effort, especially since there was wind, there was terrain, there was humidity, there were obstacles (glass on the road and the usual detritus). ELEVEN. I hated shifting out of that cog when I needed to climb a bit.

Those FT intervals were so much fun, but I was REALLY looking forward to the last 4 "best effort" intervals. I like to call them "balls out." Let it all hang out, just ride hard and see what you can do. Wheeeeeee!!!!! ELEVEN. I know that I was smiling for each of the 90" efforts. My Bitch was being ridden hard and enjoying every second. I hit watts of 236, 237, 206 and 215 for each of the 4 intervals. On the 3rd one I do recall cutting myself slack for about 5" (STUPID), but on that last one, I think the wind just picked up a little more. Whatever. TONS O' FUN!

I even looked forward to running. I was curious what that would feel like after all the fun I had just had on the bike. 5' after I pulled into my driveway and I had my running shoes and hat on, a small bottle of Gatorade in one hand and the radio in the other, and I was off and running. I get to run uphill for about 1/4 mile right out my door, not too steep, but enough to make you know you are working and would rather be on flats. My legs felt a little gangly, and I always play "guess my pace" so that when I get to Mile 1 I can see how accurate my "feel" for pace is. I was also laughing inside remembering that I had just done a brick workout (um...SUPER SIZE THAT BRICK) on Sunday, and here it's 2 days later and I'm at it again (FYI I get to do back-to-back bricks this weekend, those are a lot of fun as well). My legs really didn't feel any worse for the wear.

Mile 1: 8:40. That's fine. I should have held back a little more, but hey, I didn't ride very long, I should be able to go that fast. I decided to run up to this small intersection, knowing that I always negative split these short runs, so I'd give myself some extra time on the way out. 6:46, and I figured same pace as for first mile (I certainly wasn't running any slower). Turn around, same distance in 6:30, and last mile in 8:29. Giddy up! Not too shabby, and I wasn't running hard, really. In terms of my run zones, I would call this "upper steady."

It was so nice today to feel the total joy and fun of my workouts once again. It's been a few weeks, and I did think about my mom during today's workout, but it made me grin from ear to ear as I was about to start another FT interval. That's what it's about. Knowing you can push yourself hard again and again, enjoy it, and use that as a platform to show others how good you can feel doing this crazy shit.

ELEVEN, BABY!!!

Weekly Workout Totals: 05/01/2006-05/07/2006

It was another big training week for me. A Race Rehearsal week, to be specific. I also got to retest my bike FTP (Functional Threshold Power). There were good things and not so good things that happened during the week:

Good

• My FTP improved from 171 watts to 177 watts. You may look at that and think that’s just statistical variation, but not from where I sit. I did the test on Wednesday outside, and trust me, it was a trick to keep my watts where I wanted them (and more!) while managing shifting winds and terrain.
• I reestablished that I have plenty of swim endurance after Friday’s big swim of 5,150 yards, which included the 3800 meter time trial swim. When I was done, I felt like I could have kept swimming at the same pace for at least another 1,000 yards.
• I got plenty of TOA (time on ass) on the bike. I added a short (1:42), easy (SHOCK!!!) ride on Saturday just because I felt like it. It was odd to intentionally ride easy, but I figured this would be good practice for Sunday’s 112-mile ride at Ironman wattage guidance
• I ran 9:00mpm off the bike after Sunday’s 112-mile ride. For 5 miles. I have NEVER done that before!
• Based on measurements taken from my hips, butt and thighs, I am one lean machine. My hips and butt both lost 1/2", my thighs did not lose any size (killer bike workouts will do that), and my weight remained unchanged. I am fairly certain I have not lost any muscle; therefore I must have lost a little more fat. Unbelievable. My swimsuits are getting loose in my butt. Never in my wildest thoughts did I think this would happen. I just need to hold this body composition going into the race. Hell, I could even go up a notch in body fat, but I'm going to milk this phenomenon for what it's worth.
• Psychologically, I felt some of the stress and sadness of my mom’s death lifting.
• I slept a ton.
• I feel GREAT today, considering what I did last week. The past 3 Mondays I have felt like someone has been pummeling me with a meat tenderizer all over my body.
  
  

Not So Good

• My FTP improved from 171 watts to 177 watts. This makes both lists, because as I get stronger, it means I get to work harder each time I ride the bike! But it’s OK, because indicators from my rides were pointing to the number going up
• My swim time trial took 1:16. I honestly felt like I was swimming faster than that. On the other hand, I felt really strong, relaxed and held great form the entire time. I get another chance this Friday to see if, with a little less volume, I can go a little faster.
• My 112-mile ride took 6:15. I thought I could go faster, but it is what it is. I rode how I was supposed to ride, and believe me, it was hard to focus for so long on riding SO EASY. I did the ride with an organized ride, so the conditions weren’t ideal (lots of starting and stopping, even a period of lostness, which turned out to be a good thing, as I got in all the miles), and I had plenty of offers to hang with groups (STRONG groups) of riders. But I had to gingerly say, “Nope, I’m riding my Ironman pace today, so sorry, maybe some other time.” That’s self-control.

All in all, I will call last week a success. I feel ready for the damn race now; as usual, I feel like my coach has me peaking right on schedule, upcoming rest will do me a world of good, and I can start my travel preparations. Holy fuck, I’m going to Brazil!

I’m not generally a superstitious person, but a few things happened this week that seem to be omens:

• My black toenail from the Goofy Challenge finally came off today. The top part, that is. There is a perfectly good toenail left that is just waiting to be abused in another marathon in 3 weeks.
• The ruby stud earring I’ve been wearing as my “keep yourself together” amulet since last fall lost its back (the little thing that keeps a pierced stud in place). Thank goodness I didn’t lose the earring. But this tells me that I have been successful in keeping myself together, and that I can go forth and do what I need to do without wearing this anymore.
• I am (deep breath here) not going into Ironman Brazil looking for a Kona slot. I am going to do the best that I can do on the day. It will be what it will be, and as long as I am on my nutrition and pacing plan (which is nearly drawn up), I am really looking forward to having a good run, my favorite part of the race. Why is it my favorite part? Because if the stuff before it went well, odds are I will get to practice the fine art of being in the moment, being in a state of flow, and I will remember the answer to the question I asked myself yesterday while I was running: “Why the FUCK do I do this?”
  
  

On that note, here are the happy totals for the week that was:

Weekly Totals 05/01/2006-05/07/2006
Swim: 7800 yards in 2.55 hours; 14% of weekly workout time; approx. 949 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 168.2 miles in 9.6 hours; 55% of weekly workout time; approx. 4671 calories burned
Run: Approx. 26.03 miles in 3.93 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 2067 calories burned
Strength: 1.53 hours; 9% of weekly workout time; approx. 383 calories burned
All Sports: 17.61 hours; approx. 8070 calories burned
Sleep: 9 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.02 hours

Season Totals 09/12/2005-05/07/2006
Swim: 286350 yards in 101.13 hours
Bike: Approx. 2918.12 miles in 168.02 hours
Run: Approx. 989.51 miles in 155.32 hours
Strength: 51.64 hours
All Sports: 476.11 hours; approx. 212160 calories burned
Stretching: 51.81 hours

Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-05/07/2006
Swim: 8422 yards in 2.97 hours
Bike: Approx. 85.83 miles in 4.94 hours
Run: Approx. 29.1 miles in 4.57 hours
Strength: 1.52 hours
All Sports: 14 hours LOOK AT THIS, KIDS.
Sleep: 8.49 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.16 hours avg./week

Goals from Last Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE (and I LOVED IT!)
• Stretch over 2 hours for the week. DONE. Came in under the buzzer.
• Begin race visualization. Race Rehearsal weekend this weekend! DONE.
• Watch nutrition, as my training hours begin to decrease. DONE.
  

Accomplishments This Week:
See above for the good.

Goals for Next Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
• Stretch over 2 hours for the week.
• Continue race visualization, and assemble race plan.
• Stay on top of nutrition.
• Be careful to hold back during workouts when I am supposed to.
  

I Got Rolled, then I Got Watts, BABY!!!

Evil coach made me do an FTP test on the bike today. I guess it's the last hurrah before Ironman Brazil to see just where we should calibrate my IM ride. And then I get to test it out this weekend.

Recall that I was pretty wasted beginning Sunday's little indoor riding festival. Luckily, Monday was a rest day (I still did some weights), and yesterday I only had to swim 2650 yards, which was not bad, but after which I still felt like someone had run over me repeatedly with one of those roller things they use to level blacktop (see above), especially my quads. I could feel each part of my quadriceps muscle vibrating while I was kicking in the pool yesterday.

I smartly garbaged up on sleep while I had the opportunity. 9.5 hours Sunday night (pure exhaustion). 9.5 hours Monday night (more exhaustion). 9.5 hours last night, and man I did not want to get out of bed this morning. Sometimes when I drop my training down, I go into this "hey, this lethargic thing ain't so bad, maybe I don't really want to train any more" thing. I guess I have rewired my brain so that when I have the opportunity for real rest, I interpret it instead as "I am done training FOREVER!"

Today was no different. I was in no hurry to get my bike prepared to ride. I just didn't feel very motivated. Paralysis was setting in. How about I just continue not doing much and sleeping a ton? I could really get used to not training. Thanks, though, I really enjoyed that last training cycle. Busted my ass. But I guess I will get on my bike and see what I can do, even though I don't feel like I have much energy at all.

So I procrastinate, and finally at 11:30AM I figure that I had better get the bike ready and be out the door by 11:45 since I have to be back for a 2:00PM meeting. I am supposed to ride 1:15 and run :30. I know the ride will go longer, because when I ride outdoors I am almost never dead on. And then there are stoplights, stop signs, and other things. Today, of all things, there was a funeral procession pulling into the road right after my warmup. Any other day, and I would be pissed off. Not today. A little respect for the dead. I was amazed that I didn't even cry over it. I think it was the universe testing me. Seriously! I did sneak by when there was a gap, though, because I just didn't have that much time to wait. Priorities, you know.

I got to my circle TT loop area. It's about 3.1 miles around with minimal stopping. It's mostly flat, but there are some rises and a few small rollers that make it interesting. But it's the best option I have to do my interval work on, and it's pretty safe, so that's where I go. However, I have no control over wind. But I LOVE wind when doing intervals. Makes it more fun. I got my wish on the wind again today. SSW, 8-10, gusting to 25MPH. Excellent!

I got nice temps, too. About 71. Perfect. So I didn't have to wear much clothing. And for a short ride, no aerobottle either. I played Natasha Badmann and did the upside-down drinking thing from one of the XLAB cages behind my butt.

Ah, the joys of riding on a nice day with a power meter! Interesting thing about the SRM--when you stop an interval, the average watts it shows you may be slightly lower than what you get once you download the information, and then in Cycling Peaks, when you get to see Normalized Power (NP), the NP value is typically higher when riding outdoors (because of variation in terrain, wind, etc.). So on my first FT interval (my test protocol is 20' at FT, 2' easy, 20' at FT, and then get NP for the entire 42' range), what I saw was 168 watts, which was fine, since I knew my NP would be higher given the wind (head and tail) and hills (up and down, and I tried to minimize coasting). I figured close enough. On the 2' easy part, at first I just wanted to puke or at least not pedal, but I picked it up to keep my legs in motion to get ready for the second FT interval. On this one I just decided this was so much fun that I would push even harder, or at least try to. Why not? I was under strict orders from Coach to make each of my remaining interval rides (um....which ones AREN'T????) count. When I'd look at my average watts, they weren't looking too great about 10' in, so I pushed harder. At one point, I asked myself, "Does this hurt?" And the answer was, "Nope." It's not pain; it's just effort. What the hell, it's only 20' (and believe me, the 20' goes by MUCH more quickly outdoors than on the trainer).

When I hit the interval button, I thought I saw 170 for the second FT interval for average watts. All I know is there was a 1 followed by a 7. So good enough. I eased off the effort, dropped back into the small chainring, and headed for home. When I was almost there, for some reason I rode through downtown Downers Grove, and a guy on a motorcycle pulls up ahead of me and says, "I prefer a little more power on my ride." To which I replied, "I had plenty of power today!" with a huge smile on my face. He gave me a thumbs up.

I happily rode home and thought, "I wonder how well I'll run today?" It had been 4 days ago that I last ran, and it was a brick run, and so I just got ready as quickly as I could. About 4' later, I'm out and running.

I decided to head west into the wind so I could have a little push on the way back in. Problem is, going west is mostly uphill for about 1.5 miles. Too fucking bad. Just run. I had a new pair of running shoes that I knew would feel good--all cushy and all clean with day-glo orange EZ laces and hot pink squeeze toggles. I didn't feel bad as I headed up the hill right outside my house. Why should I expect to have trouble running? I only rode like 1:20. That is nothing. So what if it effectively included a 40' time trial. I am so used to this it is not even funny. I will say my legs did not feel quite normal, but they didn't feel bad at all. It was more like, "Fucking hill, another fucking hill" until I got 15' out so I could turn around. I was wearing a pair of low-rider DSS bike shorts, with just a skimpy bra top, since I get pretty hot running, so I'd removed the tank thingie after biking (when it gets to be full summer, I will ride with just the nothing bra top during the week, who cares, may as well get a decent tan). Because of this, I was getting the expected incredulous stares from people seeing all my freakish abs staring them down, daring them not to look. One guy in his car on a cell phone just about crashed his car. I just laugh at this stuff thinking, "Hey, I'm 49 and look like this it just doesn't get any better!" There were a few times when I smiled thinking about my mom, how she would probably say something like "ohhhhhh Sheila" (name that tune) if she saw me dressed this way. Before she passed away, I gave my mom a good look at my abs so that she would know that I wasn't really skinny, and that I had all this muscle on me. She even touched them!

The run was fine, and I guess I was motivated by needing to get back home for my business meeting call. Well, when all was said and done, I negative split the run by 1.30. How about that? And I think I was running 8:00/mile? WTF??? It just goes to show you that sometimes when you feel totally lethargic and such that you can have a great workout. I guess I sort of had a little taperoni there. Whatever, I'll take it!

Now for the good part: my NP for the 42' interval, aka the FTP test was....177!!!!! So I have become stronger, even doing it outdoors! Phew. Coach had said he wanted me to hit 175 before Ironman Brazil (remember that?), and I guess I have done it. Only problem is that means I get to ride harder, but I think I have been riding pretty hard the last few weekends, which is a sign that my FTP has gone up.

My FTP watts/kg is now 3.47. WOO-FUCKING-HOO!! My weight hasn't changed, but I know I've lost additional bodyfat because my hips and butt measurements each went down 1/2". My quads ain't any smaller, though. See previous Bike Porn (Fat-Free) post.

I'm a happy camper! Data is below:
FTP Test:
Duration: 42:40
Work: 435 kJ
TSS: 75.8 (intensity factor 1.032)
Norm Power: 177
Distance: 13.608 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 331 170 watts
Heart Rate: 0 254 106 bpm
Cadence: 30 130 69 rpm
Speed: 3.8 28.6 19.1 mph
Torque: 0 488 218 lb-in

Bike Porn

Weekly Workout Totals 04/24/2006-04/30/2006

When you look at the numbers below, you might be inclined to think that this past week was not as hard as the week where I spent time in South Carolina. You would be wrong. Hard to me is not dependent only on volume; it depends on intensity. And this was, by far, the most intense swimming and cycling I've ever done. EVER! Running didn't need to enter into the picture that much, since I've built a solid run base since, well, last September.

To give you an idea of my running base, since September I've completed 20 runs of 1:30-2:00, 10 runs of 2:00+, and 2 full marathons. That's over 36 weeks, so 32 out of 36 weeks I've run 1:30+. That's what's known as consistency. One of the measures of Ironman training success is the ability (and I'm quoting my coach here) to do at least a 1:30 run every week, from now until forever. That distance of run will prepare most folks for a half or full Ironman.

So this past week we did not need to worry about my running, as I needed to polish off some very serious cycling.

Since I'm just an average swimmer, and swimming tends to be a good recovery vehicle (for strong swimmers; and I may not be fast but I am strong), we also did some overdistance swimming this week. I already knew my endurance was there; but this week we did long, muscular endurance sets. ME sets are characterized by short rest intervals. They force you to swim at a pace that is close to your "continuous" pace. For example, 3x500 with 15" RI. 15" of rest ain't much; so you can't swim the 500's too much faster than you would if you were swimming 1500 straight.

The week would have been hard enough just based on the above; but life decided to make it more difficult for me with the passing of my mother. If you think I didn't think about that during every single workout, you would be wrong. I did. Just as it's important during an Ironman to hold your emotions at bay until the end (trust me, there's plenty of time at the finish line to get all choked up and such, so why ruin your actual race by wasting that energy on the race course?), I needed to practice this week. And by that I mean just not crying during my workouts! I feel very intensely and deeply; but it's mostly just that--feeling. I have learned over the past 8 months to simply be with my thoughts and emotions, and not judge them or go into the past or future over them. This is the same technique that I apply to managing my ability to push during workouts. If you can just be with the sensation of discomfort or effort (I prefer to think of it as effort) instead of getting emotional about it or comparing it to your past efforts or worrying about your future efforts, you will be able to achieve what you set out to do.

I did 2 "epic" swim workouts this week, and even better, I did them back to back on Wednesday and Thursday, because I needed Friday clear for the funeral. Sure, I could have skipped one of the workouts or shortened one, but I made a commitment to myself, to my training, and to my parents to not bag my goals. Wednesday was 4,600 yards, and Thursday was 3,900 yards. And then on Thursday mid-day I went and ran 2 hours. Part of my pea brain was saying that I should be running abysmally, since Wednesday I did a big swim and a 1-hour tempo run, and then I did the big swim on Thursday morning. The other part of my pea brain reminded me that I am incredibly strong, and while I shouldn't dismiss the effort as "no big deal," that I would be able to get through it. I did do my hilly trail run that day, and I nearly PR'ed my half marathon that day. By "nearly," I mean that I ran very strongly for 9 miles, then I had to climb out of the hole (it's about 1 mile up at a decent pitch), which temporarily demoralized me, then I remembered I needed to do 20' of tempo work, so I just willed myself to run very close to my 10K pace somehow, and then I realized I was, indeed tired, and cruised the last mile in.

Friday was a full day off. In the back of my mind I really wanted to fit in my second abs/core workout, but if ever I felt completely exhausted, it was at the end of that day, so the thought quickly passed. And I needed to be rested and ready to go for the weekend of pure hell. Well, not quite hell, but very challenging, focused riding. The stuff that is way harder than the Ironman ride. The stuff that tests your commitment to the training and your desire to be good at this Ironman thing; to not just finish the race, but to have raced it.

Saturday's plan called for a 5-hour ride followed by a :30 run as follows: WU: 120' @ 65-70%, MS: 2 x (40' @ 88-90%, 10' Easy), 20' Easy, then 1 x 20' @ FT. Remainder (90') is 80-85%, as you feel. The weather was windy (thank you!), but this day it was also on the cool side (around 50), and rain was expected in the afternoon. I wore lightweight running tights over my bike shorts and put on the arm warmers, and I was still slightly chilled. I got out the door at 8:15. I started out tired, and during the 2-hour warmup, it felt like I was struggling. I thought I was close to hitting the required watts, but it didn't feel easy. It made me wonder how I would get through the remaining even more difficult stuff. I rode into Fermilab again, and found the lab where one of my cousins works (I had forgotten about that until mom's funeral, and then he (Ed) and I had a nice discussion about circling around where he works), and at about 2 hours in, the first raindrops began falling. All I could think was how dreadful it would be to finish a 5-hour ride on the trainer (and while I might be inclined to use the algorithm that 1.5 x trainer time = outdoor time, I wasn't going to shorten ANYTHING this week), so would I rather put up with rain, or would I rather put up with being on the trainer? It's amazing how long such a small thought can entertain you while you are riding solo doing focused work, and my legs were kicking in just fine on the first HIM interval, and the rain wasn't hard, so I just kept going. I looked at the sky periodically and figured it wasn't going to rain too hard. It was mostly just sprinkles, but when you are kicking out watts, it seems you are being pelted. So I just kept circling in Fermilab. The watts were coming, but at some point I made a deal with myself: finish all the really hard stuff, and then finish up the last bit on the trainer. It was a good decision. When I was about 8 miles from home (which was enough time to do the FT interval and then some), it began raining harder. This was all the encouragement I needed to push really, really hard. I hit normalized watts of 176 for the interval. Pretty good into a headwind and now driving rain. Motivation to get home fast. When I was almost home, since I knew I would need to run on the treadmill and my bike was a mess, I made an executive decision to just head to the Y and finish up :45 on the Precor bike. Did I really need to bike more? No. But to me it was a matter of principle for the week. No wimping out, no stiffing my workouts for any reason. So I get to the Y and some man gets on the Precor next to me and wants to have a conversation. It was the usual bullshit about how he wants to have a better physique (while eyeballing mine up and down despite the fact that I stunk to high heaven). I wasn't really in the mood for this, so I told him this: You have to really want it, or else don't waste your time. He had all the usual excuses: my wife buys cookies (I told him to just not eat them); I want to emulate someone else's diet exactly (I told him that won't work--he is not that person). It was one of those days where I was so happy to need to run! Despite the several costume changes and equipment changes, the run felt good. Of course, I ran an extra 5', as part of this week's commitment. When all was said and done, my total riding time was 5:14. I actually averaged higher watts than required during much of the ride, and overall (thanks, Rich, for pointing this out to me), I average close to what my FTP had been last fall! There's real progress!

Yesterday, I knew I'd be on the trainer for the full time, since the forecast called for rain all day, and the forecast did not disappoint. My workout was 4 hours like this: WU: 60' @ 65-70% MS: 1 x (40' @ 88-90%, 10' Easy), 20' Easy, then 1 x 20' @ FT. Remainder (100') is 80-85%, as you feel. Ugh. Did I really want to spend 4 hours on the trainer? Hell no. Would I? Yep. Did I? Yep. It was hard. When I woke up, I felt pretty darn trashed. A combination of having already put in 17 hours of training, a hard ride the day before, and I'm pretty sure I didn't make up all 3,000 calories I had burned on Saturday. So there were 2 pots of coffee before I started, which helped a little. I always allow myself one out in a workout: if it ain't happening, just do the best you can. But I managed to do what I needed to, and got the job done.

Here are the happy totals.

Weekly Totals 04/24/2006-04/30/2006
Swim: 11550 yards in 4.07 hours; 19% of weekly workout time; approx. 1423 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 191.33 miles in 10.93 hours; 52% of weekly workout time; approx. 4747 calories burned
Run: Approx. 32 miles in 4.88 hours; 23% of weekly workout time; approx. 2686 calories burned
Strength: 1.12 hours; 5% of weekly workout time; approx. 280 calories burned
All Sports: 21 hours; approx. 9136 calories burned (Blackjack!)
Sleep: 8.42 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2 hours

Season Totals 09/12/2005-04/30/2006
Swim: 278550 yards in 98.58 hours
Bike: Approx. 2749.92 miles in 158.42 hours
Run: Approx. 963.48 miles in 151.39 hours
Strength: 50.11 hours
All Sports: 458.5 hours; approx. 204090 calories burned
Stretching: 49.79 hours

Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-04/30/2006
Swim: 8441 yards in 2.99 hours
Bike: Approx. 83.33 miles in 4.8 hours
Run: Approx. 29.2 miles in 4.59 hours
Strength: 1.52 hours
All Sports: 13.89 hours
Sleep: 8.47 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.16 hours avg./week

Goals from Last Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE.
• Get in at least 2 hours of stretching for the week. DONE.
• Keep up the mental focus. This is the hardest week of all. DONE.
• Stay mentally strong for my family and myself. DONE.
• Stay on top of my nutrition. Close, but no cigar. It was tough to keep up my normal eat-every-2 hours schedule through Thursday. I did the best I could.
• Keep my head in the game during every key workout. DONE.

Accomplishments This Week:

• Completed every workout per instructions, even adding time to almost all of them.
• Kept myself together.

Goals for Next Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
• Stretch over 2 hours for the week.
• Begin race visualization. Race Rehearsal weekend this weekend!
• Watch nutrition, as my training hours begin to decrease

Mom's Funeral

It was Friday. Springtime in Chicagoland comes with dicey weather, but it was a picture-perfect spring day! The sky was clear, there were minimal clouds and minimal wind. It was in the mid-60's, so we were able to be outdoors in the bright sunshine without our coats on.

It was wonderful to have my brothers (Mike and Tom) and sisters (Carla and Lisa) there, as well as two of my uncles, several first cousins and some of their spouses, and a few friends of my mom's and dad's.

I wore a black crepe dress that was my mom's. She gave me 3 dresses that she wore in her early 20's. Everyone remarked that they couldn't believe she ever fit into the one I wore! I reminded them that mom had quite the figure back then, although truth be told, I would never fill out the top part of a dress the way I think that she did. I also wore her pearls. She gave them to me right before I got married in 1986. They survived the marriage, the divorce, and all the other things that have happened to me since then.

We had a simple funeral all taking place at the gravesite (this was all my doing; my dad nominated me as the planner). The pall bearers walked with the casket from the hearse to the grave. In a moment of comedy, the casket needed to be spun around 180 degrees so that my mom's head would be in the correct position (I guess for a viewing the head is supposed to be opposite the headstone). I later asked my brother in law if he felt like laughing at that moment; he said not then, but then we decided this should be a new family tradition, to spin the casket one time before laying the person to rest.

The casket was opened and everyone paid their respects. I thought it would be hard for me to look upon my mom's face again, having seen it taking her last breaths of life. But it was OK, and again I was happy knowing that her suffering was over.

The priest spoke the commital prayers, some of which we prayed along with. After so many years of not attending church regularly, I still remembered them all.

The casket was closed, and most of us passed by it one last time. Then we all assembled at a restaurant for lunch, or whatever it was at that time of day. I was so hungry--just being depleted from the week of duties and travel and then there was my training--I was up to 11 hours by Friday, and I didn't even do anything on Friday! I knew I was behind on my calories, but I ate slowly and savored the presence of the others, and we shared quite a few good stories about mom.

When all was said and done, and Mike and I had dropped off my dad, I was home a little after 5PM. All I could think was that I needed rest. But it was still a beautiful day, so I took off my rings and bracelets, and headed out into my front flower bed. I left the dress on--I thought it would be fitting. I was smiling to myself thinking how tired I was, yet how good it felt to pull some weeds and get my fingers dirty. I had a beer with me. There was a nice breeze, and I felt good that the day had been so nice for my mom's honor. I then realized that I had a lot of work to do the next few days, so I went back indoors to get some more food, prepare my bike and bottles for Saturday's riding, and get some sleep.

Speaking of work, I had better get on my bike again. I'll recap the training week later today.

Peaking and Grieving

What a strange combination of events--here I am in my most difficult training week of my life, and my mom has died. The funeral is Friday. Can I, should I keep up my training? Hell yes, it's what mom would have wanted, and it's what dad has insisted upon. I seem to have been given extra energy care of my mom.

Yesterday I did 1:35 on the trainer (it was only 32 here, if you can believe that), and then ran :35 on the treadmill. I had watts galore on the bike, and while their generation didn't feel effortless, I think I could have kept churning them out in spurts. When I got on the treadmill, my heart rate was nice and low, and I warmed up for 5 minutes and my legs felt weightless. How could that be? I just drilled myself on the bike; running should not feel this good. But it did, so I kept increasing the speed. My legs felt almost like they weren't there; there was no pain, almost no sensation, so I had to look down and check that I was, in fact, running. I wanted, needed effort. I should not feel so good with the weight that is on me now. Yet, I was floating. I just went with it, and at the same time I choked back tears every few minutes. No crying while running! Perhaps it was my body shifting its negative energy just to my mind, leaving my legs free to do their muscular thing, which by now require almost no thought at all to do their thing.

But, once I stopped running (and it's very hard for me mentally when I get to the end of a workout now because the floodgates open), and I wanted to collapse in a heap on the floor, I didn't. I forced myself to go to the Y yesterday so I could face people and face myself and, well, if I lost it, so what. Once I began to stretch, every muscle (and I am quite attuned to them all) in my legs would cramp. I don't know if it was because it was 5PM and I hadn't eaten since 10AM or what. It was just an interesting sensory combination to have had weightless, floating legs, followed by cramps. But I eased into the stretching and was OK.

I got home, fixed something for dinner, carbed up and thankfully got to sleep around 9PM, knowing I had to be up, get something to eat in me, and into the pool bright and early to swim 4,500 yards. My swim workout this morning wasn't by any means fast; it was an endurance session (2 sets of 3x500 with 15" rest type of stuff), and knowing that my swimming is most affected by my state of fatigue, I just settled in to get it done. I didn't feel particularly worn out, but knew I'd be swimming a little slower than I'd like, which was fine. But I had absolutely no endurance problems, and focused on my form, which felt very good to me. I ended up swimming 4,600 yards (this week in honor of mom I am swimming 50-100 yards extra each workout and every other workout I am doing 5 extra minutes), and really didn't feel too worse for the wear except I wanted to eat everything in sight.

Around 2:15 I headed out to do my tempo run. I was supposed to do a total of :55, but of course, I had decided I'd run for a full hour (this week's rules, you know), from home, meaning my rolling 6-mile course plus some more. I ended up doing almost 7 miles in an hour, which means that I pretty much ran tempo pace the entire time, although I was only supposed to do :25 worth. No worries. It felt good, I felt good, it was all good. My legs weren't floaty like they were yesterday, but what I noticed today was not so much effort in my legs but more like just in my aerobic capacity. Which is undoubtedly HUGE. I feel like a machine right about now. If I can hold this fitness and then get my taper rest in I should be not only good to go, but almost great to go for Ironman Brazil.

I have never felt this way in my life. I realized today that many of the challenges I faced this past fall were the universe's way of preparing me for this week. Not just the week of peaking; but also the week of grieving. I am taking things one day at a time. I am astounded by the level of care being expressed by friends, family, and people I don't even know on the Internet. I think everyone knows the importance of a mother. There's nothing like your mom! I think I am able to move through this fairly well because of my insane focus on mental work that I've had the past 6 months, and I suppose the physical strength helps out, too.

The other thing that comes to mind is that unlike my 2 brothers and 2 sisters, I have quite a bit of mom in me. She was a good seamstress, cook and gardener. She always joked to me about how I had to be better than she was at all these things (and most anything that I tackled she remarked how I had to be the very best at whatever I did, haha not so much at marriage, though), but also that she was very proud of me for it. I never set out to be better than her; I just set out to be the best that I could be. And I got a lot of it from her. So these most excellent spring days (and by the way, I am so happy my mom died in the springtime--the very most beautiful time of the year to me) when I'm out poking around in my flower beds, sure I am sad that mom won't see the new things coming up this season, but I have plants that were cuttings from hers, I have the green thumb she had (not for indoor plants, please, I will kill them all!) and most of all, I have the same attitude towards it that she had, which is that the garden is a place of comfort and solace. If something's bugging you, go pull some weeds. It will help you think things through. Put your hands right into the dirt--no gloves--you will feel cleansed by the real contact with the Earth. Listen to the birds and watch the bees and other insects flitting about you. This is nature at its most accessible and pleasurable. Every day! While I don't spend as much time on my garden beds as I used to, they are there for me every single day and give me so much pleasure. At least once a day I make a point to "patrol" the premises. I look at things, pull a weed here, smell a flower there, and it is very relaxing, almost like meditation.

When I look in my closets, I see all the beautiful things I've sewed for myself over the years, and know that my mom inspired me to take up the craft. Initially it was out of necessity, since she used to make my clothes through 7th grade, but I realized she didn't have time when she began working again, so I told her one day that I needed to make myself a dress and would she take me to buy fabric and a pattern, and then would she help me if I got stuck? Well, she did, I didn't get stuck, and several months later I made my 8th grade graduation dress (very stylish--bright yellow with kelly green velvet ribbon on the bodice and wrists). And then I discovered that I liked sewing and chose progressivly more difficult things to make.

When I cook, now it's mainly for sustenance, but I can remember all that I learned by watching my mom cook and savoring whatever she fixed and asking what was in it. When I was in high school, again I sensed that my mom needed some more help in the house, and she was driving me to a job, so I thought the least I could do was cook dinner for the family before I went to my evening job after high school. So I fixed some of the things she taught me, I bought a few cookbooks and went nuts. Every night there was a main course, side dishes and a dessert. Needless to say, my brothers and dad were in hog heaven! But to me, it was just the right thing to do, and my secondary purpose was to acquire another skill and do it well.

So even though I break into moments of sadness over my mom's death, and I know it will continue for who knows how long, I am also spending a whole lot of time smiling about how much of her is in me and know that there's nothing for me to forget because I live it every single day.

I am thinking about singing a song at my mom's funeral. If I think I can hold it together long enough to do that, I will; if not, I will just read the words aloud. And yes, I was in the choir in junior high and high school and also accompanied the choir on the piano on some difficult pieces. So I can sing pretty decently. We shall see.

I did work today and will also do so tomorrow--sort of. I will be swimming 4,000 yards in the morning and then running 2 hours in the middle of the day. It's time for me to hit the trail run. My boss is being very good to me, so I'm sure I can finesse being gone for 3 hours in the middle of the day. It will be a beautiful, spring day. I look forward to it.

My mom passed this morning

Friends,

After weeks of ill-health and hospitals, preceded by years of fragility, my mom passed this morning. I was fortunate to be with her, my dad and my sister-in-law at the end. I visited with her most of yesterday, and judging from her condition, I knew that death was imminent. Ultimately, it was congestive heart failure that took her, but it was just the last systemic failure in a long line of complications from diabetes.

The end came quickly, and we hope, comfortably. I had an opportunity to speak with my mom this morning, and whether or not she heard me, this is what I said:

Thanks for letting me become hyper-independent and self-sufficient.
Thanks for letting my intelligence blossom with only gentle nudging, and giving me plenty of tools like flash cards, puzzles and mentally challenging games.
Thanks for encouraging me to seek excellence at the young age of 4 at the piano, that would spill over into every other facet of my life.
Thanks for showing me how strong a person can be in the face of adversity.

And most of all, I let her know that she has been the primary inspiration behind the level I push myself in sport to be the very best that I can be. While she never saw me race, she's been there at every finish line, and I will welcome her spiritual presence again in about 4 weeks. Yes, I am still going to Ironman Brazil. Yes, it might be hard, but it's nothing compared to the suffering my mom just went through. She is no longer suffering. I am not really suffering right now--I would say it's more just the beginning of a grieving process. If you can feel a hole in your heart, I guess that's what I feel! But at the same time, I feel so fortunate that I am so strong, and I know that mom would want me to keep on keeping on to keep myself strong.

As my dad and I were leaving the hospital just an hour ago, he told me to keep everything going. He was on his way to his YMCA, and shortly I'll be on my way to mine. No crying in the pool, you know. And no feeling sorry for myself. I have so much to be thankful for.

I am just so happy that my mom is at peace. She is with her God, and as she was the kindest, gentlest woman I have every known (in contrast to me, and I did apologize to her for that), I can only hope to be as good of a human being.

Peace, and know that I will be OK. Life marches on. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. We only get one body while we are here, treat it well!

Weekly Training Totals 04/17/2006-04/23/2006

Weekly Totals 04/17/2006-04/23/2006
Swim: 10150 yards in 3.58 hours; 19% of weekly workout time; approx. 1254 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 155.77 miles in 9.17 hours; 47% of weekly workout time; approx. 4278 calories burned
Run: Approx. 33.05 miles in 5.04 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 2708 calories burned
Strength: 1.52 hours; 8% of weekly workout time; approx. 380 calories burned
All Sports: 19.31 hours; approx. 8620 calories burned
Sleep: 8.86 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.68 hours

Season Totals 09/12/2005-04/23/2006
Swim: 267000 yards in 94.51 hours
Bike: Approx. 2558.59 miles in 147.49 hours
Run: Approx. 931.48 miles in 146.51 hours
Strength: 48.99 hours
All Sports: 437.5 hours; approx. 194954 calories burned
Stretching: 47.79 hours

Season Weekly Averages 09/12/2005-04/23/2006
Swim: 8344 yards in 2.95 hours
Bike: Approx. 79.96 miles in 4.61 hours
Run: Approx. 29.11 miles in 4.58 hours
Strength: 1.53 hours
All Sports: 13.67 hours
Sleep: 8.47 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.17 hours avg./week

Goals from Last Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE
• Get in at least 2 hours of stretching for the week. DONE
• Keep up the mental focus. DONE
• Reestablish my power readings, after a week without the SRM and good power readings. FTP is unchanged, but the important thing is to push, push, push during every ride now (so that Ironman ride will be easy!), and I was able to do that.
• Stay on top of my nutrition. DONE. This was key in recovering from the big workouts so I could get up and do it again the next day.
• Keep my head in the game during every key workout. DONE

Accomplishments this Week:

• Drilled myself (watts-wise) on the bike even though I was riding alone and in strong headwinds.
• Remained strong for my father, who is truly suffering.
• Practiced optimal recovery techniques in order to tolerate the training load and other stress.

Goals for Next Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
• Get in at least 2 hours of stretching for the week.
• Keep up the mental focus. This is the hardest week of all.
• Stay mentally strong for my family and myself.
• Stay on top of my nutrition.
• Keep my head in the game during every key workout.

In case you are interested, here are the workouts I did:

Monday: Swim 3,000 yards in 1:04, Strength :57, Run :40

Tuesday: Bike 1:15 (FT Test), Run :42

Wednesday: Swim 3,250 in 1:10, Run :56 w/:30 tempo pace

Thursday: Run 2:15 building to :20 at tempo pace

Friday: Swim 3,900 yards (none of them easy except for the warmup!) in 1:22

Saturday: Bike 5:15 at IF (Intensity Factor) of .85 (essentially means I went at 85% of FTP for the entire ride, which is just below HIM effort); Run :30 (ran just slightly off my 10K pace)

Sunday: Bike 2:40 at IF .90. Was supposed to go 3 hours, but needed to go to the hospital. I still managed to drill myself.