Dawnie's road to an Ironman!

Mooseman International Triathlon

2009-06-08T12:20:00.005-04:00

Team G representing this past weekend...

Mooseman (International Distance 1.5k swim, 27.25mi bike and 10k run) went off without a hitch. Team G was representing in a big way. First off, Relay Team G (Greg- swim, and a couple friends Daniel and Pam to bike and run respectively) were on a mission to place in the Relay standings. They were fired up. Greg got them off to a strong start with a terrific swim at 28:33, Daniel smoked the bike at 1:09:40 (that's 23.5mph for all you mathematically challenged folks, I believe it was the 4th fastest bike split of the day- only following the 3 top finishers!) and Pam killing the 10k at an even 45:00 (7:15 pace) so they completed the entire race in 2:25:29, placing 1st in the Coed division (out of 13!) and 2nd relay team overall (out of 27!) Kudos to them, I expected nothing less- they are all terrific athletes! They were recognized at the awards ceremony after the race :)

I opted to go it alone in this one and test all my "off season" work. I had not raced in 9months (since IM Wisconsin in September) I was worried there might be some cobwebs to clean off, but thankfully it didn't take long. I lined up in the swim front and center, second row (this is new for me, I usually hang off the back and swim around folks, but my swimming has been good lately so I decided to give it a go up front and see what I had) this is where I should probably mention that the water was COLD, not just cool but "take your breath away COLD", maybe high 50's so I knew I wanted to get in and out as quick as possible! When our wave went off, I just went with the flow, had many bodies to navigate around from previous waves, but did so as efficiently as possible. At the turn around buoy I realized another pink cap and I were stroke for stroke- I thought- what better way to save some energy, I dropped back behind her and swam "on her feet" the rest of the way in. Besides my numb feet- I felt pretty good. 25:53 swim time.

The bike started out fine, I began taking in calories right away and started passing guys, more guys and many more guys (my wave was the first women's wave with three men's waves before us, so I didn't see many girls out there!) It's a very hilly course, with one steep climb around mile 6 or so (Daniel said he saw people walking their bikes up it!) but the rest of the course is more rolling hills. I went hard on the flats and downhills, keep my effort in check on the uphills. I was trying to count the number of women I passed, knowing my wave was the first women's wave- I counted seven that I passed. As I was coming back into transition I saw Greg ahead of me cheering, and could tell by the look on his face that I was back earlier than he expected to see me :) I felt great coming off the bike. 1:21:11 bike time, 20.1mph average.

Next was the run, my weakness for sure. I've been working hard on my run but I feared I might get "run down" by faster girls in my age group. As I exited T2, there were folk there yelling "6th female, you're :45 seconds back" and the guy who was running next to me says "go run them down, girl" HA! Does he know running is my weakness?? So here I was running along without my garmin (which I did on purpose, I wanted to run on perceived effort- no pressure to hold a pace, just run how I feel) and I'm in a position where people are watching me, cheering for me and expecting me to run fast! I took it all in stride and just ran strong, but not so hard that I was panting and struggling. A few women did pass me along the way (so fast that I couldn't even see their age written on the backs of their legs!) I just continued to run my race and have fun with it. As I came through the finisher's chute, the announcer said here comes the 9th female to finish! I ran a 47:45, 7:42pace. (turns out I did not get passed by anyone in my age group, I held my spot during the run! A huge accomplishment for me, given my running is my weakest.)

I ended up with a 2:38:53, good enough for 5th in my age group (out of 86), and 15th female overall (out of 398) the best part is, I had FUN! What a great race. Hard, challenging and fun all wrapped into a couple hours! I still have lots of work to do this season, but I'm off to a good start.

Bring it next weekend at Kansas 70.3 Dave and Greg- wish I could be there for support :(

I wanted to write down a few more thoughts from my Moosman Race-

Some of the things I'm happy about:
1. PR in every discipline (swim by ~5min, bike ~10min and run ~5min) so about 20mins overall faster than I have been as similar distances in the past.
2. 5th in AG and 15th overall Female (was pretty cool to be "upfront" having people telling me how far back I was from the girls in front of me, I almost laughed and said "don't you know running isn't my thing"!!)
3. Not losing ANY ground in my AG on the run. My fear after having such a good bike was that I would get "run down" by a few girls and lose some spots in my AG. I beat the next F30-34 by 3mins.
4. Swimming faster than the Overall Female winner, and grabbing someone's feet on the swim.
5. Staying aero for most of the race (only climbing steep hills out of aero.)
6. Not being a slave to my powermeter, yet hitting my power numbers head on (tells me we're training with the right power zones)
7. Running right at (or just below) my tempo pace without any Garmin data. Also tells me I am training properly and can run in my zones based on RPE.

Things I should work on:
1. Eating less in the days leading up to the race. I felt "thick" I should choose my food wisely and eat more strictly.
2. Getting to the race venue a little earlier in the morning, I didn't have time to get a warmup and stretching in. I got kicked out of transition within 5mins of racking my bike!
3. Losing more weight- I felt like another 5-10lbs off of me would help my run, alot.
4. Stay away from the devil on Devil's Hill- she almost stuck her pitch folk through my spoke as I rode up the hill (she was walking up and talking to someone, swinging her arms!) I had to say something to her before she "spoked" me.
5. Doing more core work (besides my hamstrings, my core is all that is sore today!)

I'm alive, really I am!

2009-05-15T08:52:00.002-04:00

Holy couple of months, batman. I have been TOTALLY slacking on the blog. My bad. I know, I stink. BUT....race season is almost here so time to get back on the blog-wagon. Mooseman is a month away (International Distance) I can't wait to race again, it's been since Sept. YIKES!

Ten

2009-02-11T07:58:00.003-05:00

What does the number ten mean to you? To me, it's the number of pounds I've been trying to lose for a while. Well, today is a day to celebrate. I have officially lost TEN pounds since Jan 1, 2009! And fifteen pounds since our return from Hawaii in October.

I am finally feeling the differences, small things. My favorite jeans don't fit well anymore (they look sloppy.) My core feels stronger, more muscular. My legs are definitely leaner/stronger.

JRM steered me in the right direction and I've followed his advice religiously and what do you know? I'm seeing results. It's a beautiful thing!

Seems I can lose a tad more. So I will strive to be leaner/stronger by tri season this summer- I have no doubt I will see positive race results if I continue on this path!

Ten has new meaning to me; it's not so intimidating after all!

Harpoon Indoor Time Trial (ITT)

2009-02-10T08:04:00.011-05:00

On Sunday I was christened by my first ITT (where you race other riders on bikes set up on trainers) and you follow the progress on a screen at the front of the room. I have never done one before, but thought it might be fun, so we signed up (Greg, Pam, Brandy and myself) Pam and Brandy rode with the "A women" (read: Pro Women) which went off at 12 noon, so we showed up early to watch them! They both did great!

Soon after their heat, it was our turn. Greg and I in the same (co-ed) heat. I knew I wouldn't win the heat (b/c G will beat me everytime!) But I had high hopes for Greg to win...if you win your heat. You got a case of Harpoon Beer.

So I got started and took it a little easy (you can see in my power file that my rpms (green line) were high so I switched gears a few minutes in and started to work a little harder. The course had a minor hill about half way and then a more substantial (5% grade) hill from Mile 6-7 (If you invert my speed, blue line, you can envision the course profile.)

My power (yellow line) was fairly consistent (which is good!) and I averaged right where I thought I would (232watts on my powermeter, although the computrainer/official results list 226watts) Overall I was 13th female, not too shabby considering there were a few Pros and bigger name road riders present. I'll take it for my first ITT. It was SO fun! My official time was 24:09 (19.9mph)

Here is my power meter data:

ITT:

Duration: 24:10

Work: 336 kJ

TSS: 46.2 (intensity factor 1.071)

Norm Power: 232

VI: 1

Pw:HR: n/a

Pa:HR: n/a

Distance: 8.406 mi

Elevation Gain: 98 ft

Elevation Loss: 108 ft

Grade: -0.0 % (-10 ft)

Min Max Avg

Power: 154 288 232 watts

Heart Rate: 0 182 66 bpm

Cadence: 80 107 93 rpm

Speed: 10.6 28.5 20.9 mph

Pace 2:06 5:41 2:52 min/mi

Altitude: 676 689 682 ft

Crank Torque: 121 271 211 lb-in

Temperature: 60.8 64.4 62.7 Fahrenheit

Oh, and Greg does not disappoint! He won our heat (21:21 total time) and graciously gave the case of beer (minus a couple) away to Brandy and Pam/Daniel. They stuck around to watch (and cheer, loudly!) for us in our heat. It was a blast!! I'm so proud of Greg...won our heat and was 31st overall (out of 168 people) I only wish he would stop showing off :P

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly- Swim Video

2009-02-06T08:30:00.003-05:00

So Patrick (with Endurance Nation) invited G and I to a swim clinic back in Jan. where we did a classroom chat, swim drills and ended with a video analysis. Mine was not as bad as I expected, but there are always things to work on.

The Good:
Good rotation
Good Pull

The Bad:
Back side sinks
Entry could be better
Work on rotating hand slightly inward to initiate catch and get elbow up

The Ugly:
Being in a swim suit on camera, lol!

New Beginnings and New Approaches

2009-02-02T08:50:00.004-05:00

I'm SO excited to start training today. We're now working with Janda Ricci-Munn, I cannot wait to see how his approach to training can help us both improve this season! Bring on the pain!

Week of rest and sleep…Timmy was thankful to have company on the couch.

2009-01-30T09:13:00.001-05:00

A week ago tomorrow, I went for a run with my pal Pam and was DRAGGING…poor Pam must have thought I eaten a few too many cookies at the Holidays because I simply could not keep pace with her for the life of me. But she dragged me along until about mile 9 when I proclaimed “I’m bonking” little did I know my body had other plans for me. I made it home safely and showered, curled up on the couch to put my feet up and BAM. Chills, fever hit and I asked G if he “caught the license plate of the MAC truck that hit me?” I spent the entire weekend sprawled on the couch freezing, sweating, repeat. I knew I had a fever. Anyway, a week later and zero workouts (I mean not one) I’m feeling a LOT better and hope that I can get some easy workouts in this weekend in preparation of a better workout week next week!

Oh, the cherry on top of my crappy flu week: On Monday as I was walking to the Dr.’s office, I was using my mouth to assist in putting my mitten on when SNAP- I chipped my tooth. Ugh! I spent the week worrying about what my dentist would say (and do to fix it.) Well, I have GREAT news! My dentist fixed me up last night and my smile is better than ever :) I am SO excited!!

Can’t wait to start off a new week, and new month! Smile often!

Bart Yasso’s got nothin’ on me…

2009-01-22T08:59:00.003-05:00

Yasso 800s are evil, but a great way to measure improvement. Last winter I was in “full running mode” with my 5th Boston Marathon on the horizon, I was running a lot. This year, not so much. Over the past few weeks went from <20mi/week to up over 30mi/week (I’ll be between 36-40mi this week by the time it’s over) and I’m struggling to find my running mojo. Don’t get me wrong, I can do the work, but my endurance isn’t there (yet) and I’ve felt “slow” ever since IMWI in Sept.

So, I’ve been going to indoor track for a couple weeks now and last night’s workout was 4-6x800s, Yassos if you like. Well my friend Pam turns to me and says “my watch battery broke, can I pace off you” Sure Pam, I’m thinking (until you smoke me!) See, Pam ran a 3:37 marathon to BQ last year…I’m not quite up to snuff with Pam’s running. I was thinking I might have one or two 3:40-3:45/800s in me until I fall apart b/c I haven’t been doing speedwork a lot, and I haven’t done a run over 9mi in months. We’ll see, I thought…

So turns out, I had more in me than I thought. And I was only going to do 4x800, not 6x800…until Pam convinced me she needed to do 6, so I caved. And did 6. Here is how they went:

#1: 3:34
#2: 3:34
#3: 3:29
#4: 3:30
#5: 3:32
#6: 3:33
I chased Pam until I couldn’t chase anymore and she was easily 5-10secs ahead of me on every 800, but it’s awesome to have friends to run with and chase..so not too shabby all things considered and looking back on last March and all the miles I logged and the speedwork I was doing then, my Yassos were anywhere from 3:36-3:31. I’m exactly where I was back then. I seem to have a love/hate relationship with the track…

"Be the Change you wish to see in the world"

2009-01-21T09:03:00.003-05:00

"Be the Change you wish to see in the world" by Mahatma Gandhi.

That is the quote on the paperweight I have on my desk (thanks for the gift, Mom!) This quote could not be more appropriate these days. Things need to change.

Somehow I was convinced that January would be a nice easy month of relaxing and settling into the new year comfortably. But suddenly it’s 1/21/09 and we have a new (read: competent) President that I was SO excited to see inaugurated yesterday. I could not be more proud of being an American right now. Watching the crowds, the politicians and all the pomp and circumstance yesterday was enough to bring me hope that change may actually occur with this new Administration. I’m not very political, but I will admit this was the first Presidential election I’ve ever voted in because sadly, it was the first time I cared enough to do so. I am proud to say I voted for Obama, Change we can believe in.

It’s been a while since I blogged and somehow I forgot my password and seems as though Blogger is going to make me set up a gmail account now too? So not cool…and not very helpful in my quest to blog more! Guess I need to change my password and my email.

In my previous post I wrote about losing the same “10lbs” I’ve been talking about for years and it’s with pride that I share I have lost 6lbs so far this month, and I’m down 10lbs since October (after our trip to Hawaii where I ate anything and everything in sight!) So apparently logging my food is good thing (and ever so eye opening) and having a supportive husband who can eat anything and not gain a pound, but will put up with my grilled fish (or chicken) and green bean dinners on a nightly routine is ever so helpful. So the quest continues to be leaner and more fit (numbers don’t mean much to me, I want to be strong and fast.) so these little changes I have made these past few weeks seem to be working, I will continue on this path of being healthier in an attempt to change my body composition.

If you know me personally you have likely heard me cry and complain about my “saddle issues” and discomfort on my terrific (yet painful to ride) P2C. Well, I am happy to report after more than a dozen fittings, six saddles and almost that many trips to the doctor I am SO HAPPY to report that I think we might have found the problem. I rebuilt my road bike geometry (on my original bike) and found that my tt bike hood drop was ~3cm LOWER, causing my hips to rotate too far forward and place all my pressure forward (not on my sit bones) causing me all these problems. SO easy fix, raise my aero bars, and match the geometry of my road bike FINALLY I am comfortable on my tt bike!! Fitwerx2 rocks. They are currently setting up my tt bike with the new numbers- I will pick it up this weekend. We all had smile on our faces after the fix on Saturday, I suspect everyone and their brother was tired of my crying and complaining. I have renewed hope that this fix will allow me to make appropriate gains on my bike this season. I could not be happier to be on two wheels; hooray for Change.

Next month shall bring new changes (yeah!) and challenges so I look forward to tackling those with revived energy! Bring on the changes...

Following through....

2009-01-02T13:29:00.004-05:00

I'm terrific at starting things.

Lists, journals, diets, you name it...but I really have to rack my brain to remember things that I have followed through with to my satisfaction. I have great intentions, but usually end up getting sidetracked and forgetting and never getting around to finishing things.

In 2009, I resolve to following through on some of the things that I always intend on doing and usually start, but never finish.

1. Losing these stubborn ten pounds I've been talking about losing forever now! I have begun a training/food journal that really will focus more on how I feel and what went right/wrong and what hurts/doesn't and how I'm improving in an effort to see how I'm affected by things. I would like to log a minimum of 5x/week through Jan. and see how I do. This is a self inflicted challenge.

2. I would like to organize all the addresses I have for friends and family (that I scrounge for every Dec. when I go to do my Christmas Cards) this will allow me to actually SEND the cards I buy for people throughout the year and keep in touch with people better. I will buy a new address book and update before the end of Jan.

3. These are just a couple of many, many things I have attempted to start and never finish. I will likely add to this list, but in the spirit of New Year's Resolutions I am starting small as not to easily fail. I would like to add one thing to this list of things I'd like to follow through with each month this year. Hold me to it!

The good news in this post is I have NEVER EVER dnf'd in a race. If I start a race, I finish it....it may be the *only* aspect of my life that I follow through with!

Happy New Year!

New Food Obsession...

2008-12-29T11:53:00.005-05:00

...I've decided it's high time I start taking my food consumption more seriously and in doing so, G has started calling me the "Nutrition Nazi" (please don't be offended!) we already eat "fairly" healthy and I more than G need to lose a few pounds off this frame in order to get stronger/faster. This is in NO WAY a diet, but more of a new obsession with HOW I eat, WHAT I eat and most importantly WHEN I'm eating certain foods.

So fast forward to me thinking about how good beans are for me- fiber, protein and lots of other great nutrients to fuel my body so I created what has turned out to be a pretty darn good bean salad.

Here is what it's made of:

Salad:
One can of Chick Peas (rinsed and drained)

One can Red Beans (rinsed and drained)

One can of Black Beans (rinsed and drained)

One can of Corn (rinsed and drained)

Four chopped stalks of celery

One chopped Yellow Bell Pepper

Chopped Grape Tomatoes

Dressing:

Top with Red Wine Vinegar Mixed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a touch of dried Oregano

Mix it all together and about an hour or so before eating add the Dressing and stir. Obviously Refrigerate and Enjoy!! Full of Protein and Good Fats, a few carbs...everything an athlete needs for a healthy lifestyle!

Kona 2008- a look back

2008-12-23T13:54:00.027-05:00

It's been over two months since our trip to Hawaii this fall and I wanted to share some of our experiences while we were there...first up- Hawaii Ironman Championships. We'd never been to Kona before, muchless the race...first time for everything. Having completed IMWI a month prior, I had full respect for what it takes to get to Kona and how hard all these athletes worked to be a part of it. A truly exciting experience. Our hotel overlooked the finishline area and the streets were a buzz in the days leading up to it. I was nervous for the athletes! I swam part of the course (and stopped to watch tropical fish along the way) as well as a trip to the "coffee boat" that parks itself out there and provides shots of coffee to the athletes...top notch treatment! Freebies were everywhere, swim caps, fuel belts, hats, t-shirts, you name it! So fun!

The day before the race is what's called the Kona Bike Count- we didn't know what was going on, but knew folks would be dropping off their bikes in transition so we wondered over and thought "why are all these people here with clipboards and pens?" well, turnouts the product companies count their stuff to see how many of their bikes, saddles, wheels, etc make it to Kona. It's mayhem at best! Greg saw an opening where no one was up toward the front so we wondered over and began to watch for people. Well, turns out we were right next to the Triathlete Magazine photoshoot area. SO cool to see all the athletes up close and personal....here are some shots worthy of sharing:

Macca

Macca posing with his (soon to be busted) ride

The ever smiling Chrissie

Umm..the girl is JACKED, huh?

the finish area from our balcony!

The Navy SEALS who jumped pre-race

the Normanator

Chrissie climbing

Hilary Biscay

This Army dude rode in full gear...sorry the picture sucks, Runner's World did a blurb on him, he finished under 14hours...so cool (or boiling hot, however you choose to see it!)

Natasha..I don't think she finished :(

Patrick takin' it easy out of T2
Chrissie snuck up on us, where are all the cameras and crew??
A shot of the finish shoot
The jumbo-tron they had at the finish shoot
the conch blowers/fire throwers!

G &D volunteering at the finish area- guess who we found coming in just over 10 hours!
What great photos, huh? Patricks friends were like "you sure were happy to see those volunteers!!" they didn't know we KNEW him!! The guy in the background didn't get this sort of greeting...he looks bummed out.

Aloha...we had a BLAST watching and volunteering at this race, what a fun experience!

Turkey Trot 5M, a new tradition?

2008-12-02T08:51:00.005-05:00

Greg and I hope to have started a new tradition....running the Westfield Turkey Trot (5mi) while in NJ for the holidays. It's a nice race on Saturday (which is nice since we usually travel on Thursday) and it's in a cute little park about 15mins from where Greg's family is. Greg's brother, sister in law and two nephews and niece came out to watch (they've never been to a race before) and they seemed to enjoy it! Hunter even commented he wanted to run it. They have a 1mi race before the 5mi which a lot of kids ran, I mentioned it to him and said he had a year to train for it! So we'll see next year if we are able to run it again...we had a blast (I was WAY over dressed) and Greg had a sprint dual with the guy next to him in the picture...he ultimately let the other guy have his glory :P Too funny!

Happy Turkey Trotting...

New gear always keeps me excited to workout…

2008-11-26T08:32:00.002-05:00

One thing I never think much about is fashion in the pool (who cares, right?) with good swimming suits costing more than my wallet wants to part with, I am usually one to wait until the one I’m wearing falls apart before I buy a new one. I usually run to City Sports at lunch and buy whatever one they have in my size and I wear that until it falls apart (repeat cycle!) Well, when I received an email for 30% speedo and saw that my favorite fabric (chlorine proof endurance by speedo) suit was already 50% off ($39 down from $78) and an additional 30% off on top of that I had to splurge ;) I bought both of these and two new pair of goggles all for (drumroll please….) $85. Well my suits arrived yesterday and I almost didn’t get out of bed for swimming this morning, but when Greg hit the snooze and I didn’t go right back to sleep, it was the excitement of wearing a new suit that ultimately got me up and to the pool. Sometimes, it’s the change for the norm that motivates us.

Watts (or whats) a watt?

2008-11-26T08:22:00.001-05:00

A watt is defined as the measurement of power. Power is an expression of work rate. These two terms have become everyday words in our house, along with “work”. Work is defined as Physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something. Sounds like fun, lets do some hard work (expressed as power) to improve how many watts I can produce at a given time. In the “power world” this is usually measured as a functional threshold power (aka FTP) usually as a one hour all out effort. There are a bunch of ways to test for your FTP, but I’ve always done the 2x20min all out with a 2min easy effort in between. You take the NP (normalized Power) of that entire 42min effort and that is your FTP #. A month ago, mine was 207w (after having taken off almost two months after IM Wisconsin) I dedicated 4months of hard work to raise my FTP (with a goal of >10%, or 230w or more) this is week #4 of 16 weeks. I retested last night and I’m already at 217w, pretty much 5%. It’s amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it. I earned every one of those watts gained and frankly, I worked for them, too. I was reviewing my charts in WKO+ (the software used to analyze my power) and my power distribution chart (for the past month) shows that 30% of all my time of my bike this month has been at my FTP range…in other words. I’ve gone hard/all out for 1/3 of my time on my bike this month (including warmups and cool downs.) I was astonished to see that percentage that high, but I guess that’s how you get better. When “hard” isn’t “hard” anymore, you’re improved. I’m proud of those 10watts, and know that next motnh it will likely be less of a jump but am hopeful that come week #16 I will be at or above 230w. If I could set a longer range goal, I’d like to be at or around 245-250w by May. Let’s shoot for the stars!

My harder work is on the run. Biking is far more natural to me than running. But don’t worry…I’m working on that too. And if I remember correctly, last winter improving my FTP actually helped my running, too. It’s a long road but I have lofty goals for next year and want to see myself achieve.

I am SO thankful for my health, Happy Thanksgiving.

Broke out the tights and mittens and hat...BRRRRR...

2008-11-24T17:25:00.002-05:00

With temps not leaving the 20s and wind gusts in the 20s it was quite cold this weekend so I decided it was time to break out the tights and mittens and hat and I still froze!! wow, it was cold out there. I forgot how hard running in the cold and wind is, but I'll take it over the heat and humidity anyday! So I bundled up, and set out to do some Z3 intervals, and nailed them all. So I really can't complain. I'm trying to get my running mojo back. This time last year I was running easily 20secs faster in each zone than I am currently, and I was loving it. Ever since I hurt the ol' calf in May my running just hasn't been the same. So cross your fingers for me that my run mojo will come back. I miss it dearly.

Here we go again....

2008-11-07T07:49:00.002-05:00

Today is Nov. 7, 2008….any idea what you will be doing Nov. 7, 2009/ 365days from today? I hope to be traveling 140.6miles, again…this time in Panama City Beach, Florida. With Greg and his cousin Dave…should be lots of fun. Granted, lots of work leading up to it….lots of pain, heartache, eating, sleeping, riding, sleeping, running, eating, swimming, and did I mention sleeping :) 2009 is sure to have lots of roads that lead to success and we can only get there when we challenge ourselves! My goals shall be to stay healthy and lets see if I can break 12 hours this time around :)
IM Florida, here we come!

This sport HATES me....

2008-09-26T15:13:00.002-04:00

Seriously, every single sport has me down lately....saddle woes on the bike, sore knees from the run and now swimmers sinusitis (I think!) Sinusitis refers to an inflammation of the sinuses, air spaces within the bones of the face and is most often due to an infection within these spaces. I think I have this right now. After my flip turn show on Wednesday (and again today) I have had a stuffy nose, slight headache and have been sneezing uncontrollably! Thought I was getting sick, but did a little research and found this was a common problem (with swimmers and triathletes) the dozen consecutive sneezes after exiting the pool this morning had me thinking this is all related to the water/chlorine?
Anyhow, sounds like medication, saline spray, a nasal cleaner-outer, or a nose plug are my options...jeesh...I thought all this working out was supposed to be GOOD for your body. Who knew??

Ah, the joy of flip turns...

2008-09-24T10:44:00.002-04:00

I'll admit it....I know HOW to do flip turns (have for a while now) but am too lazy to do them regularly, so I don't. Well, with the addition of the MAC pool into our Masters swim locations, I decided it was high time to add flip turns to my repertoire of swim abilities! MAC does not have gutters, nor low walls to grab onto, ekkk! I've almost thrown out my back reaching for the high wall...so today was a great day to work on the ol' flip turns, and I'll admit, it was fun and not that hard! We we're at MAC, though we were at Harvard's Blodgett and we had the WHOLE pool to our Masters group (read: 16 lanes!) so I had a lane all to myself and I decided it was time to break out the flips. Only had a couple water-up-the-nose incidents...and at the end I stopped doing them to be able to make my intervals, but overall I enjoyed the workout and the turns. Yippee...

I need a new look....

2008-09-24T10:42:00.002-04:00

I decided I needed a new blog look, enjoy!

A lot goes into IM training and racing...a huge thanks

2008-09-14T22:18:00.005-04:00

Wow..I cannot thank all the people who have influenced my race. I'll try to mention a few, but I know there will be more out there I'll forget.
My husband, who is my best friend and partner in crime. We have the same love, desire and uncanny ability to have fun together no matter what we're doing. He's the athlete I want to be.
Coach Patrick who got me to the starting and finishing lines healthy and sane. You know your stuff and helped me train smart this season.
Our families who support us, care about our love of the sport and come out to races to show support. Donna, Don and Joe came out to Madison, thanks...it was great to have you there!!
Our crazy tri peeps Laura and Kim who got us to sign up for this race, it was SO fun having you guys to train with and spend race weekend with.
Our training peeps Pam and Daniel, you guys are our biggest fans :) We appreciate your support and friendship. You are both awesome athletes. We look forward to many more rides and runs together!
Amanda Russell...sometimes fate has a funny way of affecting our lives, somehow we ended up working together which has allowed us to spend many hours chatting about triathlon- you get it. You also connected me with April, who is a great athlete who I was able to cross paths with at IMWI, hopefully I'll get to know her better and become friends with. We're similar in speed and have a shared desire to be a better athlete. My other online IM training peeps, Karen, Edie and Colleen...have enjoyed sharing our experiences throughout training!
The guys at Fitwerx2 who keep our bikes straight and our gear up to date, They ROCK...shop there often they are worth every penny. Trust me.
Jenny Harvey, a Team Envision training pal who came out to Madison (and surprise us) to watch the race, you ROCK!
There are SO many other people that I'm sure I'm missing, but thanks, thanks, thanks to everyone, you are all so important to us!

All in a days work

2008-09-14T21:57:00.012-04:00

Here is a taste of some of the things we have to do to prepare for the race!

Walk by the finishline area thousand times in the days leading up to the race:

Take a warm up swim in Lake Monona:

Scope out the Helix that we have to run up and ride down/up during the race:
Pack up ALL our transition and Special Needs Bags:

Pimp our Rides:

Rack our Rides:

Drop off ALL our bags:
Finally we're ready ready to stop and enjoy a little time with "M-DOT":

My official Race Report for IM Wisconsin

2008-09-11T15:32:00.015-04:00

Expectations:
Was told not to have any, that I would likely be let down, but like any other athlete would I had “secret” goals that if I came remotely close to I would be happy…
1. Have a 12 be the first number in my time.
2. Get out of the swim in 1:15-1:20
3. Ride around 6:30 (based on two RRs)
4. Run for as long as I could on the run…if I came in around 4:30 I would consider my run a success (stand alone PR for a marathon was 4:07:17)

Days leading up to Race:
Got in on Thursday afternoon, weather was freezing cold and rainy. Picked up race number, bought gear and had dinner. Friday was sunny and nice headed off to recon the bike course (drove most of it, but rode about an hour on the bikes) and then had dinner with family, went to required athlete meeting. Saturday we slept in, swam a portion of the course brought bikes/transition bags down, had an early dinner and went to bed at a reasonable hour.

Race Morning:
Woke up at 4:15am before the alarm. Had PB sandwich and showered, got things ready to go. Headed down and dropped off Special Needs Bags. Got to bikes, checked tires, dropped off water bottles and put on wetsuits and headed down to the swim start….

Swim:
The five minutes of treading water before the start was fairly calm…as soon as the cannon went off all 2400 or so athletes began to work our way around the first loop of the two loop course. It was CRAZY…for me, it was everything that everyone described an IM swim start to be….blue caps (men) and pink caps (women) were everywhere…flying arms, kicking legs, no water to actually swim in…I was in the mix and hating it. I was hit, swam over, and smacked around (by blue caps, mostly) I kept trying to find space, some open water..but to no avail…I was resorting to donkey kicking the blue caps off me, and twice had my ankles grabbed and pulled down. What jerk was trying to ruin someone’s day so early in an all day event? I was using all my energy to fight people off….I talked myself off the ledge and said “this is NOT why you swim at 5:30am three days a week, let them do their thing and keep focusing on YOUR race” so I calmed down and by the second loop was able to find space and swim nicely alongside some pink caps. It was WAY more pleasant! I only then had to worry about the turns which still became a mosh-pit…but I got through it. I was so happy to be done, and glad that I stopped wasting energy on fighting off other swimmers and was able to actually swim for a loop!

1:13:37
30/112 in AG

T1:
Out of the water (heard my name announced!) and headed over to the wetsuit strippers, they had my out in a second…carried my wetsuit as I walked up the Helix to the transition area, I swam in my tri gear, so nothing to change, just grabbed helmet and carried shoes out to my bike.

7:21

Bike:
Down the other helix and off onto the bike course…a technical course (many, many turns) with lots of rolling hills, none that difficult but with so many it is said that they can “take their toll on riders” It’s a 14mi out to a 40mi loop (ride that 40mi loop twice) and then 14mi back. I had a power-meter and a couple race rehearsals under my belt, so I felt prepared. I took the first hour as easy as I could and then fought off the headwinds heading into the first loop. My husband caught me around mile 30 and we chat for a brief second, he had a good swim, I was having minor stomach issues (I think I swallowed lots of Lake Monona water during the swim) but didn’t think it would be an issue. I focused on the bike and only the bike…I took my InfinitNutition feed bottle (560cals/bottle) and took water for the aero bottle at every station, so I continuously had water to drink. I was getting passed by lots of folks (mostly guys, plenty of hot shots) One guy passed on a hill and said “Hey, what are you watching there?” I replied “what do you mean?” He said “On your TV screen on your bike there (referring to my ergomo screen) you watchin’ tv, or what?” My response “oh, my powermeter..you should consider researching them” I noted his kit and continued on my way thinking “I’ll see him again, if it’s not on the bike, it will be on the run” So I played the bike safe, followed my numbers and took the hills as easy as I could UP and as fast as I could DOWN which led to a lot of back/forth with the same hill-hammering folks…they commented, I smiled and continued to race my race. Along the way my back tired rubbed my frame (stopped and adjusted) I hit the porto-john on loop #2 and stopped at special needs for feed bottle #2 and some lube on the shorts :) Around Mile 80 was when I noticed it…the field moving backwards towards me. It was subtle, but I noticed…I was passing lots of people of the flats and downhills while they all didn’t have the legs to hammer the hills anymore…I passed a lot of people in the end miles…made for a very FUN ending to a long bike ride!! Oh, remember my “TV” watching friend? Well…around mile 100 I was passing a bunch of guys who clearly had slowed…I recognized the guy’s kit right away after he commented about the tv and hammered past me up the hill…from behind I knew I caught him. I rode (easily) up next to him and simply smiled, waved (while in aero) and blew past him like he was standing still…I saw him double-take and could feel him staring at me as I rode away…I was all smiles..karma, baby! He blew up AND made fun of a chick who ultimately had more juice than he did. I never saw him again…but I can only theorize that he blew up on the run, too…he was hurting when I saw him! I love it when I can show stupid guys that racing smart has benefits. I had nothing to prove to him, only to myself that I could hold back on the bike in order to have a good race.

6:37:34
37/112 in AG

Power info- was aiming for 139watts with an FTP ~205watts
Entire workout (137 watts): Duration: 6:34:10 (6:38:28) Work: 3233 kJ TSS: 358 (intensity factor 0.738) Norm Power: 151 VI: 1.1 Pw:HR: 16.94% Pa:HR: 17.1% Distance: 113.237 mi Elevation Gain: 6578 ft Elevation Loss: 6568 ft Grade: 0.0 % (10 ft) Min Max Avg Power: 0 329 137 watts Heart Rate: 0 165 117 bpm Cadence: 31 111 83 rpm Speed: 1 42.8 17.2 mph Pace 1:24 60:21 3:29 min/mi Altitude: 246 643 402 ft Crank Torque: 0 523 137 lb-in Temperature: 62.6 89.6 74.1 Fahrenheit

Run:
The run was F-U-N….I seriously have never had so much fun running. Coming out of T2, I saw friends and family…I smiled and waved, I couldn’t believe I was already running. I got to see the pros out on the course, and even made a few friends…one guys came up from behind me around mile 2 and said “Dawn, I got your number” I responded “Oh, no, what did I do?” He laughed and said “You smoked me at the end of the bike course…way to go girl” I smiled and thanked him…we were friendly on the out/backs whenever we saw each other! Besides that I tried to stay consistant. I did gels every 4mi (so 6 gels) at each aid station I walked, took a sip of water, a sip of Gatorade and wiped my face with a sponge. I had NO stomach issues, so pains, no “dark moments” I spent my run enjoying the scenery, passing LOTS of peeps (got SO many cheers and “nice pace”, “looking stong” type comments probably from the same blue caps who smacked me around in the swim and hammered away on the hills. These guys were mostly fit, many with M-dot tattoos on the right calf and a few talking about their bike rides :) I was even mistaken for a “leader” by a student who was out on the course just jogging along…she said “are you one of the leaders in the race?” I laughed and said “hell no, but thanks for the compliment, you made my day” she and I chat for a bit, she was right, though there just weren’t many women on the course during my first loop, but I was NOT a leader of anything but MY race :) I continued, went through the “Inspiration Station” and saw “Go Team G” I came around to start my second loop and started seeing many, many more racers coming out on their first…lots of friends and my husband who was already on his second loop…he looked strong so I knew he would finish soon…we high fived and I kept running. Started loop 2 far more positively than I thought I would be…lots of spectators and knowing the course I was about to do made it more fun. I definitely was starting to feel the muscles in my legs, but honestly it bothered me more to walk than run. I stayed slow and steady keeping my HR down. Loop #2 was when I started smiling continuously. All the training rides that felt like garbage or runs I could barely do seemed insignificant now, I knew I was on my way to finishing my first IM….I was SO happy and kept telling myself “You are racing YOUR race right now, you’re doing all you can do.” I did start to struggle at mile 18 a little (the *only hills on the course were here!) so I took it easy and made my out back out to State Street turn around where I saw Rich and Patrick for the first time…I was all smiles and held up 6 fingers saying “ that’s all I have left to do…6miles and all smiles” I saw my friend Kim when I hit mile 25, she was going out for her second loop, so she still had about 12mi to go…she bear hugged me with teary eyes saying “you’re going to do it, you will be an Ironman” I hugged back and said “don’t make me cry I’ve been smiling for miles!” I told her I would be at the finish for her when she came in…I continued on and around to the Capitol building…it’s funny the people you pick out of the crowd..there was a guy on the corner after the last water stop with Iron’s in each hand (you know, the things you iron your clothes with!) cords hanging down to the ground…he points at me and says “Hey girl, You are about to become the next IRONWOMAN” I smiled and gave him the thumbs up…he was right… I rounded the corner and into the chute as Mike Reilly said “Dawn Guarriello from Cambridge, MA you are an Ironman” I simply could not stop smiling!! I was in shock that I actually did it, enjoyed it and executed it. I raced MY RACE on Sunday.

4:34:13
33/112 in AG

Run Splits:
Mile 1- 9:30/149HR
Mile 2- 10:01/151HR
Mile 3- 10:01/155HR
Mile 4- 10:01/155HR
Mile 5- 10:20/155HR
Mile 6- 10:18/155HR
Mile 7- 10:11/155HR
Mile 8- 9:53/158HR
Mile 9- 10:06/156HR
Mile 10- 10:06/156HR
Mile 11- 10:06/156H
Mile 12- 10:36/144HR
Mile 13- 11:01/137HR
Mile 14- 10:30/149HR
Mile 15- 11:02/149HR
Mile 16- 10:26/150HR
Mile 17- 10:26/151HR
Mile 18- 11:02/145HR
Mile 19- 11:10/149HR
Mile 20- 10:46/152HR
Mile 21- 10:50/152HR
Mile 22- 10:58/153HR
Mile 23- 11:56/144HR
Mile 24- 10:58/149HR
Mile 25- 10:11/153HR
Mile 26.2- 10:10/153HR

OFFICIAL TIME: 12:39:32
31/112 in AG

Here are some pics of my awesome husband and the day he had!

OMG…Chrissie Wellington is hysterical…

2008-08-29T09:18:00.002-04:00

Chrissie’s Blog about Timberman 2008

30th Anniversary of Ironman? I didn't know...

2008-08-29T08:10:00.005-04:00

Greg sent me a link to an article from one of the original Ironman athletes Henry Forrest...it's a great read... I'll recap the best part...the part I can relate most to:

"I didn’t get to pick up speed as I neared the transition area as I did during the swim. My legs just wouldn’t pedal any faster. I got off the bike, and my support crew was there. Some of the race officials were there too. “You’re doing great. Keep going. Looking good,” they were saying. “Yeah, right,” I thought. I felt like death sucking on a life saver. I didn’t think I had ever been that tired before. But I didn’t have to bike any more. Now I could run. But something was wrong with my legs! They didn’t want to run. They couldn’t run. They had been pedaling for so long and were so used to moving in circles that they still wanted to pedal. Had I ruined my legs? I was afraid that if I looked as uncoordinated as I felt, people would be “cracking up” watching it. It was a horrible feeling, but after a mile or so, it started to fade away. I realized I was getting my pace back. My stride was good."

I'll write more later on how we've actually been a part of the Ironman Revisted Race (if you click on results, look at the last name of the first individual) we got to walk in the shoes of the orginal athletes...very, very cool experience!

My opinion of fate...

2008-08-26T09:31:00.003-04:00

...I stepped on my scale this morning (12 days out from IM) and it didn't read anything. Nothing. Blank screen. Maybe it's trying to tell me something?

Ironman was also created to teach us things about ourselves and others...

2008-08-25T17:23:00.005-04:00

I have learned a LOT about sport, competition and most importantly about myself during IM training.

IM is not a race, it’s an experience.

IM is not about beating other people; it’s about conquering the demons in your head and racing against yourself.

IM training has taught me patience. It takes a patient person to start slow and build an effort throughout the day to end on a high note- this has been hard for me.

IM training has also taught me there are boundaries you can push and others that you shouldn’t but finding that "place" is what it is all about. Sometimes breaking through a "wall" allows you to find that place but getting past it is oh so rewarding.

IM training is lonely. I’ve spent so many hours having internal conversations with myself in the water, on the bike and during runs. I never thought I had so much to say to myself! Greg put it best after our first RR, when I got back to the car he said “me and my bike have nothing left to say to each other…after six hours there is just nothing left to say” I agree with him.

IM training is expensive. ‘Nuff said.

IM training makes you slow. Not in a negative way, but in a way that seems to zap all speed you thought you had and give you the ability to go forever at a slower pace. Patience comes back into play here.

IM training can be cruel on your body. There are parts of my body screaming for me to stop when other parts are screaming hey- we just got started don’t stop now…it’s the angel/devil syndrome and I fight it everyday.

IM has taught me there are a lot of bad drivers out there.

IM training has allowed me to meet some incredible people. I have enjoyed so many new friends this season, it's a blessing to be surrounded by such well rounded athletic people.

IM training has taught me there are a lot of hard working competitors out there training their hearts out to cross a line in the road...that line means the world to us…as will the words “YOU are an Ironman” as we cross that painted line.

IM training has allowed me to see to many different towns that I otherwise would never have driven to or around, it’s a great way to explore.

IM training takes a lot of planning. I’m teetering on Type-A these days.

IM training takes priority over a lot of other activities; it becomes a way of life. Embrace it or hate it- you made the decision to sign up for it!

IM training has taught me that if you put your mind to it, you can do more than you ever thought possible of yourself. Take a chance, you might be surprised what you’re capable of.

I’m sure I’ve learned more... but as I start to taper I began to reflect back on all my hard work I thought I would take a few moments to write down some of my lessons learned...I'm sure there will be more after race day!

IM WI RR#2 and Happy Anniversary to us :)

2008-08-24T21:06:00.012-04:00

8/23/08 First and foremost our anniversary, not just any anniversary but our FIVE year anniversary! Time flies when we're having fun!!

This date stuck out in my august schedule not just because it was our anniversary but because it was our second (and final) race rehearsal for IM WI (which is exactly two weeks from today! Ek!)

Ok, since RR#1 (8/2/08) I have done a couple things differently- here goes:

Changed Cassette to 12/27 (from 12/25) gave me an "Extra" gear on the hills so I can take the hills a little easier
I moved my seat up and hoods down (less aero, more comfortable) I'm still having saddle discomfort so this was a solution, only problem is it changed all my power numbers (they went up) and with the ergomo issues I've already had (see previous posts) this didn't help. I'll explain more later.
Stopped riding with socks
Added a caffeine gel in on the bike
Ate more breakfast the morning of

Ok, quick ergomo issues- bad ergomo #1 through mid-July. Got replacement ergomo #2 (great!) well, computer on ergomo #2 hasn't been holding a charge (so it dies in the middle of rides) went back to FitWerx (great store if you're looking for terrific service!) and Marty gave me back my old computer head from ergomo #1 (he still had it, in that unit it was the bottom bracket that was a problem!) So I used BB from ergomo #2 and computer from ergomo #1. Perfect combo- EXCEPT- my terrific husband helped me set up computer #1 with all the numbers from my BB#2 (confused yet?) and the numbers didn't get saved :*( So for all you ergomo users my k-factor was wrong (set at 245, should have been 179..do the math, my watts were WAY HIGH) and I didn't realize this until about hours 2-3 (thinking to myself, I'm riding really high numbers...ergomo is messed up here we go again and I started riding by RPE, great practice.)
So I rode blind (again!) but at post-race lunch at Panera bread Greg and I figured all this out and with a slight adjustment on Computer #1, I *should* be good to go for IM WI. I think I've had enough of the ergomo issues, jeesh!

Swim RR- 2.4mi (two 1.2mi loops) (friday night) Super relaxed, similar pacing I was either a little faster on loop #1 or went a tad shorter/straighter!)
RR#2 TOTAL SWIM TIME: 1:14:45 (loop #1: 36:45, loop #2: 38:00)
RR#1 TOTAL SWIM TIME: 1:17:45 (loop #1: 38:45, loop #2: 39:00)

Bike/Run RR- 112mi bike (2 loops @42mi/loop + 1 28mi loop) + 6mi run
Same EXACT course as RR#1, only variations were in the road surfaces, there are a couple roads on this course that are in BAD shape! And to have to ride them 3x really hurts! Well, add in two other roads that were good on RR#1 that are now being ripped up/paved, etc...it was a nightmare. Steel plates in the roads, gravels trenches across the roads, etc. I've never bunny hopped so much in my life! So stop signs, railroad tracks, construction, etc...made for a very hard day! But I digress...same course, similar weather conditions made for a GREAT basis for comparison.

RR#2 TOTAL BIKE TIME: 6:35:30 (see hourly splits below)
RR#1 TOTAL BIKE TIME: 6:29:05 (see hourly splits below)

Loop #1- I was *supposed* to try to hold 155w for the first hour (based on latest higher FTP number) I was having a hard time staying that low (especially on hills) so I did what I could to "take it easy" and keep power numbers down...hour #2 I was *supposed* to get up to 165w but again was realizing it was really hard to go that easy...I did what I could but with so many hills though these miles, I was VERY hard.
By the time I was making my way back to the car I was realizing my watts were crazy high and I was way high on my goal watts....assuming ergomo was acting up again, I decided from here on out I would "wing it" old-skool....RPE (Rate of Perceived Effort)

Loop #1- H20 only first 30min then a bottle of Infinit (420cals)+ 2 Bloks at 1:30 and 36oz of water. 1/2 Odwalla Bar at 2:30

Loop #2- Was riding along with no issues when boom- hit a big bump (par for the course) I reached back to push down bottle in rear hydration system (common after a large bump) and the whole bottle and support was loose...weird. I pulled over and WHOA, my rear hydration unit had sheared apart (a Beaker Concepts H.5, the "Aircraft Grade Aluminum" sheared right off) so it was flapping in the wind. I called Greg (a few miles ahead of me) and he came back to me (almost getting killed in front of my eyes pulling a U-turn in front of a car to get to me, can't you see it on the news "wife watches husband get hit by car on their 5 year anniversary"!! Ugh, anyway) he had some tape on his bike and I had a rubberband and we secured it (so it wouldn't break completely and drop on my back tire and send me flying) Why not take it OFF you ask? Well, not only do you need an Allen Wrench, but also needle-nose pliers (do YOU carry those in your saddle bag? Me neither! I did what I could do!)
After that debacle, loop #2 was uneventful.

Loop #2- a bottle of Infinit (420cals)+ 2 Bloks at 1:30 and 36oz of water. Caffeine gel at 4:30 and 1/2 Odwalla Bar at 5:00.

Loop#3- I was ready to be off my bike, the roads were so bumpy I was going numb in my saddle area and arms (from being in aero) I felt like I was riding on top of a washing machine on the spin cycle...I shifted so much during the day, my right forearm muscle was hurting!! Weird!

Loop #3- a bottle of Infinit (420cals)and 20oz of water. Some Gatorade at "t2"

RR#2 TOTAL RUN TIME: 56:48 (see splits below)
RR#1 TOTAL RUNTIME: 55:48 (see splits below)

Run felt great- intentionally tried to go slower than last RR weather was a little warmer tahn last time (last time was about to run so sun had gone down and it was cloudy) nothing but sun this time so HR seemed a tad higher....wanted to run more like 9:45s, not 9:15s Mile 1- 2 oz gatorade, Mile 2- 2oz of gatorade, Mile 3- 2oz of gatorade, Mile 4-2oz of gatorade Mile 5- 2oz of gatorade-TOTAL RUN 56:48 (see splits below)

Race Rehearsal	#2 (8/23/08)	#1 (8/2/08)

Swim Total Time (2.4mi)	1:14:45	1:17:45
Lap #1 (1.2mi)	36:45:00	38:45:00
Lap #2 (1.2mi)	38:00:00	39:00:00

Bike Total Time (112mi)	6:35:30 (.66IF)	6:29:05 (.72IF)
Hour #1	15.513 mi (.57IF)	15.765mi (.647IF)
Hour #2	16.622 mi (.67IF)	16.446mi (.746IF)
Hour #3	18.012 mi (.64IF)	18.713 mi (.728IF)
Hour #4	15.91 mi (.67IF)	16.535 mi (.754IF)
Hour #5	17.898 mi (.68IF)	*17.883 mi (.791IF)
Hour #6	*17.064 mi (.70IF)	17.456 mi (.722IF)
Last ~30mins	11.285 mi (.68IF)	9.542 mi (.631IF)

Run Total Time (6mi)	56:48:00	55:48:00
Mile #1	9:39/mile,151avgHR	9:38/mile,148avgHR
Mile #2	9:26/mile,156avgHR	9:09/mile,153avgHR
Mile #3	9:40/mile,158avgHR	9:09/mile,154avgHR
Mile #4	9:43/mile,159avgHR	9:14/mile,155avgHR
Mile #5	9:32/mile, 161avgHR	9:30/mile,158avgHR
Mile #6	8:47/mile,163avgHR	8:45/mile,162avgHR

*Indicates highest power hour...one goal was to move this power higher to the end of my ride, I was closer but still not quite at the end of my ride, I'm happy I worked harder at the end, though!

What I will take away from this RR-

FIX Ergomo issues, ASAP...jeesh! Or at least if I need to ride at RPE I know I'm capable and consistent (variable above are due to terrain!)
Get new rear hydration system :P Or figure out is I can do without on race day.
Start run as slow as possible, I really can't go too slow...
The race starts at mile 18 of the run, take it easy until then!

I'm pretty happy with how consistent I am with power and rpe, also on the run... fairly consistent splits and effort level.

Final FTT before IM WI...crazy numbers, no data and I HATE Ergomos

2008-08-21T08:53:00.002-04:00

Had my final FTT before IMWI, and ergomo read 244w NPower watts previous test 3-4weeks ago was 205w and for what it's worth, I was getting 222w FTP on the indoor trainer in the spring.

Let me explain- my ergomo has been on the fritz (again!) this time not holding a battery charge (I'm ready to throw it out the window, but that's another story) but it read full battery last night (after dying on Saturday and Monday's rides..go figure) but the past couple rides I was having a hard time getting comfortable on my saddle again (too many issues, I know!) but on Saturday I rode the Timberman course and stopped a couple times and raised my saddle a tiny bit to get me in a more comfortable position. It worked, but the pressure was still there on my saddle. Ergomo died. Not a great day.

Rode again Monday (giving myself a day in between for saddle discomfort reasons) and before I rode I flipped my stem to raise my hoods a little (a little less aero, but a lot less pressure on my saddle area) and my ergomo died 10mins into the ride (it sucks) but in the time I did have the numbers, I was noticed I had significantly more power (like 250 working hard, and 180 going easy)

Hmm..So, I was curious to rest last night...ergomo did not die (hallelujah!) BUT it wouldn't upload the data after wards (still sucks) so all I have is what my screen read which was
:42min
15.85 miles
241avg power
244 NPower
22.6mph
85TSS
1.1+IF
avg HR 168 (max 175) I noticed it was 170 mostly during the 40mins hard and got down to 152 on the 2min recovery.

So thank GOD I paid attention (and only used my ergomo for the set in fear of it dying on me!) SO I read the data and remembered it. Now I'm in a quandary about Saturday's RR...I assume I should use the #'s from last night (even though they are grossly high from previous RR???) I can only assume my saddle height and hood location are to blame???

Oh, and my two favorite things...

2008-08-18T13:00:00.005-04:00

G and SOFT SERVE!!! We couldn't go up to Timberman without stopping at the RD's family business for some soft serve (my favorite) I could only put down a "kiddie" cone (with sprinkles!) but my man can handle a small...look at that thing! Imagine a LARGE?

What a (TRI)ific weekend!

2008-08-18T11:05:00.002-04:00

Greg and I decided to make the trek up to Gilford NH for Timberfest this year (despite not racing, too close to IM WI for us!) we got up at 4am on Saturday to shower and hit the road to try to get up to Ellacoya State Park for the Sprint Race. We arrived as the Pros were coming out of T1 (perfect timing!) We hung out at the Park entry/exit and watched hundreds of racers exit/enter the park on their bikes. It was so fun (and over quick!) We hung with Matt and Rex, cheered and laughed. It was fun. Cait and Tim Snow won the race…Tri couple extraordinaire. So fun!

We headed over to Gunstock where we parked and prepared for a bike ride on the 70.3 course (it’s the first year in four that we have not raced, this was our first race ever, we both relayed the bike leg three years ago and after that signed up for our first half iron, Timberman ’06!) Anway, we hit the road and I rode G’s wheel the hills were moderate (didn’t’ feel as bad as years past) but I am still having saddle issues so we stopped a couple times to make small saddle adjustments. Met a guy who was lost riding the course (he was from Texas) so we rode back with him toward the start of the course. My ergomo battery died (hate that thing) so I had no data, but G said we were riding 21mph and I was hanging with these guys easily (until the hills!) but it was fun! Got back to Gunstock and hung out, saw Amanda and Matt..had some food with them then we headed out to grab a coffee and meet up with Curran (we were staying with her and her Dad locally, a huge thanks to them for housing us and being so generous!!) We had dinner with Curran and watched the Olympics. So fun!

Got up Sunday to watch the stacked field of Pros race the 70.3 course. Andy Potts, Bjorn Anderson Chrissie Wellington, just to name a few. We went to the swim exit and watched the parachuters come down to start the race! Andy Potts had a serious lead out of the swim, once he came out we went back to the same spectating spot from the day before to watch all the athletes exit T1 and go off on the bike. Some crazy fast people and some serious bike bling. It was cool to watch! We collected quite a few other spectators waiting for the athelets to come back. We were with Rex again, Pam and Daniel, Cory (Janda’s brother) and Michelle (Janda’s gf) and quite a few other people we met for the first time! We had a great time! We were happy to see Amanda go out on her bike with an aerohelmet on, I told her at dinner on Friday night she could justify it. A female who rides 2:40 can most definitely justify it in my book :) Go Amanda! The race finish was cool to watch, these Pros run sick times..I think they said Andy Potts ran a 1:14 half marathon. Just crazy. And Chrissie Wellington winning the women’s race (in 4:11) and finishing 6th overall is just crazy! She was SO happy to be racing. Smiling, high-fiving, dancing…coming back up the chute and celebrating after she crossed the line. Never met the girl, but she is a pleasure to watch race. She is just so happy to be wherever she is…it’s so uplifting and easy to cheer for someone like that. Makes you realize there are just happy people racing out there…she has to work hard, but she clearly enjoys what she’s doing! I had so much fun this weekend…I’m off to ride my (still uncomfortable) saddle tonight since I bagged my ride yesterday in order to watch the race. A worthy trade off in my book!

A couple props…Amanda, I know you are always your worst critic, but you had an amazing race yesterday. 2nd in F30-34 with a 5:05 finish. I’m in awe of your ability to perform consistently with so little experience (only your second year of racing) it’s been so fun getting to know you and watching you race. I’m learning a lot from you and hope that your perfect race comes soon. You deserve it! Until then, keep up the good work and keep your chin up…you’re a stellar athlete.

Janda had an amazing race despite puking on the bike. I saw him come out of T2 (he was like 7th or 8th overall) and it looked like his lip was bleeding. I said to Greg “I hope he didn’t crash” but he ran along shaking his head. The Pro athlete in him pulled it together and ran an awesome run to come in around 4:09 for 5th overall was sick (no pun intended!) Saw him after and asked if he was ok, turns out he had crazy stomach issues (thankfully no crash!) so to see him after pulling together a great race despite his issues. I’m in awe. Just met Janda this year through Amanda, but it’s been cool to see him rise through the ranks of the pros, he’s having a great season so far!

We left the race early..I was fried to a crisp from being out in the sun all day. We headed home and napped/watched the Olympics. A very inspirational weekend being around all these great athletes.

I’m convinced man created IM not to see who the best athlete was, but to determine who’s body could survive the training.

2008-08-15T17:09:00.002-04:00

Guess what. Mine can’t. I can’t believe the highs and lows my body has been through in these 11+ mo of training. I’ve been on cloud nine from a PR and sidelined for a month with a torn calf muscle…I’ve run 13mi on a weeknight after work without blinking an eye and I’ve not been on my bike for two weeks straight b/c of an abscess from my saddle. Go figure…highs and lows ups and downs. What I fear most is that race day will be much of the same. A rollercoaster of emotions and feelings….I’m not sure if I can quite handle it, but it’s coming and I can’t stop it.

Highs and Lows of IM training

IM WI 2008 RR#1

2008-08-05T10:06:00.002-04:00

Friday- 2.4mi swim, done after work on Friday night.2 loop (1.2mi/loop) swim at Walden Pond
TOTAL SWIM TIME- 1:17:45 (1st loop :38:45, 2nd loop :39:00)

Saturday- 112mi bike (2 loops @42mi/loop + 1 28mi loop) + 6mi run
This course was one Coach Patrick recommended (he did it for his RR) turns out it was 6200feet of climbing, comparable to IM WI. Multiple loops allowed us (husband also did RR similarly) to stop at the car twice and get cold water/feed.

Numbers:FTP= 205w
Goal Watts as % of FTP= 68%
TSS= 293
1st Gear (first hour) 132w
2nd Gear (Goal watts) 139w
3rd Gear (long hills) 146w
4th Gear (short hills) 153w
Vdot not been measured lately, but been doing long runs at 9:15pace.

5am wake up, shower and eat one WW english muffin w/ PB&J + Boost.

1st loop (~2.5hours= 42mi)- spilled portion of feed bottle on myself (bad bottle top, ugh!), but manage to consume 2/3 of a feed bottle, so 280cals + 4 clif blocks (~120cals) Plus ~32oz of H2O. (water only for first 30mins) had to use some water to clean up the sticky mess on myself and my back brake (my *only* issue on the day, I'll take it!)

1st pitstop/refuel had 1/2 cliff bar, ~125cals

2nd loop (~2.5hours= 42mi)- no spills (thankfully) so one full feed bottle (420 cals) 2 clif bloks (~66cals) +40oz of water

2nd pitstop/refuel had other 1/2 cliff bar, ~125cals

3rd loop (~1.5hours= 28mi)- one full feed bottle (420 cals) + 40oz of water (water only for last 30mins)

=~240cals/hour and ~20oz of water/hourTOTAL BIKE 6:29:05 (see power data below)

Transition- no food :) Drank ~10oz of H2O. Grabbed 10oz endurance gatorade for the run and headed out.

Mile 1- 2 oz gatorade, Mile 2- 2oz of gatorade, Mile 3- 2oz of gatorade, Mile 4- side stitch...no gatorade Mile 5- 2oz of gatorade- no gels...didn't feel like run was long enough for food ;)TOTAL RUN 55:48 (see splits below)

Post RR- plenty of water, Boost for recovery, turkey sandwich and a coffee :)Felt UNBELIEVABLE on the run, power ramped up through hour 5, but dropped some on the last loop (something to work on for RR#2) I felt nutrition was right on, power numbers were ok but I need to work harder that last hour!! and run pace felt right, I will likely start the run closer to 9:45s, then ramp down to 9-9:15s until mile 18...then do what I can to finish hard/strong.I felt great afterwards. I look forward to RR#2 and especially Race Day!!

Bike Power Numbers 6:29:05
Entire workout (134 watts):
Duration: 6:29:05 (6:59:20)
Work: 3131 kJ
TSS: 337.6 (intensity factor 0.721)
Norm Power: 148
VI: 1.1
Distance: 112.317 mi
Elevation Gain: 6184 ft
Elevation Loss: 6138 ft

First Hour:
Duration: 1:00:00 (1:01:23)
Work: 417 kJ
TSS: 41 (intensity factor 0.64)
Norm Power: 131
VI: 1.13
Distance: 15.768 mi

Second Hour:
Duration: 1:00:00 (1:00:15)
Work: 502 kJ
TSS: 54.6 (intensity factor 0.739)
Norm Power: 151
VI: 1.09
Distance: 16.446 mi

Third Hour:
Duration: 1:00:00 (1:04:17)
Work: 491 kJ
TSS: 51.9 (intensity factor 0.721)
Norm Power: 148
VI: 1.08
Distance: 18.713 mi

Fouth Hour:
Duration: 1:00:00 (1:00:10)
Work: 504 kJ
TSS: 55.7 (intensity factor 0.746)
Norm Power: 153
VI: 1.09
Distance: 16.535 mi

Fifth Hour:
Duration: 1:00:00 (1:04:38)
Work: 533 kJ
TSS: 61.3 (intensity factor 0.783)
Norm Power: 161
VI: 1.09
Distance: 17.883 mi

Sixth Hour:
Duration: 1:00:00
Work: 482 kJ
TSS: 51.1 (intensity factor 0.715)
Norm Power: 147 (BAD!!)
VI: 1.1
Distance: 17.456 mi

Last Half Hour:
Duration: 29:05 (29:31)
Work: 203 kJ
TSS: 18.9 (intensity factor 0.625)
Norm Power: 128 (WORSE!!)
VI: 1.1
Distance: 9.542 mi

Run: 55:48
Mile 1: 9:38/mile, 148avgHR
Mile 2: 9:09/mile, 153avgHR
Mile 3: 9:09/mile, 154avgHR
Mile 4: 9:14/mile, 155avgHR
Mile 5: 9:30/mile, 158avgHR
Mile 6: 8:45/mile, 162avgHR

Rhode Island 70.3 Race Report July 13, 2008

2008-08-05T09:51:00.009-04:00

I signed up for this race back when they announced its inception (6 months ago) excited that they brought another 70.3 to the Northeast. No routes were announced, no logistics about the race, just a promise of an “Ironman” brand race. I decided this would be a good prep (one and only distance race) leading up to IM Wisconsin in September. About 6 weeks ago the courses were announced- a point to point race with two different transition areas, beginning at Narragansett Bay ending in Downtown Providence. As the details began to unfold and the Athlete Guide was published, I became worried about “clean” transitions and transition bags, 4:00am buses, oh my! But I embraced change. Decided it might be fun to try1011
something different! The only half irons I had done before now were Timberman and Mooseman..both great races, but was a little excited to branch out and see what else was out there.

Day before race was filled with LOTS of standing in lines, running around to transition areas, driving, sitting in traffic and witnessing a car accident (a fellow racer) it was the opposite of what a day before a race should be. It was rushed and chaotic. I don’t even think the race organizers could have predicted the two hour line for packet pickup or the hour and a half drive to T1 to drop our bikes (b/c of beach traffic) it was crazy, but again, I tried to embrace it and see it as a new opportunity. Once we got done running around (with a couple bike tire changes and a quick loosen up the legs ride) we headed back to Providence to find our hotel was literally across the street from the State House (also the finish area!) sweet! A late checkout insured us a post-race shower! We had dinner on Federal Hill with my in-laws (who thought they were coming to Providence to see a marathon!! Obviously their first triathlon experience!) then off to bed before 9pm.

Race Day started with a 3:15am wake up call, a 4am bus (another line) down to the start (where our bus’s engine began to overheat part way down there, we pulled over and the driver did a “fix” that got us there with plenty of time to spare! Phew!) We arrived at T1/start and saw Amanda’s husband right away, thankfully he had a bike pump (they would not transport them for you, so we had to find one the morning of!) but no worries, we got the tires pumped up and T1 was all set (part of the reason I wasn’t complaining too much about getting everything down there the day before) I spent 5mins with my bike before the race, tires pumped-check, bento box full- check, water bottles in place- check, brakes rubbing the tires- negative. I was all set. Grabbed wetsuit, goggles and cap and down to the beach for the start.

Swim- 34:43 (pace-1:39/100)
The beach was packed, and beautiful. You would never know it was 6am. Thousands of people crowded the beach and the national anthem filled the air, lots of excitement about the race. 6am cannon sent the pros out to start. Ugh! Running beach start, AGAIN! I hate that, but learned my lesson in Cohasset- I started up farther in the group as to avoid having to swim around slower swimmers (I’m no speedster, but I’m average I wanted to have a good swim.) Waves went off every 5mins or so, Greg was off in Wave 5 and I stuck around until Wave 7, a 6:30 cannon. Off we went W30-39 all in one pack. It was wavy, choppy, salty water…I had a hard time finding a rhythm of breathing at appropriate times to avoid a wave of water in my face! I eventually worked it out after a couple of mouthfuls of salt water. It was hard to sight at times (again b/c of the waves) but I tried to keep the swimmers around me in sight so I knew I was sortof on course! It was an out and back, once I made the turn I found a groove (a little to the right of the pack) and felt like I was swimming in my own lane. Fine by me. Got out of the water in 34:43, my best 1.2mi swim time (by over two minutes, and pace was faster than my sprint earlier this year…so maybe my positioning did help me- less weaving and dodging to do!)
T1: 3:51Pretty uneventful…had a long beach run up to transition where I took advantage of the wetsuit strippers (mostly b/c they were there and no one was using them) walked in the kiddie pools to get the sand off my feet (that’s a nice detail) and on to my bike where we had bags filled with our gear. I liked this concept. Dump the bag, put gear on and put the used gear in the bag. Loved the “clean” transition area idea! Left the wetsuit bag to be transported up to Providence

Bike 3:01:37 (pace-18.5mph)
Crossed the mat and had to run with our bikes another couple minutes to the mounting line, bummer. But mounted and was on my way. Have been having ergomo problems for a couple months now but decided to still have it on my bike to at least tell me my speed, well…I guess when I changed my back tire the day before I forgot to align my magnet…so no power, no speed, no rpms. Doh! Thankfully I had my Garmin, so I had an idea of what pace I was going. The first 15mi were VERY flat and fast (averaged 20.5mph taking it easy!) by Mile 18 we hit a couple hills and it seemed to be relentless after that, up and up and up, passing people, having them pass me back. The hills went on for about 15-20miles, but after that I could not find a groove. I was distracted and bored…wanting the bike ride to be over. My bike felt alien to me like it was someone else’s, I can’t explain it but was pretty lost the entire time (not like me at all, biking is my favorite of the three sports) so I struggled to hold a decent pace, but I was mentally gone. I passed lost of people fixing flats, and plenty of intersections that looked like vehicles had been held up for hours! One intersection there was a fire truck in the middle and a tri bike in pieces all over the ground. It was after seeing that (and I never like to see that) I just became complacent about my overall bike time. The last 5 miles or so into Providence where ghetto neighborhoods with choppy roads, lots of intersections and enough left hand turns crossing traffic to make you want to scream! I launched water bottles twice out of my rear hydration system and both times stopped my bike, set it down, ran back to get the water bottle and get going again. Did I mention this happened twice? What was I thinking? Hoped to break 3:00 on the bike, expected to be in the 2:50-2:55 range, total bike time 3:01:37 (a HIM PR of ~2min, but I had higher expectations, so I was down on my time.) Nutrition was 2 bottles of Infinit (280cals/bottle) and a package of Clif Bloks (2 every 45mins)

T2 2:34
Typical Transition, made a decision to grab my Fuel Belt and see ho I liked running a race with it (never did that before) a decision I would later regret…but other than that, things went smoothly. Saw my Inlaws and said hello took in a Chocolate Gu and headed out on the run.

Run 2:14:09 (yikes!! 10:15/mile pace)
Run started out ok, but quickly became tough….if you know Providence at all you might be aware of a “small” incline in town referred to as College Hill (takes you up to Brown University) we were presented with this hill at about Mile 1 (of a two loop course, so again later in the run also) it was here that I slowed initially and began to walk (ugh!) after cresting the hill, I saw my husband about to finish his first loop, we high-fived and I continued on my way. By Mile 3 I was beginning to have stomach issues and lots of bloating (a first for me) I stopped and actually waited in line at a porto-john thinking that might help me fell better…to no avail. Funny story, I was so bloated in my stomach that my Fuel Belt POPPED open while I was in line and I could not get it to Velcro back on (I was too fat!) UGH! How uncomfortable! The rest of the run was a mix of running, walking, drinking, dumping water over my head and hoping for the finishline. This might be my worst HIM run ever (best being 1:50+ at Mooseman last year) I was so bloated and uncomfortable that even walking sucked…anyway. Got to the finishline and felt sick for ~30mins after…eventually the bloat dissipated and I felt normal again, I will share my “finishing picture” just for you to see how uncomfortable I was (see facial expression) and how bloated I was (no I’m NOT 6mo pregnant!!) In hind sight I suspect the salt water swim negatively affected my stomach. I have never had those issues (been using the same nutrition on all my IM training rides far longer than 56mi!) and never had the “bloat” that I experienced here. It sucked. No more salt water swims for me!!

Total Time: 5:56:52
Overall- not a PR, not the time I hoped for and not the “run” I expect out of myself. I have a LOT of work to do before IM Wisconsin.

Cohasset Sprint Triathlon at Sandy Beach June 29, 2008

2008-07-07T08:32:00.008-04:00

First race of the season, coming off a month-long rehab for a partial torn soleus (calf) muscle. Month of June was mostly sporadic training, day to day depending on how leg was feeling. I was able to maintain fitness through elliptical and swimming, then after two weeks added in biking and minimal (read: 15min) of running here and there. So I didn’t have expectations here for this race, just wanted to see where I was. Also, did this same race last year so I have a means of comparison (I will include those numbers along the way!)

No taper for this race, as a matter of fact did a time trial earlier in the week and an ~80mi ride day prior with friends (we climbed 4400feet averaging +/- 19mph that ride)….so you can get a sense of how I was feeling!

Overall Stats:
1/4mi swim, 12.5mi bike and a 3.2mi run (conclusion was run distance was longer, more on that later)

Final Time: 1:10:35, good for 5/34 in my AG (F30-34)
For comparison I was also 5th in my AG last year! With a 1:17:41, so I improved 7:06 at the sprint distance, but the competition

Swim: 6:49 or ~1:42/100 (last year was 8:27)
T1: 1:49 (last year was 1:57)
Bike: 34:12 or ~22mph (last year was 36:35)
T2: 1:50 (last year was 1:31) my only blip on the day! Could not find my hat!!
Run: 25:57 or ~ 8:10/mi pace (last year was 29:13)

Swim: An ocean “C” swim..out to the buoy, turn swim parallel to shore, turn again and swim into the beach…you will see from the pictures it was REALLY foggy so the buoys were pulled in and the long swim leg was made longer…I think you could walk out to the first buoy ~20’ from shore! My wave was #4 with ~100 of my closest women competitors..it was a salty washing machine type swim where I never found space, feet to draft or a rhythm to swim…I survived and came out in 6:49 a huge improvement on last year (8:27.)

T1: was uneventful, said hi to a friend/coworker who was racked across from me…we wished each other well and I set off on my bike.

Bike: As mentioned previously I rode 80mi the day before and have been having saddle issues (rubbing/cutting/discomfort) so the morning of the race (dumb, I know) I changed to a different saddle that is narrower thinking “this will be more comfortable” HA… so bike got underway, my first race this year on my new P2C (purchased over the winter with ergomo, which has been malfunctioning…I won’t even get into that) so I was getting used to a few things like my hoods being wet from me after the swim (which obviously doesn’t happen on a normal ride) and my ergomo was reading funny watts and mph (says I was going 11mph!! See my average!) So I was riding uncomfortably blind..when I noticed my saddle was dipping front to back…guess I didn’t tighten enough! Turns out it slid all the way back on the rails too…I can laugh about it now, but I’m lucky I didn’t land on the side of the road with my saddle coming off!
Lesson: no matter what hurts…don’t change things on race day (I should know better!) just grin and bear it. Ouch. Oh well, improved on last years time, so no complaints!

T2: The ONLY slower part of my day! All b/c I could not find my hat :( It got tossed back in bag…I eventually found it but it cost me prob. 30 seconds!

Run: This was what my whole day was about…I had not been running much (if at all) in the past couple weeks with the calf injury…but I knew I was on the mend and was hoping to be able to run the entire distance, whatever the pace. So I set out of T2 with my avg. pace was at 7:55s, a little fast to start, so I eased up and the course became hilly so I was able to slow to 8:05s without issue…but at the 2mi marker I let go and allowed myself to run hard till the end and according to my garmin I did a 7:40 last mile…averaging 7:55s overall. But if you look at my official time it reads 25:57 or 8:10s. I thought that was slow. After talking to others we all concluded the course must have been a tad long. Oh well, I don’t really care…I improved on last year and ran (hard) the entire time with no pain!!

Some other highlights:
My husband placing 2nd in his AG (M30-34) with a 1:02:26 (he smoked that course!)
Seeing my friend (the same one I was talking to in T1) place 3rd Female (non-pro) overall
Two other guys who swim in our Master’s lane place 2nd and 3rd in their AGs.
Watching my best friend (non triathlete) borrow my road bike and ride the bike leg of a relay..gave her a glimpse into our lives and she loved every minute of it, maybe she’ll race an entire tri someday!
Seeing Jarrod Shoemaker (USA Olympic Triathete) easily win and signing Wheaties boxes after the race for everyone who wanted them,

Things to fix:
More open water swimming, especially ocean if I’m going to race ocean swims…it was salty and cold. I didn’t put my head under until about 200yds into the race!
Get a new saddle/fitting something to fix my saddle woes
Make sure my Transition area is properly set up before heading down to the water (when I couldn’t find my hat)
Work on getting faster on the run without re-injuring my leg :) I need to strengthen that muscle to get it back to where it was.

"You look like a runner"

2008-03-27T11:20:00.001-04:00

So I was talking to a co-worker yesterday (someone I had not met before, in an office of 250 people, there are STILL people I don’t know!) So…I was deep in a conversation with him unrelated to anything athletic when he says “You look like a runner” do you run?

Random

Should I take that as a compliment??

Speed Work…it’s hard, but it works!

2008-03-27T10:02:00.002-04:00

So in years past I have not focused on speed. I was always worried about distance, just surviving the 26.2. Well, this year I have a new lease on life (and training) it’s about speed…pushing my body. What can I sustain? In the fall I did a half marathon at what I thought was the top of my game. Finished in 1:46:01, a PR by approx. 5mins. I was on cloud nine!! A week later I pulled my hamstring and took some time off. After that injury I built back to where I thought I was and set my sights on the Boston Marathon (in April.)

In January, I began to do some indoor track workouts with Team Envision on Wednesdays at MIT. Despite the tight radius (8 laps=1 mile) I did a few workouts there and saw good results at 1 mile repeats. I was averaging 7:41min/mile pace. That pace was comfortably hard and I would go home and sleep like a baby!!

In February, I did quite a bit of fartlek running. I method of speed+recovery where you are running hard constantly and then a short rest period between efforts. I was doing these LT (Lactate Threshold) efforts at approx. 7:35 pace (note, improvement from 7:41 in January.)

In early March, I did a few weeks of Yasso 800s (an 800meter repeat where you build up to 10x and take the average pace and that number should *closely* equate to your marathon pace, eg. If you want to run a 3 hour marathon, you should be able to do 10x800 with an average pace of 3:00mins.) So I did these at the outdoor MIT track by myself yielding 3:36/800 one week, and 3:31/800 the next. Great results.

Now here we are at the end of March (one month out from the Boston Marathon) and I did another (outdoor) track workout last night. The workout was 1.5mi w/u, 6x1mi @LT pace (400m recovery), and 1mi c/d. I head off to the first Team Envision outdoor track session this spring in Watertown. I did the w/u with the group and then headed off to do my 6x1mi workout (w/ 400m recovery) My splits were as follows:
7:26
7:23
7:23
7:23
7:22
7:14
AVG: 7:21:50
I am excited about TWO things here…
1.) my consistency. To hit 7:23s for three straight and then 7:22 for the next one. I thrive on consistency.
2.) The speed of my last mile. WOW…I *hoped* for a 7:20 effort…and mostly just wanted to prove to myself that I would not fade at the end. To do the last effort at :08 faster than the first 5 has me speechless!

Speed Works.
Still not sure what to expect at Boston next month, but I still believe that I have a lot of work to do before then. Mostly, I need to decide on a race day game plan and stick to it.

A week of tests…

2008-02-14T09:16:00.001-05:00

Wow, it’s been a long week!! I had a bike FTP test on Tuesday…I do this test once/month to see if my bike power is improving. When I first got my powermeter (beginning of Dec) I tested my ftp power at 203watts. In January I retested at 211watts…a great improvement..so this week was my February test. This test includes a nice w/u with a 2x20’ interval with a 2’ recovery (easy) in between…you take the whole 42minutes and use the power over that entire time. So I rode hard (not too hard) for the 1st 20mins, averaged 217watts, for the recovery I was at 136watts and then for the 2nd 20min interval I held a whopping 228watts!! So (drumroll please….) my FTP is now 220watts!! A 10% improvement over two shorts months with only riding 2x/week!! So I am very happy with my test and I KNOW I am riding harder this winter than I ever have before. One other important statistic is my watts/weight ratio. With my latest ftp test I’m currently riding 3.28w/kg. Which is pretty average for a female rider. My goal is to get to 3.6w/kg…which would raise my ftp up to 240watts…I have a lot of work to do!!

So, test #2 this week was last night…a 1000yd swim time trial. We went over to the new BSC in Medford (nice facility!) with a brand new pool. We were TOLD it’s a “junior Olympic” pool, which puts it at 25m long (not 25yds) this will come into play later. So we warmed up some (not very much!) and started the TT, the goal was to swim at race effort (read: not a sprint!) you don’t sprint the swim in triathlon…it’s supposed to be a fairly relaxed pace. So the test went quickly (I’m used to swimming ~60mins or so at Masters) so this test flew by! I did the 1000m in 16:34. To convert it to 1000yds, the math is 1000yds in 15:05. WOW…I have seen some improvement since last season!! According to swim pace charts this puts my mile at approx. 26-27mins and an IM distance swim at 1:06-1:10 pace. I would be VERY pleased if that were the outcome in Sept!!

All roads lead to Madison!

Ever have a day where everything just clicks?

2008-02-14T09:14:00.001-05:00

I went out to do this week’s long run (14miles) with the TNT team on the Boston course in Wellesley…we ran 7mi towards Hopkinton and then 7mi back. I have been doing the 10min run/1min walk method to prepare for Boston. I have seen some VERY nice results from this method and will continue to use it leading up to April 21, 2008. So most of my long runs have yielded a gross per mile pace of 8:39/mile (including the walks) which puts my actual running times at 8:15/mile pace. Not too shabby, but can I hold this pace for longer than a couple miles?? That is the question! So I decided to challenge myself a little this particular week and see what I’m made of! I wanted to do 8:00/mile pace for the run, with 1min walks in between. I started out a little fast (which I knew) but wanted to see if I could hold it. Here were my results:

1: 7:52 pace (AVG HR-174)
2: 7:45 pace (AVG HR-163)
3: 7:44 pace (AVG HR-171)
4: 7:44 pace (AVG HR-167)
5: 7:47 pace (AVG HR-169)
6: 7:44 pace (AVG HR-165)
7: 8:04 pace (AVG HR-167)
8: 7:52 pace (AVG HR-168)
9: 7:58 pace (AVG HR-166)
10: 7:57 pace (AVG HR-169)
11: 8:06 pace (AVG HR-170)

So these were 10min intervals with 1min walk in between to add up to 14 total miles. Today was a great day…I never *really* thought that I could hold the 8min/mile pace for that long, but sometimes when you challenge yourself you achieve remarkable things. I was on cloud nine after this particular run! I was in a zone. Everything just seemed to click.

Mother Nature is Evil

2008-02-07T08:57:00.000-05:00

Well, well, well…I guess this is what winter in New England is all about. See my previous posts about running in the snow, I guess the training runs in the snow are worthwhile when it snows on race day. The 2008 Derry Boston Prep 16 miler was held on Jan. 27, and guess what? It snowed!! Nothing like an inch or so of freshly fallen snow to make a challenging course more challenging!

I battled through and still managed to beat last year’s time by 4mins or so, despite the weather conditions. It was a tough race and definitely one that took a lot out of me. I woke up the Monday after feeling like I’d run a marathon. My legs were sore, my back was sore, I took a couple days off until my muscles recovered.

Next up: Martha’s Vineyard 20 Miler, next Saturday Feb. 16, that is one of my favorite races!

"I think I'm done pretending"

2007-12-21T08:59:00.000-05:00

It's official- I'm done pretending to enjoy running in the snow. Two Thursdays in a row, Boston has been socked with lots of the white stuff and both days I was scheduled to run 10mi. I embraced the first storm. An early season snowstorm that dropped 10" of snow in a matter of hours left the City in automobile gridlock, which allowed Greg and I to venture out and enjoy the serene winter wonderland. About an hour into the run, I was pooped...running in freshly fallen snow is HARD!! It's like running on the beach...it takes a lot of our your legs.
Yesterday's storm, not so heavy on snow (maybe 3") but still heavy on the legs!! I ran with Laura and Betty...and about half way through our slushy cold run I proclaimed "I think I'm done pretending, there is nothing enjoyable about this run right now...I'm miserable" I might be confined to the treadmill for the balance of the snowy, winter season. Boo.....

My focus is on Boston '08

2007-12-13T07:57:00.001-05:00

With the threat of a blizzard this afternoon and talk of another storm this weekend, I'm convinced that winter is here (even though the calendar doesn't say 12/21 yet!) What is more fun than planing a 10mi run in the middle of a 10+ inch snow storm?? All these distractions make it easy to forget that in less than 5 months, I will be running the Boston Marathon for the 5th year in a row!
I've taken some time to relax and enjoy the last couple months with no pressure to workout hard, or train all that often, but in a couple weeks the New Year will be here and then I will feel the pressure to perform in Boston this year. I have a lot of work to do! Many miles to run and many dollars to raise!

I sent out my first TNT fundraising email last night...here is a link to my website to donate if anyone feels inclined :)
http://www.active.com/donate/tntma/dmg2008

My focus is on Boston '08. (April 21, 2008 to be specific!)

Well, well, well….long time no blog

2007-12-05T08:59:00.000-05:00

There hasn’t been a lot going on with me lately as far as training, so I seem to have turned into a mute! Life gets busy (VERY BUSY) and before you know it months have gone by! In a fluke accident in October I tripped and pulled a hamstring (not an overuse injury, just a fluke!) So I nursed that back to full strength and I’m back to running and biking regularly. I continued to swim while recovering, that seemed to really help it! I also went to Boston Bodyworker for some deep tissue massage and I KNOW that played a HUGE role in my recovery!! So that injury had me down in the dumps some, but I’ve emerged with some exciting news!!

I am now the proud owner of a Cervelo P2C Carbon bike WITH an ergomo powermeter (http://www.ergomo.net)!! I could NOT be happier with my new bike, my only wish would be that the weather warm up enough so I can take it on the road!!

I love the lightness of it, the Dura Ace components are noticeably better than the 105s my road bike has and with the ergomo setup, I should be in MUCH better (biking) shape come spring!! I do my first FTP (functional threshold power) test this weekend which allows me to get a baseline watt number to train from. I still need to download the Cycling Peaks software and get familiar with it so I can learn what all these numbers actually mean! I know this form of training will transform how I ride my bike. I cannot wait!

Well...that's all my exciting news for now...

It's not often in life you get a chance to do a "DO OVER"....what a difference a week makes!!

2007-10-15T08:30:00.000-04:00

Let's start with the BAA Half Marathon on Oct. 7, 2007. I had been signed up for months for this race and had trained and planned on running it. Well, race day came...I got up and went through my usual routine, but had some stomach issues right before the race. I chalked it up to race day jitters...I started the race, felt great but around mile 3.5 began to get side stitches, forcing me to walk...I listen to my body and never go beyond my limits...that perfect running day in early Oct was no different. I felt dehydrated, sluggish and downright tired at times. I'm guessing I walked 10x that day...and still finished in a respectable 1:54:59 (8:47pace- Just one minute MORE than my PR of 1:53:24- 8:40pace) I crossed the finish line to a very supportive husband (who did not run, but came out to watch me.) And knowing my goal for that day asked "what's wrong?" I exclaimed "It just wasn't my day, I don't know...I didn't feel right." I don't even think I wore my metal home (in true race tradition...you earned it, wear it home from the race!) but not me, not that day.

So fast forward to the week to follow...I was sick, tired, felt like I had the flu and a stomach bug...I still don't know what was wrong with me, but I took a nap 3x after work that week...had zero energy to say the least.

By Thursday I was back to my old self....seemingly "kicked" whatever bug my body was trying to fight off.

I knew the Bay State Marathon (and Half Marathon) in Lowell, MA was that next Sunday (Oct. 14) and part of me wanted to go run it. I had something to prove (only to myself, really) that I had a better race in me, I JUST KNEW I did....

So after a 2.5hr bike ride with Greg on Saturday and going out to a softball get together...on the drive home Saturday night Greg asked "what are you pondering?" He knew I had "the itch" to "DO OVER" what I couldn't do properly the week before. Sure enough he caught me pondering if I should run the Half Marathon in the morning.

I stayed up late Saturday night watching the Ford Ironman Championships on the computer (waited to see my coach, Patrick, cross the finish line in Hawaii!) and watch the Red Sox go into extra innings...

Sunday October 14, 2007 I woke up at 6am and said "I'm going to do it, I'm going to run the Half Marathon" So just like the very day one week prior, Greg and I packed up and headed up to Lowell...

Unlike last week, I was relaxed and calm....no stomach issues to speak of. The weather was PERFECT...it was chilly and sunny...a little windy :)

Off with the gun and I felt great...I started out a little faster than I wanted to (my goal was the same as the week prior, to break 1:50, I hoped for better results this time!)
I felt AWESOME, strong, steady and confident...the miles just ticked away! It's a two loop course that ends in the Lowell Spinners Baseball stadium, so I got to see Greg cheering for me around mile 5, the halfway point and again in the stands of the stadium at the end!! I was so happy to see him and even happier to report that I was feeling SO MUCH better than the week before!

The second loop seemed so much windier than the first, maybe because there were less people around me? I felt great, never stopping (not once!) along the way...I took gels at miles 6 (:48) and 10 (1:20) I had NO finishing kick today :P (maybe it was the bike ride on Saturday before I decided to run the race that took out my "kick" legs?) It didn't matter, though...I crossed the line at 1:46:01 (8:06 pace), bettering last weeks race by NINE minutes, and an EIGHT minute PR!! I crossed the line, found Greg in the stands and exclaimed "now THAT is what a race should feel like!!" He was excited that I reached my goal (sub 1:50) and I was SO glad I didn't drag him out for a second week in a row to watch me crumble...I knew I had a better race in me.

What a difference a week makes!

Here are my splits-
Mile 1: 8:11
Mile 2: 7:54
Mile 3: 8:00
Mile 4: 7:55
Mile 5: 7:57
Mile 6: 7:54
Mile 7: 7:54
Mile 8: 8:03
Mile 9: 8:03
Mile 10: 8:12
Mile 11: 8:08
Mile 12: 8:05
Mile 13.1: 8:17

Today I swam with the big kids....

2007-10-04T08:08:00.000-04:00

...well, really I just moved up a lane in the pool, I had been delaying the inevitable. I knew I really should move up a lane and push myself to swim harder and get better/faster....but I was too afraid to leave the comfort of the "slow lane" because thats where I'd always swam and where I was comfortable with my friends. But the last few swim sessions, Greg had moved up into the next lane and I thought "well, if he can do it, so can I"...so I did. And you know what?? It wasn't "that" hard!!

Here was our workout:
200 w/u
4x25
3x50
2x75
1x100
1x200 pull
2x100 kick
4x50 (1:05)
1x200 pull
2x100 kick
4x50 (1:00)
1x200 pull
2x100 kick
4x50 (:55)
1x200 pull
2x100 kick
4x50 (:50)

Total: 3100yds (just under 2 miles)

Well, it's official....

2007-09-26T09:37:00.001-04:00

...Greg, Laura, Kim and I have ALL signed up for Ironman Wisconsin (www.ironmanwisconsin.com) September 7,2008 in Madison, WI.
If you don't know what that means, here's a peek at what we will try to accomplish!
140.6= magic number
2.4miles of swimming+112miles of biking+26.2miles of running=140.6miles completed.

I know I have a LONG year ahead of me! I hope to chronicle my (our) journey through this blog to keep our family and friends informed so you know what we're up to and why we're not calling or writing or hanging out late at night (triathlon tends to be a sport for morning people!) :P

Training becomes a way of life in order to achieve 140.6, it will require an average of 15hours/week of training for approx. 10months. Which is approx. 660hours of training to prepare for this event. I will guesstimate that I will log ~300miles of swimming, ~4500miles of biking and ~1000miles of running (this is all give or take, just an estimate!)

Greg and I are taking a somewhat easy month lately, logging about 10-11 hours of training per week...a typical week lately might look like this in my training log:

Greg and I recently ran the Susan Komen 5k in South Boston, we both had fun and ran hard :)

The next race on my agenda is the BAA Half Marathon on Sunday Oct. 7, 2007....