Iron Girl 2013 Race day recap… Finally

Part one…before the swim

The morning started at around 4 am. Oatmeal maken, bag packen, clothes putten on all went smooth. We were out the door and on the road to Sandy Hook, NJ.

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I had placed my bike in the transition the night before but the Iron Girl people suggested all be parked and ready for the race by 4:30-5 am. We parked and walked and walked and (you guessed it) walked to the race transition bike rack area. It was quite a long dark walk. I like to remember it as a beautiful star filled warm up.

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Bike and transition area set I hit the Porta pot a bunch of times with all the other ladies. Speaking with the other competitors I learned that compared to most I had probably over trained for the event. One women who had never completed even one running race didn't do even one pool or open water training. WHAT?

We had a wave start, in water start. I walked myself down to the swim Porta pot and met up with my friend Kate. We stood in line for about an hour and had to run to the beach and I was ready to go.

But first I want to tell you about the water conditions. The water was white cap rough. Large waves. The other swimmers going out looked much slower than I expected. It was because of the waves. I found myself thinking of my training and that women who didn’t do even ONE swim session pre-race. Oh man, poor her. Preparation is important!
Stay tuned for the swim recap!

Pre race contemplations, days before my first triathlon

So, here I am, the Thursday before my first triathlon on Sunday. I have trained for 3 months; where I

have completed 4 training open water swims.
1. 4th lake Adirondacks, NY (used wetsuit)
2. 4th lake Adirondacks, NY
3. Atlantic Ocean, Kiawah Island, SC
4. Blue Marsh Lake, Leesport, PA
(5. non-official, Hudson River Swim)

-completed 3x weekly swim sessions
-completed up to 50 miles a week runs
-completed not as many bikes as I should have but accomplished two 90 minute rides

I think I have the conditioning covered.

Regarding the nutrition, I have had my ups and downs this summer. I lost some weight, regained some weight and am settling right in between at this point. I can’t say I am happy about it but I am lighter than when I started.

I met with my Personal Trainer Katie last week, she took my measurements. Yep, the slight weight gain increased my inches – BUT – my muscles are stronger and not as tight as I was 6 weeks ago. I am also running faster! My typical training run used to be between a 9:00 – 9:30 min mile for up to 6 miles. NOW it is between 8:30-9:00 min. miles for training runs up to 6 miles and that is after a bike or a swim. So, I have to say – I am happy!

Ok, so like I said, and like the title says “Pre race contemplations, days before my first triathlon” I have set the following goals and I am excited to see where I land on race day.

The event is 1/2 mile swim in the bay, 10 mile bike, and 3 mile run.

Plan C (worst case scenario)
Swim 30 minutes
T1 5 minutes
Bike 50 minutes
T2 5 minutes
Run 30 minutes
Finish time 2 hours.

Plan B (middle of the road scenario)
Swim 25 minutes
T1 5 minutes
Bike 45 minutes
T2 5 minutes
Run 28 minutes
Finish time 1 hour 48 minutes

Plan A (pie in the sky scenario)
Swim 23 minutes
T1 4 minutes
Bike 43 minutes
T2 4 minutes
Run 27 minutes
Finish time 1 hour 41 minutes

What ever I do will become my base line so I really, I just want to finish without my shirt ending up around my mid-section with my belly hanging out, my helmet be on straight for the photos, and I get through the finish line with a smile and a tear of joy!

Now briefly, back on nutrition. It is without a doubt completely unlike me to not have everything planned to the complete ultra second, my clothes, my shoes, my hair, my visor and my nutrition timing. But this go around, I guess since I am so wacked out because I have very little clue what to expect on race day, my brain went blank. So I am thinking I’ll do some Nuun, (Baby Nu-nu, as my niece and nephew lovingly call my Nuun bottles), two scoops of Mikes recovery shake, and a Gu gel just in case. I think I will be fine, it’s only 2 hours right? I’ve trained for much longer than that on less. Oh yea, I’ll eat oatmeal and a banana before race time.  The night before I think I will do some vegan mexican. Yea, that will work.

I’ll talk more later about my big stress of this whole thing in another post. (Don’t get me wrong, I am loving every minute.)

I want my baby nu-nu.

So, what do you think? Are those reasonable plans? Any tips or tricks of the trade you want to pass on to me?

Returning home from my vacation in the ADK

As you know from the “Recap: My first open water training swim” post, you know I was just in the Adorandak Mountains. If you follow me on Twitter you saw that I was diligent in posting how I got up every morning but one to get my runs in, I swam like a good little Triathlon/Marathon training crazy girl.

I actually find relaxation from doing my daily workouts (relaxation and a sense of accomplishment really), so I make time even if it means waking at 5:30 am every morning, just so I can get my workout in. Call me crazy, but I love it!

The other things I did were, hiking, going to a water park, and white water rafting. (I also ate tons of ice cream!)

Training by the numbers the week I was in the ADK went like this:

3 hikes
2 open water swims (800 meters each time)
1 white water rafting trip on the Hudson River
34 miles run

Do you enjoy completing your workouts when you are on vacation? Does everyone eat tons of ice cream when they are are on vacation?

Recap – My first open water training swim

4th Lake

My first open swim happened a few weeks ago in the Adirondack Mountains, not far from the location of the Lake Placid Ironman. In fact, I saw a few athletes that I thought were getting in their last bits of training before their event last weekend.

From my previous post, “Prelude to my first open water training swim” I was anxious and nervous to get out in the open water and get my head wet; worried that a lake monster might come up from the depths, but that never happened.

The day we arrived at our destination and got settled in, I got myself right into my wet suit and my niece and I headed to the ‘beach’ (I unfortunately don’t have photos of me swimming, because every time I got myself outside I forgot my phone, Sorry!)

The first day in the lake the water was chilly, though I had my wet suit on my face and arms, which were not covered by the wetsuit, felt the cold and upon submerging my whole body, I had to gasp for air because it was so cold. With my goggles on I looked at the bottom of the lake and found it to be friendly and soft and got to my swim.

The water was rolly and a little rough due to the boats going by and the wind and I found that I was feeling a little nauseous. I got my swim in but it was much harder than a pool swim. I think perhaps I was pushing really hard, much harder then I thought, and was feeling dizzy and just exhausted as I finished up my swim.

During my swim, my goggles fogged up bad and I had to keep stopping and clearing them.  If I didn’t clear them, I couldn’t see, and for some strange reason, that made me feel like it was harder swimming. I did see a fish and I didn’t get scared. Getting my wet suit off was a chore and I got completely wet! As I was walking out of the lake I felt this, sploosh, and a whole bunch of water came rushing down towards my legs inside my suit. I think I didn’t put it on right!  Overall I feel it was a success, I believe I need to push harder in the pool to make sure I am ready for the race, and I am no longer worried about getting out into the water.

I swam another training swim in the lake but this time did not wear my wetsuit, I didn’t feel nauseous and the swim actually felt easier. I had forgotten my watch so just did as many laps as I had completed the first day. 

4th Lake at Sunset

All-in-all, first open water training swim was a success. Next one comes the end of August at the beach, I am thinking about maybe NOT using my wet suit for the Sprint Tri in September…. we will see!

Are you supposed to get wet inside your wet suit during a swim? Do you prefer open water swims to pool swims, or pool swims to open water swims?

Since we last touched base – training by the numbers

The last few weeks have been productive. I felt ultra hungry and ultra tired. I didn’t get much sleep due to the loud thunder storms, and the fact that my Jack Russell, Lilli, felt the urgent need to lay on my legs all during those many thunderstorms didn’t help much…but none-the-less I got my workouts in.  This was how it went:

36 miles run (not counting CX race)
1600 meters of lap swimming
1100 meters swim sprints
1 5k CX race (did awesome btw, and was very fun!)
1 Hr. riding lesson
25 miles ridden on my bike

This week is a down week for me, goodness did I ever need it!  This week so far has been:

4 miles run
1  spin class,Hills (had a loaner car and couldn’t bring my bike to work to get my ride in so, switch-o chang-o insta-ride!)
40 min on that stair-stepper thingy at the gym (too rainy for a run)
800 meters lap swimming
1150 meters swim sprints

I will round out this week with the remaining:

6 mile run
17-20 mile bike ride
800 meter lap swim
1 Hr Riding lesson (going to learn to cantor, I am excited!)
stain my deck for a bunch of hours, my Nephew is going to help or supervise, we haven’t decided yet!

Might need to switch to another horse for cantor. Will miss you Nelly!

Only about a 5 weeks until my IronGirl Sprint Triathlon! I just need to figure out what I am going to wear, HELP!

What did your training week look like this week? Suggestions on what I should wear for my first Sprint Triathlon?

Knowing when it’s time to walk,,,on a run

If you follow me on twitter, you saw that last week, I guess, I hit the wall on my morning training run. I have never really experienced the wall so I am not entirely sure that is what occurred.

So you are saying to yourself, “She’s never hit the wall? But she has run all those long distance races, what gives?”

Well, I think I never hit the wall because I have never been pushing myself to my limit of what I am able to accomplish until now. Why now and not before? I guess I was too sacred and thought I wasn’t at the level of fitness that it took to push out of my box and into that, ‘what if I throw up’ zone.

That being said and you all knowing that last week was my down week, I am not sure if it was the fuel I was wasn’t taking in, the heat/humidity (though it felt cool to me), hydration or just fatigue.

What did it feel like? It felt like what everyone else describes, legs felt like they were running through mud, head fuzzy and a little dizzy, my mind telling me to stop and walk, stop and walk! BUT, how do you know when this is a ‘break through’ moment, or the moment where you need to stop?

(Here is a little insight about me but don’t spread it around…)I am obsessive, not to a mental state, but I get obsessed – there I said it! My obsessing takes me many places, one normal stop on the train ‘obsessions’ is Overtrainingsville. My friends and family can tell you I visit here at least once a year knowingly, probably more unknowingly.(Now back to your normally scheduled blog post whining session (sorry) …)

What did I do on the day I seemingly hit the wall? I got up as normal at 4:10am, drank some Amino Energy (grape) and headed out the door to swim. This morning was my sprint drills. I felt pretty good. After the drills I felt like I just wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep. I drank my Nuun Hydration and then headed out to my run at the trail. I had 5 miles to run. It was around 78 degrees, humidity was at around 88%. (Yes, I am acclimatized for this type of running.)

I took more swigs of Nuun and some swigs of my Mike’s recovery drink for calories and I stepped out of the car to stretch. I still felt like I could lay on the parking lot pavement and fall right to sleep. I told myself to suck it up and get going, and going I did. I was clocking 11 min pace, FAIL, I felt like I was walking. 2 miles later I couldn’t take it anymore but said (to myself) I would walk the rest and I did. I did finish walking the 5 miles but didn’t feel good at all, I had stopped at my car and grabbed my Mikes recovery drink and took it with me and drank it as I went.

The night before I rode my bike on the trail at 6pm for about 13 miles and then had a training session with Katie my Personal Trainer at 7pm. I may not have eaten enough afterwards…?

What happened? What was the problem? I am still trying to figure it out.

Thoughts? Comments? Have you ever felt this way? Help!

Prelude to my first open water training swim

This week I am in the Adirondack Mountains, the condo/cabin that I stay in is on a lake. I have planned for my first few open water swims in that lake.

I am nervous,scared, apprehensive, and a little excited to get my wetsuit on and take the plunge.

You never know what is lurking in the depths!

My nephew has agreed to kayak next to me and my niece has agreed to watching us from shore, I also have a bright fluorescent green swim cap that I am going to wear. I am taking all of these precautions because I read an article that said when going on an open water swim – have someone on the shore and a bright swim cap. Check! and check!

I have also made a pact with myself, and told it to those who are going with me to the Mountains that the first day we get there, after we are unpacked and settled, I am going to get my wetsuit on and get in the water – even if it is for a few minutes. This way I can get my jitters out and swim the rest of the week.

See, my fear is that I will get there and be so scared that the last day will come and the wetsuit never have gotten wet. That would be a huge FAIL>>>> So, I don’t want that. I am going to stick to my plan and see how it goes and then let you know.

I’ll let you know how it goes!

Do you have any tips for me for getting my wetsuit on and off?
Do you have suggestions for me on having a good first open water training swim?

Running in the heat

As most of you east coast dwelling runners know, the heat, humidity, and almost constant thunder and lightning storms have plagued us for well over a month now. Though these conditions are not prime for getting a great training in, we still need to get out there and get our #’s in before the goal races we have set for ourselves occurs.

Here are some good strategies to help you be smart about protecting yourself in the heat;

– Hydrate! Water is the most essential component in the human body. Waters role in the body is to cushion and protect vital organs, aid in digestion, and most importantly while we are out running in the heat – regulated body temperature.

 drink 17-20 oz of fluid 2 hrs before starting
drink 7-10 oz of fluid every 10-20 minutes during exercise
drink 16-24 oz of fluid when you finish, for every lb of body weight you lost during your exercise

*remember: rehydration occurs faster in the presence of Sodium, regardless if it is a sports drink!

–Location Pick a shaded trail, be smart, a hot black-top road with no shade what-so-ever is going to be a huge FAIL on a hot and humid day.

–Time of day Even though humidity is higher in the morning the temperature is usually lower, make sure you pick a nice shaded course and hit the streets early, before work, to beat the hot temperatures after work. I see those girls out in their bra tops and tiny shorts at 5:30pm in the 88 degree weather and I wonder, are they training for the Badwater UltraMarathon in Death Valley? Doubt it! WHAT ARE THEY THINKING??? (I digress…)

–Intensity The intensity at which you complete your run should be lower than on a cool or not humid day. So, take it down a notch or two. You are not going to win or lose an event if you worked out with less intensity for a few work outs.

–Temperature Know that various temperatures vs. Humidity will affect your body during hot days. Know that 10% humidity is generally safe up to 90 degrees but 50% humidity is a risk factor when you’re reaching the higher temps. Be smart about your age and physical fitness level when the humidity is high.

–Fitness Acclimatization, you can acclimatize your body within 14 days by slowly increasing your time exercising in the heat, starting with 15 minute segments a day. This will allow you to feel more comfortable and allow your body to function at a safer level when in the heat.

–Clothing Wear sweat wicking, light clothing during hot runs. There are so many different clothing companies now a days that offer the highest tech fabric for any temperature. There is no excuse to have the wrong clothing on a hot day.

–REST It is important to know when you need to rest or take your workout inside. When the humidity is high, don’t risk setting yourself back because you decided to hit the trail when the temperature was 85 degrees and the humidity was at 65% and you haven’t worked on your acclimatization.

It must be noted:  Don’t go out for a run AND run straight home when you hear thunder and see lightning!

Be smart and enjoy your runs!

Training by the #’s

So this week was not has humid and hot, some nice cool mornings. This was also a week that I like to call a down week. Where my training schedule is less than the 3 other weeks of that 4 week period.

I like to give myself down weeks because it gives my brain and body a rest from all the intense training. I believe it helps me improve, keeps me from over training, and helps me stay motivated.

During this week I also need to watch what I am eating more closely because I am burning WAY fewer calories and if I am not careful could gain some weight and that is not something I want to do because I am not yet at my racing weight (more on that some other day)

So here goes, this week by the numbers…

22 miles run
3 miles walked (I’ll elaborate on this later)
1 hour with the trainer (working on my ULTRA tight Right shoulder, hip, and calf)
1000 meter normal swim
Speed drills in the pool: 10×25, 10×50, and 2×100
40 min. bike (I was able to get a thought other than that I was going to fall off in my head during this ride, Success!)

I still have, a lake swim and bike ride for this week.

Happy Chocolate Day!

 

Happy Chocolate Day! Go on, have some cake!

Chocolate Day

When : Always July 7th

Chocolate Day is the perfect opportunity to eat you favorite chocolates in ample portions. Do you really need another excuse to over indulge with your favorite food treat?

Chocolate is America’s favorite flavor. It’s the flavor of choice in candies, ice cream, cakes, breakfast cereal, toppings, and a whole host of desserts. Unequaled in popularity, it certainly deserves a day in its honor.

Did you know? Chocolate is a vegetable. It comes from the Cacao tree found in rainforests.

We don’t need to tell you what to do to celebrate this day, do we? Eat Chocolate!

Check out the rest of this article at Holiday Insights.com

Have a great and enjoyable Chocolate Day!