Taper Time

This was one serious weekend of workouts.

• 3900 meters in the pool Friday. If I had to do very many of these, in a pool, I think I would slit my wrists with a butter knife! OMG! The boredom that sets in before it's half done is mind boggling. The only thing that would have made it worse was if I'd done it in a short pool. The plus side was that I finished it in about 1:42 and the distance was slightly longer than my race distance. Hopefully, I will not have any extraneous issues during the swim and will easily make the 2:20 cutoff. 
• 115 mile bike ride Saturday. The temps were about 10 degrees cooler than my previous long rides, and we had a cloud cover for most of the ride. However, this ride was extremely hard. I had only gotten about 3 hours of sleep the night before (avocado attack!) and my body is weary. I didn't feel great for any of the ride, but the last 20 miles of this one had me whining big time in my head. For the first time, I started cramping a little--right quad, both feet. I thought I was taking a lot of salt, but obviously, I still don't have my nutrition down. When I finally pulled into the starting point, the first words out of my mouth were "I don't think I can do this." The thought of running 26 steps much less 26.2 miles made me feel like bursting into tears. I sat down on the curb, but found that my hips protested loudly if I did anything with my legs but leave them straight out in front of me, and I got a severe cramp in my abs. I was a mess, that even a cold soak in an epsom salt bath didn't resolve.
• 19 mile run today. This is the weirdest damn sport. I was truly dreading attempting this run in lieu of how I felt yesterday and last night. However, once I got going, I had my best run yet of my IM training. My legs felt strong and I was able to maintain my pace even on hills. Go figure. I had on my plan to run 22, but I stopped at my house at 19 to get more fluids, and that was the end of that. My coach had already given me permission to cut it shorter, based on my running background, I would have worried more if I was stopping short because I just couldn't finish it out. The morning was blissfully cool, though, which is always a big factor to me, but even so, it was nice to feel like I had my running legs back.

The bulk of my training is done.  I still don't know that I feel fully prepared, but again, I am going to have to let go and trust my training. I have put in the work. I have experience with endurance sports. I just need to be really conscious of taking in enough calories and to not go out too fast on the bike. The ride on Saturday was not exactly confidence-building. While I was running today, I realized that because my previous 100-miler was last Sunday, I've put in 240 miles in 7-days' time. I've also gotten little sleep last week on top of 8000 yards of swimming and 20 miles of running. Perhaps my performance on the bike was due to all these factors as well... I hope so! 112 miles is a damn long way.

Now, the taper "crazies" will set in. It's not an abrupt taper, so perhaps it won't feel as drastic as it can. I'm going back to my chiropractor next week and getting a sports massage the week after to try to get my body loose and aligned. Ready or not, the time is slipping by.

Yikes...I can't believe this thing that has been in the forefront of my mind for the past ten months is only three weeks away.  Yikes!

August 1

It's August 1st. It's Ironman month! This is my last big training week. 7800 water yards and 137 land miles separate me from taper (not counting a couple of sundry weekday workouts which may or may not get done...)

The bib numbers have been assigned and published. I am 675. For some reason, that number seems to be a substantial one. It is starting to get more and more real. This phantom thing that was so far out in the distance. This thing that I quit several times during my broiling century rides. This thing that I doubted my ability to do will soon be upon me.

I can't put my head around stringing these three activities together yet. All I can do is to trust in my training. I've done the work, and save totally screwing up my nutrition and bonking, or the heat completely taking me down, I should be able to do this thing. 

Trust.

Believe in myself.

Be ever grateful for the ability to try.

Louisville Practice Workout

Amy and I headed out to Louisville to participate in the iamtri group's workout session. I don't usually like to preview race courses, but I just felt that it would set my mind a little more at ease if I actually swam in the Ohio River and rode a bit of the course.

It was an fairly easy drive. St. Louis is about halfway, which broke up the trip rather nicely. We arrived in Louisville about 6:00 p.m. to much cooler weather (low 80's!). Amy and I had different training goals. She had a long brick (3 hour ride and 3 hour run). I really wanted to take the opportunity to swim and then ride the course. So, Saturday morning, we went our separate ways.



Swim Start

 I'm so glad that I did the swim there. Jumping into deep water to start the swim was actually a little different than I had expected. My head started doing its thing with whirling thoughts of "it's deep water...there's no place to stand...it's deep water..." so when I finally jumped in, I was sputtering a bit when I surfaced. I started a little of my hyperventilating, so I paddled back to the dock and hung on a few seconds. I got my crap together and started swimming. In no time, I was once again relaxed and doing my thing. The Ohio River was no dirtier than any of the lakes I swim in here. 

I was in a recovery training week, so I only had 60 miles on the plan for my bike ride. I was able to ride the "spur" portion of the course, which everyone had said had the most challenging hills and part of the loop. Overall, the course was a little hillier than I expected, but it wasn't impossible by any means. And, the scenery was beautiful.



The spur was very interesting. It is flat for a little ways when I first turned on the rode. However, it wasn't long before I was flying down a long downhill, then facing a long uphill...and another downhill...and another uphill... only to turn around and go at it from the other direction. Those hills were not terribly steep, but they were long!



Gorgeous sunflower patch at the beginning of the loop.



I didn't conserve on this bike ride since it was shorter and by the time I was done, I was feeling it. The fact that my back started hurting and my right piriformis really, really bothered me didn't help either. Seriously? I have ridden over 1,500 miles so far this year with absolutely no issues. Why now??

Overall, it was a great trip and I'm glad we did it, as I'm feeling a bit more confident to face this race.



Countdown: Six Weeks

The thing that has been an abstract idea in my head for so long is quickly becoming reality. This effing race is in six weeks. Six weeks from this very moment, I will be desperately trying to grab a few hours sleep before I rise before dawn to get a good place in the swim line. Wow.

Another century ride is on the books today. What a difference 10 degrees in the temperature can make! The day started out in the 70's, which felt downright cold. It was will into the mid-90's by the time we finished, but it still felt much cooler than last weekend. I also slowed down my pace today, which I'm sure helped me feel strong at 80, 85, 90 and the finish, unlike my last two rides. I'm still looking for that happy medium pace where I can maximize bike speed without detriment on the run.

My outlook regarding my success on this endeavor is much better. I swam 2,000 meters at Kill Creek last Monday in 49 minutes, making my swim rate 2:16/100 yds. Once I actually calculated how many meters were in 2.4 miles (> 3,900 meters), I felt much better. I had been thinking that it was 4500 meters, which made a total time being much closer to the actual cutoff.

Now, my biggest worry is the heat. If it were to be anything like last weekend, I don't think I could run off the bike. I was looking at intellicast.com for the Louisville forecast for the coming weekend and was surprised and happy to see that it was supposed to be 89-90 degrees. The weatherman was calling for 106 on the weekend here, even though Weatherbug, weather.com and intellicast put it closer to 100. Intellicast.com also had the average temps for Louisville available. In August, the average is 85. On August 26, specifically, the record low was in the 50's and the record high, 100. That made me feel a tad bit better about the possible conditions. It would so suck to be completely prepared physically and even somewhat mentally, only to be done in by the weather.

We finally got some rain here Friday morning, and it caught me while I was out running my recovery 45 minutes. I ended up running 5 miles at a 9:10 pace and still stay in Zone 2 from a heartrate perspective. I felt like I could have run for miles that morning. Oh, what a difference a few degrees make!

My running legs seem to be bouncing back somewhat. My run on Sunday was 18 miles at a 9:40 pace. Not a blistering fast pace, but well under 10 minute miles, which is my goal for the race.

Goals...dare I list them?

OK.


First and foremost: get out of the water in regulation, finish the race without too much agony.


Then, if I can get the first two done, the icing on the cake would be: I would like to do the swim in under 1:50; the bike in under 7.5 hours and the run in under 5 hours. Yikes. I wrote that out loud. My wildest dreams would be to come in around 13 hours. Now...shhhh... no jinxes.

Firecracker Century

Honey Badgers ready to roll

I attempted another century ride today in Ottawa, Kansas. This course was more challenging than the Freedom Ride and the day was hotter. This time, I cried, "uncle!" and stopped after 80 miles. I could have slogged through the last 20 miles, I think, but I just didn't see the point of it. By the time I stopped, it was already 101 degrees, with a heat index of who knows (I was afraid to look at that on the Weatherbug app on my phone).

I rode with a pack of Honey Badgers (Kansas City Triathlon Club) and we were moving right along, averaging just over 18 mph for the first 50 miles. By the time we got to SAG stop #6, the temperatures were really starting to rise. That aid station had some cold popsicles that were the best popsicles I've ever tasted! Yum. Leaving that stop at mile 67 to the SAG at mile 80 was a real struggle. Some of the most challenging hills of the ride thus far were in that stretch. The course ran through the middle of cornfields with very little shade.

Sadly, I do feel that I've acclimated much better this year to the heat than I was last year...but then the bar has been raised on the temperature highs! Just can't win. Again, if Louisville is anywhere near this hot...

Looks like the temps will be in upper 80's, low 90's next week. Sweet relief!

Freedom Ride Century

The Freedom Ride is an organized group ride benefitting a couple of cancer charities. It offers several distances, including a century. Even though my plan had 80 miles on it, I am trying to take advantage of as many organized rides that I can, so I opted for the 100-miler.

The ride was really well done. The route had some decent rollers in the middle of it, but was otherwise, somewhat flattish. There wasn't a ton of traffic, either, which was a plus. The first 75 miles went by relatively quickly. However, once the course split between the 85-mile and 100-mile routes, the nutters doing the century were few. The groups we were able to get free speed in pelotons and pace lines went the shorter route, which left Bea, Julie and I pretty much on our own.

For the first 75 miles, I felt really good. My average was in the upper 16's and the heat wasn't bothering me too much. Julie was getting a bad dehydration headache and decided to SAG back from there. Bea and I soldiered on. Between that SAG and the one at 86 was a long stretch of flat highway that was about 7-8 miles long and was not broken by even a curve one direction or another. The heat radiating from the pavement was such that I could not comfortably ride in aero. By the time I pulled into the SAG, I was so so overheated that I thought I was going to explode. I was nauseous and dizzy and really felt like I wasn't going to be able to make it.


Bea and I at the finish with some
grapes and icy cold Sierra Mist


By the time Bea pulled in after me, I was starting to feel better. There were only 5-6 left on the course and they were dropping like flies. The last 14 miles were brutal. I was having many baby meltdowns in my mind with serious doubts about being able to finish. About 3 miles from the end, a volunteer pulled over to give us cold water bottles and wet paper towels. Even then, I was not feeling very hopeful. The only thing I could do was keep turning the cranks. I was so incredibly happy when we finally turned a corner and saw the entrance to the shopping center that was the finish. The temp was 101 with a 105 heat index.

During those last 20 miles, I had decided that there was NO WAY I could conquer the Louisville heat. The very idea of riding an additional 12 miles, much less running another 26.2 made me want to vomit. Now, that the agony is behind me, I am still very doubtful that I'll be successful at Louisville. Everyone says it isn't nearly this got. Right.

 There's not enough time left! Eight weeks and counting! Agh...!

Summer Roundup Tri

So, I went back to the Summer Roundup  for the third time. This race is put on by Rufus Racing out of Joplin and was my very first triathlon in 2009. I was attracted to it because the swim was in a pool, but unlike the indoor tris, the bike and run legs were outside. As an added bonus was that the swim was only 250 yards, easily doable for this girl afraid of the water.

This year, the race moved to a lake and an Olympic distance was offered. It was held at a beautiful private late near Jasper, Missouri. The swim was two 750 meter loops with a 50 meter run in between loops. Interesting. The plus side was that breaking the 1500 meters into two loops made the distance seem less intimidating, but getting out and having to get back in was not something I was looking forward to.

The lake was like glass, and the water was warm. I didn't have any issues at all, aside from still having a feeling that the buoys were a long way away. I plugged along and eventually I made it to the turn and back to shore. Getting back in for the second loop wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, and I even managed to finish that loop a little stronger. Yay!

A loooong run to transition, and I was on the bike. The bike course had a few rolling hills but was mostly flat. It was great course for me. My bike legs took about 7-8 miles to kick in, but I had a great ride. The Garmin recorded 19.5 mph, but we'll see what the official time was. Nineteen and a half miles per hour over 25 miles! Yes!

Unfortunately, my run, my strongest aspect of this sport, seems to be going downhill. It was hot by the time I strapped on my running shoes, but Louisville will be hot. The course was flat, but it literally went straight out for 3 miles and back again. For whatever reason, that was tough mentally. There was not enough water on the course and not a speck of shade. I walked a bit and would be surprised if I did better than a 9.5 minute pace. (YUK!). My coach tells me that this is typical of IM training, and that my running legs will come back. Though I'm thrilled that my biking has improved, but I hate that it's coming at a bit of cost to my running. I'm waiting for those running legs...

My time came in at 3:01, eleven minutes faster than my only other 5150 time at HyVee last year. I'm happy with the time. I'm ecstatic that I had no issues whatsoever on the swim. And, I won my age group agian (3 for 3). Who cares that no one else was in my age group?  :-)



The Red Ladies cleaned up today. We all won awards!