Getting back on the horse

Aug 29, 2010 was one of the most amazing days of my life. It was the day I completed Ironman Canada and blew away all expectations I may have had for that race.

The weather was perfect, my family and friends were there to cheer me on, and I just felt calm and ready for the day ahead. The swim went far better than I expected; there really is something to the draft and the feeling of swimming downhill. Even getting kicked in the head a few times as I swam crookedly across the pack didn't quell my enthusiasm. :)

I came out of the water relieved and exhilarated and ready for the rest of the race to come. I quickly made my way out on the bike and spent the next 7 hours playing leapfrog with my teammate and my family. Even though I had mapped out a couple of locations for them to stop and see me go by, they ignored my advice and decided to follow me all around the course. I'm so glad they did! I saw them multiple times along the way and every time was a huge boost to my morale. In general, I had a great ride. The hills were not as bad as I expected thanks to many training days up OLH and Tunitas Creek and I somehow managed to avoid the rain and hail storms that pelted my friends ahead and behind me. The only real tough spot was on the out and back where the "back" was uphill and into a headwind. It felt like it was never going to end but fortunately my family was there again waiting for me!

The last few miles into transition are downhill or flat so it was a great way to get ready for the run to come. I saw more friends in and around transition as I ran out onto the course. I was flying! Obviously that didn't last too long but I did settle into a good pace and was feeling great for the first 10 miles, maintaining a sub 10min/mile. It was fun to see my faster teammates coming back the other way and to try to keep up with the guy with the clown hair... By mile 11 I was starting to slow down but still enjoying myself. I hit the turnaround at mile 13 and started the long slog up the hill. It was difficult but I was determined not to walk and I somehow made it to the top. Soon after, I saw my family again and picked it up a little bit for the brief time I was in their sights. Coming back into town around mile 22, there is a long straight uphill that never seems to end. I was really suffering at that point but finally came over the top and could start to see the lights and the people. I went down the last hill at mile 23 and turned onto the short out and back before the finish line. There were people everywhere and I started to run. Well, running is a relative term at that point... My calf started screaming at the sudden burst of energy but I told it to shut up and just keep going. We are not stopping now! I kept running faster and faster until I crossed the finish line and became an Ironman. And who were there at the finish but my friends and family? They are the best and I love them.

My motto for last year was "It is what it is" and it quickly changed to "It is was it is... and it is awesome!" during the race.

Finally, a race report! I have tried to write it many times but was never able to complete it. While I have probably forgotten many of the small details by this point, the key themes of family and friends, fun and excitement, and a feeling of amazing accomplishment persist.

Now, back to the subject of the post. After Ironman, I was completely drained - emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausted. I spent the next 4-5 months trying to recover, not only from the race but from all of the other turmoil that went on in my life in 2010. It was an extremely difficult time for me and I struggled with many things but I feel like I am finally starting to turn the corner. Next season is coming up quickly and I am getting back into training. Having a routine and regular workouts with friends is helping to motivate me to get ready for Oceanside which is 2 months away today. Yikes! I finally got back in the pool a couple of weeks ago, I am starting to increase the mileage on my bike, and my injured foot seems to be doing well with the new insert from my podiatrist so next step is to start building up the run.

Here we go again! Wish me luck...

I am an IRONMAN!

It's been almost a week and those words still seem surreal. My brain and body are still trying to process what happened last Sunday. Here's what I do know...

Ironman Canada 2010 was one of the best days of my life. The entire experience was so much fun and so exhilarating that I just couldn't stop smiling all day long. My family and many of my teammates were out on the course cheering me on and giving me that extra boost to keep going strong. I finished in 13:07:53, a time that exceeded all my expectations and that I am absolutely delighted with. It was so good, that I was seriously tempted to sign up again for next year. Fortunately clearer heads prevailed and I decided to come back next year, not to race but to volunteer, spectate, and sign up for 2012. :)

It's going to take me some time to collect all my thoughts and put a race report together so I think I'll have to do it piecemeal or it will never get done. Stay tuned...

1 week to IMC: So close!

Wow! One week to go. Time to start counting in days...

I hit another milestone in my journey yesterday; I dropped off my bike at CBS (my LBS :)) to be shipped to Canada. A local company called TriBike Transport provides a great service where you can drop off your bike a few days in advance and they will truck it to the race, unload it, and have it waiting for you when you arrive. It's definitely not cheap but you don't have to take your bike apart, struggle with a bike box, or deal with the airlines. Sounds like a good deal to me!
My fellow IMCers and I did a short, flat, 40 mile ride in the morning and made it back to CBS in plenty of time to drop off our bikes before the noon deadline and then go for brunch. It was very strange to leave the shop without my bike and definitely left me with some uneasiness as the race became just a little more real.

Taper has been an interesting beast to say the least.
1. I'm hungry ALL THE TIME. You would think that with the decreased exercise that I would be eating less but it has been the exact opposite. I guess my body is going into overdrive trying to repair itself. It has been disappointing to see that I am gaining weight again but at this stage I am declaring that it is what it is and I can make weight loss my next goal after Canada.
2. I can't sleep. Normally I have no problems sleeping; I am usually out within seconds of my head hitting the pillow. These days, despite being completely exhausted, I lie in bed wide awake, unable to stop my brain from going a million miles an hour. I'm sure some of it is the decreased exercise and some of it is the stress and excitement but it's really frustrating! I am hopeful that once I get to Penticton I'll be able to slow down a little and rest even if I don't sleep well.
3. I've got weird twinges everywhere. Fortunately, my injuries seem to have healed and a have no major pain but I get some really strange feelings. For example, on my brick run the other day, my right knee didn't feel like it was properly attached to my lower leg. It was totally bizarre. My teammates are also complaining of new "interesting" ailments and it has been pretty widely documented that this will happen as your body adjusts but it's still disconcerting.
4. I am enjoying the downtime. With our shorter workouts, I am finding that I suddenly have a little more time to myself. It has been really nice to be able to do the chores that I have been putting off for months or watch a movie or just hang out with some friends. I am remembering some of the things that I have been missing while training 20+ hours a week and I am appreciating them again. One of my biggest fears for the end of Ironman is that I will be lonely. Without a preplanned reason to see my friends 4-5 days a week, I am afraid that we will drift apart and that I will miss that companionship. The fact that we got together several times over the last few days for reasons other than working out encourages me that it won't be so bad and that we can have a really fun off season. It's going to require effort but I can do it. Yet another after-Canada challenge. :)

Only three more days until I leave. Time to start packing! I have started making piles of things that I need to take and I can already see that my bag is going to be very, very full. It's amazing how much stuff you need for one day...

Bib numbers are posted!

Another milestone in the run up to Canada...
Over the last day or so, I've made the final arrangements for getting my bike and gear to Penticton, the athlete guide has been posted online, and now the bib numbers have been released.

What is my bib number? 2323! How awesome is that? My favorite number is 23 and I get it twice! I definitely won't have any problems forgetting that one.

Why 23?
-Well, for one, it's my birth date. Can't go wrong there.
-I also really like the numbers 2 and 3 and have never really liked 4.
-It's a prime number and, as I just learned this evening, the smallest odd non-twin prime.
-It was Michael Jordan and David Beckham's number.
-Plenty of tough cookies on the Edmonton Oilers have worn this number. Though, that may be a chicken/egg thing and I just liked them because they wore "my" number. :)
-We have 23 pairs of chromosomes. I've always been curious about 23andme but too scared to actually get the testing done. I'm not sure if I want to know what potentially lies in store for me...

Every day the race becomes more real and I get less sleep! I went to bed hours ago but just tossed and turned so decided to get up and put down a few thoughts.

2 weeks to IMC: Taper Time!

Holy ! Ironman Canada is only 2 weeks away! What happened to 52 weeks away? Or even 2 months away?

This is my first real taper. I've definitely taken it easy before 70.3s before but that was typically only for a week and didn't involve the drastic changes that this one has.

Earlier this week, I experienced some pretty serious burnout from our epic training weekend. I took a couple of rest days which is extremely uncommon for me but was seriously needed. By the end of the week, I was starting to feel a little more like myself but was still having difficulty getting motivated. It was almost like "if I'm only going to work out for an hour, why bother"? Weird, hunh? I thought I would be excited for the shorter workouts but I guess I underestimated how much I need and appreciate the warmup miles that I usually do on my own ahead of the group workouts.

The one highlight of the week was my brick run on Thursday night after the group ride. My friend JF, a great athlete, was on his cooldown and offered to run with me. It was really nice to have someone to run with and he pushed me to go much faster than I normally would. We finished the 2.4mi loop in 18:28, that's 7:38/mi - my 10k PR pace! Just what I needed after a disappointing ride.

This weekend, we did another open water swim followed by a 60mi ride on Saturday and then I ran 10 miles on Sunday.

The open water swim went well. We did 1.2mi and I was pleased to see that I was able to do it in under 50 minutes. It seems that my foot injury from a few weeks ago has had a positive side effect; all that time in the infinity pool and doing OW swims seems to have made me a little faster. Let's hope that translates to race day!

The ride was a different story... After riding 112 miles last weekend, the girls and I got it into our heads that we were "only" doing 60 miles and that it should be a piece of cake. Not! 60 miles is still a long ride! Because we rode after swimming, we started at a different time and from a different location and we totally messed up our routine. I think I made almost every mistake in the book...
1. I forgot to pump up my tires. I rode on Thursday so they probably weren't too flat, but really, what was I thinking?
2. I didn't bring any warm clothes and it was cold! OK, cold for California in August but still.... When I packed my things in the morning, I was worrying about what I might wear on race day and didn't think to look out the window. All I had was my paper-thin sleeveless tri top which is not at all appropriate for a cool, overcast, windy day. Thank goodness my friend had a spare set of arm warmers for me to borrow. I looked like a total tool with my shoulders exposed but I didn't care. Though, we did see a cute guy rocking the same look so maybe it wasn't so bad... :)
3. And by far the biggest mistake of the day, I forgot to put on sunscreen! For those that don't know me, I have extremely fair skin, I burn very easily, and I normally wear 100+ sunscreen. Having no protection at all is a very big deal. Whether is was due to the change in routine or the cold conditions at the start, it completely slipped my mind and I didn't realize it until it was too late. Boy, am I paying for it now. The tan line on my legs that I had avoided all season is now glaringly obvious, the left side of my face is rather rosy, and my shoulders look like tomatoes! Thanks to the sexy combination of the tri tank and arm warmers, I have huge red squares on my shoulders, upper arms, and back. Not my best look and very painful! Ugh. Live and learn...

Continued after my run Sunday evening...

I love running! I had a great run this evening. For some reason, I got it in my head that if I was "only" going to run 10 miles that I was going to run them pretty quickly and I did! I averaged 8:18 over the entire distance; that's pretty darn close to my PR race pace for a half marathon. Not only that, but I was pretty consistent the whole way and still felt strong at the end; what a great feeling. For once, I didn't feel like I was just plodding along for my long run but was actually running. There was one woman that passed me like I was standing still but I think she's superhuman! I am so relieved that the run is my strongest event and that it comes at the end of the race. It really makes up for the tough time I've been having on the bike and ends the weekend on a positive note.

And now onto another relatively low key week. Let's see if I can continue to keep from going crazy... :)

What a difference a day off makes

After this past weekend's epic training days, I was completely exhausted and burnt out.

I played hockey again on Monday and my legs felt like lead. They were tired and achy and I couldn't skate to save my life. It was worse than when I played immediately after our 112mi ride. I guess my body was trying to recover and I was interrupting...

Tuesday is our regular track day and this week we were out at Rancho San Antonio. The coach had set up a fairly flat course for us this time but it was long! We were supposed to do 2 loops, one at T pace and one at I pace. There was no way that was happening. So, I met up with a friend and fellow IMCer and we had a nice chat as we ran along at an easy pace. That was perfect as it was about all I could handle and even though I was running much slower than usual, I got the full workout in. Over 8 miles! After that, I was exhausted!

Today, I was planning to go for my regular sports massage and then go for a swim. However, Cindy beat the hell out of me! I had to grab the table when she worked on my quads and IT band but that wasn't the worst of it; I was actually reduced to a whimper and near tears as she drove her knuckles into my back and shoulders. Ouch! So much for swimming. Instead, I came home, laid down on the bed and watched TV for an hour with a 10lb bag of ice on my back. It must have been quite the sight. Then, I went to a friend's house and just hung out. I haven't had a break like that in a long time. What a nice evening! I look forward to more of those nights in the fall.

Now, I'm going to go and get a good night's sleep and look forward to feeling refreshed and ready for the day tomorrow.

3 weeks to IMC: Epic Training Weekend.

Wow, what a crazy few days it has been.Thursday night I made the classic mistake of driving my car into the garage with my bike still on the roof rack. Ouch!Thank goodness for the fact that I have a short bike and a low car which meant that the only damage to my bike was the seat being destroyed. I would have been devastated if anything had happened to the frame.Nevertheless, Friday was spent getting a new saddle, taking the bike into the shop to check it out and install the saddle, ordering the replacement parts for the rack, and getting my car washed and waxed to take care of the scratches which were fortunately very minor. Phew! Not exactly how I planned to spend my day but I was extremely relieved that it all worked out.
This weekend was the last big training weekend. And, when I say big, I mean EPIC! We spent Saturday biking 112 miles with 8000 feet of climbing. A friend had put together an Ironman Canada simulation ride and so we were riding all over the place to get the right climbs at the right mileage. It took just over 8 hours to finish the ride but the hills were more difficult than the ones at Canada so I am hoping that I will be able to complete the ride in under 7:30 during the race. And that wasn't the end! We followed up the ride with a 2 mile brick run and then I went straight to hockey. Man, was I tired...
Sunday wasn't much easier, either. I met some friends for a 2.65 mile open water swim. The good news is that I finished in under 2 hours so I am less nervous about the 2:20 cutoff time. I have been doing most of my swimming in an infinity pool or out in the open water and I definitely think it has helped to make me stronger. With the swim done, I headed home to change into my running gear. My new shoes finally arrived on Thursday so I have 3 weeks to break them in. I did 15 miles at a nice easy pace and felt better at the end of the run than at the beginning so I am taking that as a good sign.
And now, it's TAPER TIME! I will still be doing a lot of training but no where near the mileage I have been putting in over the last couple of months. I am looking forward to having a bit of a break and being fully recovered and well rested for race day. Woo hoo! Less than 3 weeks to go!
As my friend Christine would say, "Just the stats":
Bike: 112.8 mi (8024ft), 8:15:49
Swim: 2.65 mi, 1:49:47
Run: 15.0mi, 2:41:06