Goal Reached!

Race day is over and most of you know that I DID IT!  After 38 weeks of training and countless hours of workouts I completed my first half-iron distance triathlon in 8 hours 1 minute and 59 seconds!  I promise to post my race report soon!  

Right now I am still in disbelief that it is over.  The post race fatigue didnt hit till Thursday and has carried through the busy weekend.  I have been sleeping as much as I can and hope to get out there again soon!

I am planning on continuing this blog to chronicle my continued journey of healthy adventures!  Attacking what I eat next as I realize I cannot eat like a triathlete and not train like one at the same time!  I also am looking for some strength training and keeping up on the cardio!  

It is sure to be an adventure!  Stay tuned for the race report!

We have come so far...

Race week!  In fact after 38 weeks of training and even more weeks of planning, the race is now just a couple days away...

Accumulated hours of training logged on the Garmin since late April: 

53 hours of running 
1245 miles of biking
53 hours of swimming

My friend and fellow team-mate Bridget (who completed her 70.3 race several weeks ago) sent a message to us today that nearly made me cry.  I knew immediately that I wanted to include part of her message here...

"This weekend is not about "can I do this" Because you can. My race weekend and leading up, I never questioned that I would cross the finish because I KNEW I would. What I questioned was HOW (not that I couldn't) will I do this race in the conditions handed to me. I knew it was going to suck (and it did). I knew it was going to hurt (and it did), but I knew I would do it (and I did). Find your motivation to get you thru. Find your way."

Isnt that beautiful?  This has been an incredible journey. I will be posting more post race with a full race report and comments on the whole weekend. 

Bridget also said: 


"You will be nervous. You will be anxious. You will want to vomit (a lot). This is normal. If you weren't feeling this way then would you be weird. Okay, you are weird (in the best way), but you know what I mean."

I love it!  I have loved training for this... this whole experience has taught me so much and I have had the time of my life!  

Goggles On!

Taper....

The countdown is here!  After all these weeks, Musselman is less than two weeks away.  Saturday was Team Veloved's last long course ride and now we are all tapering until race day! 

Bridget came out to help Andy in the SAG wagon and to hand off water bottles to us so we could practice grabbing them while we rode.  We were a little nervous since Helene had said we were "on our own" as far as pacing and riding.  Christine and I stayed together for the first 25 miles going about the same pace with Adrienne far ahead and Katie behind us.  Helene floated between the four of us and everything was going well.  I found my pace faster than the last group ride and I was feeling good in spite of the humidity.  It kept looking like it would rain, and then the sun would come out for a while... at mile 25 I got a flat tire.  Helene stopped to see how I was doing and called Andy to come back around to help.  I got to use CO2 for the first time (so glad as now I am more comfortable with it).  I got back on the road and was the last rider for the rest of the trip.  I thought as I rode that I truly was on my own!  I saw Helene a few times as she looped back for me to make sure all was well.  Around mile 40 it finally rained.  I mean RAINED.  Millions of tiny drops that stung as they hit you!  Helene and I rode through the rain into Sampson State Park and by the time I finished my ride it had stopped raining.  

Transition to the run was quick and I ran out about 1.5 miles when Helene joined me (she was on her bike).  I was supposed to run 6 miles so we went up into Geneva and then back through the park to where we started our ride.  Helene gave me my pep talk about race day.  Our concerns have been timing - I am not a fast swimmer and I need to have a decent bike so I have enough time to complete the half marathon before the race time cut off at 3PM.  We found out my swim wave goes off at 7:07AM and is the third wave.  I should have enough time and knowing I am going off near the start of the race is comforting!  

The last to complete the workout on Saturday, I was welcomed back to the cars with excitement as everyone was hungry!  We went to lunch and at lunch Helene, Andy, and Bridget talked to us about race day.  KC and I are driving out together and staying together and Christine and Adrienne are doing the same. It should be a great weekend and one we will remember for years to come. 

Looking back on the last year and all that we have accomplished absolutely amazes me.  From Irongirl 2012 to Musselman 2013 has been a long and rewarding journey.  A few more days and less than 8 hours of work ahead!  Here's to training and making truly life changing goals.

Goggles On.

Super Bridget and Her Pro

What a weekend!

Helene has coached 5 of us for 70.3 triathlons.  Four of us are doing Musselman in less than three weeks and Bridget did Syracuse 70.3 yesterday.  Bridget and her husband also volunteered to host a professional athlete for the race week.  Lisa Norden, the 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist in triathlon came to stay with them for a few days.  Lisa is from Sweden and is getting ready train in Boulder and continue her professional race circuit.

The night before the race I snuck over to Bridget's house and chalked her driveway (with her husbands permission) and left poster board signs out (in case it rained) for Bridget and Lisa to see when they left to head to the race start.  Katie and I drove separately and went to different points on the bike course so Bridget would see us more often.  We chalked the course as we drove out, stopping repeatedly to write on the road....

 Initially I went to the "wall" (a steep down hill followed by a really steep uphill).  Riders commented how they went from speeds of 45mph to 5mph in a matter of seconds!  I have ridden the wall and it is challenging.

I was watching for Lisa first since she was one of the favorites for the top female spot and sure enough, she was riding with the guys in one of the lead packs.  NO OTHER WOMEN anywhere near her.

Bridget looked good when she passed me and I waited to cheer my other friends on before cutting across the course and heading to mile 43 and cheering again.  After that I met up with Katie and we parked as close to the park as we could (2 miles) and walked along the run course cheering everyone on as they ran in super hot weather!  Friends, this was a MISERABLE day to race.  High humidity and VERY VERY warm.

We hung out in the CNY Triathlon Club tent near the finish at the loop of the course (it was an out and back, out and back - so they ran up the hill above TWICE).  Then a thunderstorm blew through!  It cooled the temps but was a crazy summer storm for a while and Bridget was still running!  She finished and I am SO INCREDIBLY PROUD of her.

This woman trained for months, kept me laughing and sane through some tough times and overcame some fears as she determined to move forward.  I am so proud to call her my friend and teammate.  SO PROUD.

Lisa too had a great day!

She finished LOOOONG before any of the other women (over 20 minutes) and took home first female finisher!  Her swim time was 26:52, bike time was 2:23:52 and a run time of 1:30:46.  In that heat, she ran a half marathon in 90 minutes!!! that SHOCKS me.  She is very sweet and I enjoyed talking with her at the tent afterwards... she even had me take her picture with a bag of "swedish fish" that were in the tent for volunteers to snack on! Here is her bike, I am sure that bike costs more than you think!

Today I am back to training... swam in the weeds this morning and then biked... this is the last week of distance and then we are tapering for our race.... praying it is not as humid and hot and that it doesnt thunder/lightening.  It can totally rain during the run though!

Goggles On!

Three Weeks and Counting....

So today Katie and I finished our week's workouts with a long  brick workout.  We had to ride 50 miles and then transition immediately to a two mile run.  Today is very warm and we headed out about 7:15 and rode north for 25 miles, turned around and then ran our two miles in a nearby neighborhood.  

Here is a picture of me after the workout was completed!  

Recovery?  Chocolate milk and a cereal bar for now.  In a little bit will be taking in something more substantial before I head out to work!  

Tomorrow I cheer my fellow athlete and good friend Bridget and some other friends during their 1/2 Ironman!  

Goggles On!

Intermediate Distance Complete!

Hello my friends...

This is just a quick post to say that training has continued to progress and today KC and I completed our first intermediate triathlon.  We did a 0.9 mile swim in the harbor, then a 25 mile bike and a 6.4 mile run. 

After days of rain, today was beautiful.  I didn't notice the water temp being cold, though others said it was.  And guess what? I didn't panic in the water.  It was my longest open water swim to date (in the pool I have swam 2 miles w/out stopping, but open water is so different).  The last 400 yards were the hardest as we were swimming perpendicular to the waves and they were coming in on my dominant breathing side!  I swallowed some water but refused to stop.  I knew I was one of the last swimmers, but I was determined not to be THE last one out of the water.  I wasn't.

The bike was tough.  Its hilly and I was riding by myself.  I was only passed by one person and for the most part I was out on the roads alone.  My bike gears kept slipping in the big ring in the front (the harder gears).  Annoying as the gears it wouldn't stay in were the ones that I use most often! 

I headed out on the run and had forgotten to take my bike gloves off... I took them off as I ran and stuck them in my back pocket on my tri jersey.  After the first couple miles I settled into my pace and ran steady staying between 11 and 12 min miles.  The run was a little long but I felt good (though tired at the end)!!!!!

Yes, I was the next to last to finish the race.  However, as Coach said we were to focus on everything BUT the swim bike and run.  So, here is my checklist:

1. not panicking in the swim? CHECK
2. not stopping during the swim? CHECK
3. getting out of the wetsuit and having a good T1? CHECK
4. Nutrition? CHECK
5. Garmin transfer from wrist to bike to wrist? CHECK
6. Fluid consumption? CHECK
7. Not stopping for change or yardsales? CHECK CHECK

So, all in all today was a successful day!  I finished in under 4 hours and learned some things along the way.... namely I need to reapply sunscreen after the swim and before the run as I am a little burned right now...

Pictures will be posted soon. 

Goggles On!

Bumps Along the Way

Just in case you wondered, workouts don't always go like you want them to... I have tried very hard to keep this blog positive, but to be perfectly honest, training can sometimes be very challenging.  

I do not always have successes in workouts, they sometimes, (for lack of a better word) SUCK.  For example, this morning I was supposed to run 7 miles alternating "easy" miles with "faster" miles.  I got up at 5:15 so I could be ready to run at 6:00 since I have to be at work later this morning and cant/wont run when I get off at the end of the day.  Last night I laid out everything I needed to run (Garmin, compression socks, clothes, hat, inhaler, water belt, etc). This morning when I began to get ready, I realized I didn't have my heart rate strap out and looked everywhere for it (while trying not to wake my roommate up in the next room!).  Finally I decided to run without the strap and headed outside.  

It is cold this morning, about my favorite temperature to run in!  I started running and my legs felt heavy... no problem I thought, I will warm up and my legs will loosen and I will feel fine.  NOPE!  The tightness got worse and soon my knee started hurting, and then my opposite foot started to hurt, (both places I have had some issues with the last month or so) and then my other foot and knee.... it was NOT FUN!  My ID bracelet was driving me crazy and I couldn't wait to get it off, I also didn't want to carry my water belt which was bouncing up and down against my back!  My  first mile was SLOW and the second was even slower.... I finally decided I needed to cut my losses and GO HOME and strap on some ice.  

I am sure I will find out later what the coach says about my unsuccessful run, but in the meantime, I wanted you to know how hard this is sometimes.  There are days where my head just cant get my legs to do what I want them to do on the bike, or where my breathing is off in the pool and I feel panic, or even where I just plain don't feel like training.  But, thankfully those days are few and I am mostly enjoying each step of the journey!  Even days like today when my determination bows to my body's complaints are worth it in the end.

We are getting so close to our race day and I find myself thinking more and more of the moment when I will cross that finish line.  The moment that culminates MONTHS of hard work and 7 to 8 HOURS of racing that day!  I know it will be an emotional day.  I also know that I will be sad to be leaving these weeks of training behind as life changes... as Helene will be "friend Helene" all the time instead of doubling as "coach Helene". I wont be training for hours every day.  I will enjoy that time (my niece will be here by then and I plan on spoiling her) but, I will also miss it. I have therefore already began setting goals for myself post-race.  This year has been one that has changed my life and in the grand scheme of things, one tough, DNF (did not finish) run are small things.  So, lets move forward into tomorrow (a fast 18 mile paceline bike ride) and remember to keep those GOGGLES ON!

"Triathlon is a journey, where races are milestones that require moments of celebration, reflection and analysis." - Ryan Schneider.