just go here.....

ok...so I don't know why the two blogs...it's TOOO exhausting now that the Ironman is done. So, please just check the original blog RIGHT HERE!!!

Portland, London and Georgia...OH MY!!!

Sorry folks, I know posting has been minimal, life has been super busy! I went to Portland for Hood to Coast...which was amazing and hurt worse than my Ironman. (I am not kidding) I mean seriously, when do you do 6 mile repeats, 7 hours apart from one another....3 times??? I couldn't walk for two days as putting in those 18 miles was fun, fun, fun. If you ever want to get in a great relay, Hood to Coast is really fantastic and well run by those folks at Nike! I had a really good time as a part of Team LIVESTRONG. Our team finished in 28:26:11 for an average pace per mile of 8:39. In the mixed open category we finished 94th out of 283 teams. It was awesome...a few pictures below...(want to be a part of this event with Team LIVESTRONG next year? let me know or contact fundraising@livestrong.org)




Then it was a few days off and on to London I go for the Human Race. What an experience that was....20,000 people and I got to meet Paula Radcliffe!! I ran the 10k on a typical very rainy evening in and around Wembley Stadium. Just a week after Hood to Coast, my running legs were back!! For a longer post on this event and why I was there check out this blog Here are just a few pictures from this event....it was great to see what kind of global impact LIVESTRONG will have on the world in the years to come.




Then onto Georgia to get some time with my family. No work, just play and some quality time. My brother has taken up the world of cross country running and he is super fast!! Being on a junior in high school and running solid 7 minute miles, I am more than impressed with his athleticism!!

I am now back in Austin for a month as travel will take me to Chicago and NYC next...I am excited about getting back onto my bike as I am raising money for the LIVESTRONG Challenge and riding 90 miles on October 26th. I am running in honor of a co-worker that is fighting breast cancer....if you are feeling generous and would love to make a donation to SAVE 2nd BASE!! go to my website and donate....just click here

Looking forward to core class and swim next week. I just may sign up for the aqua bike at Longhorn...we will see.

back in the pool

Last night I went to core class and then made my way to the evening swim with T3, where I was hoping that the rain and thunder would hold off so I could finally get a good workout in the pool. Having watched SO MUCH swimming in the Olympics and seeing the underwater form of those free-stylers...I was ready!!

I jumped in, did the 200m warm-up and felt pretty good, thinking I was finally going to make it through an entire swim workout. Two weeks ago I had let Mo know that I felt as though I was in swim purgatory. I was faster than T1 folks but not quite fast enough for the T2 lanes and I was frustrated. I decided to take a few weeks off and come back when I was ready mentally.

Made it through the 3200 workout, felt good and even swam 3 back to back 100s at 1:45 pace. (even Mo was shocked!) It is no 46 second 100 but I am happy with feeling strong under 2 minutes.

I am going to try and get in a swim at the Nike Campus in Portland this Thursday....apparently this facility is AMAZING.

I might hurt the person who wrote this...

"Going for the gold
Why does U.S. Olympic swimmer
Michael Phelps need all those gold
medals? Surely, two or three would be
enough to gain him a slew of product
endorsements, thus ensuring him a
lifetime of financial security.
Is Phelps just another greedy, self-
centered American, so focused on
personal excellence that he has lost
the capacity to feel compassion for
his fellow athletes from less wealthy
countries? After all, didn't they also
train hard?

But Phelps just won't quit. He
keeps competing as hard as he can,
thus depriving others of their fair
share of medals. Where is the justice
here?

Perhaps Congress should hold
hearings and pass a law compelling
Phelps to either stop crowding out the
competition or give up some of his
medals to less fortunate athletes,
whose sense of self-esteem surely
must be suffering in the wake of
Phelps' successes."

REALLY???? He set a goal, went after it and conquered it? What is wrong with that? That is the American dream my friend? Why would you criticize someone for being passionate about something? why? The person that wrote this needs to re-think things.

Do you get the 'picture'?

I know many of you are sick of this...especially my boyfriend Sam who is being very patient with my crush right now....but I am VERY VERY sad swimming is over. Cause I just want ONE swim lesson with Michael Phelps. Just one.

who wouldn't want a hug from this guy....

I am sorry because I know many are feeling this way...but who doesn't want a hug from this 6 foot 7 inch wing span guy? AND....this guy LOVES what he does...man, I am going to be depressed when the Olympics are over.

Michael Phelps

It's official...if you saw him in the 100m fly....I am in love.

some miles on the bike!

Well, I was motivated to get out twice on the bike this past weekend....I put in 35 miles on Saturday (went out by myself) and then on Sunday I met my friend Clark for 55 miles of the Dam Loop. It felt good to be back on the bike, although I am not ready to start running anytime soon and well, I do have a Half Marathon in November!! it is just toooooo DAMN HOTTTTTTT!!!!

With the Olympics being on right now I am motivated to get the workouts in early so I can watch the coverage on Prime Time at night.....today I will go to Core class and tomorrow I will try to get up and swim early!

Is anyone else PLASTERED to the TV like me in regard to the Olympics? How about that swim relay last night?!?!?!?! And my favorite Pro Female Cyclist, Emma Johanssen took the silver medal in the road race.....she is super cool.

LOVE IT. LOVE IT.

Here I AM!!!

I know, I know....it was only a 7 day bike ride I was on but it took me twice as long to recover from being away.

So, I am back....from the wonderful, welcoming state of Iowa. Man, there are some GOOD people in Iowa. I rode 6 out of the 7 days and put in about 440 miles on my road bike. I guess that is one way to get thrown back onto the bike after the good old Ironman. Team LIVESTRONG had a really good time. I highly recommend this event if you are wanting to put in some really good mileage for training, eat some amazing food and meet some really great people from all over! Here is a picture of the TEAM the night that Lance came to hang out...


I was gone for 12 days and since then.....well, I have not done much. A few swim workouts, a few small runs, I did venture to Core class....ouch....on Monday and I will go on a ride with a friend this Saturday.

I feel un-inspired to sign up for a race at this point...but know I should start looking as all that good training I put in during the spring is going to waste.

I may not have any good training updates anytime soon.....just because.

Don't try this 3 weeks later....

Miss Maggie and I met up for a 3 mile jog last Wednesday just to "stretch" out the old legs. This is the second run I had attempted since Ironman. The legs are just not bouncing back at all, everything feels heavy, I get tired pretty easily...as we got about 10 minutes in the thought of walking seemed really nice. Maggie and I joked and kept saying "no expectations" for the Couples Triathlon this past Sunday. As the day approached I wondered what it was going to feel like to do this event...Thomas at J&A said he did a Sprint right after Ironman Brazil last year and he said the IM was easier. I laughed but inside I wanted to throw up.

Maggie picked me up Sunday morning and instantly we had some fun nervous chatter joking about how I might finish...hopping, crawling across the Finish Line perhaps. My favorite was talking about our "special needs bags"....just because it felt weird to not pack anything major. Got to race site, set up transition, did the normal routine...jogged a bit with Maggie, went and swam a few minutes...and then it was go time.

Magleen was in the second wave at 8:04...thankfully, as I am NEVER that close to the start of the race.

Took off in the water and instantly my arms felt a bit heavy but I pushed through and as time passed things started to loosen up. I felt as though I was going much quicker than last year so I was sad to find out that my swim was SLOWER than last year. How is that I swim a 2:03 per 100m for an Ironman and swim a 2:41 per 100m for an 800 m swim? Can we get a check on that distance? Apparently I need to work on my sprints in swimming...looks like I have a new goal?

Off to the bike (11 miles) which took me 37 minutes...only 2 minutes slower than last year..I will take it as I hadn't been on the tri bike since IM.

Then onto the run which I thought was absolutely PAINFUL. In fact, I had a nice fall...total face plant about 1 mile into the run. Not kidding. I tripped over my own damn feet and well, grass running is not fun. I quickly got up and started running again just wanting it to be OVER. The funny thing? My run was 26:45...running 8:30 miles....a serious PR over last year.

Magleen took 4th place, losing the podium by just TWO minutes. Not bad for recent Ironman finishers...however, I don't want to do a race anytime soon. My body hurt for the rest of the day.

I leave this Thursday for RAGBRAI...
Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa

This is my first event with Team LIVESTRONG. We will be riding anywhere from 60-85 miles per day for 7 days straight. I don't know if I will be doing 7 days straight...I may be doing every other day...I am excited to go cycle in a new place though and meet the team of 180 riders we have!

I will not have access to computer of blog but will have a full report when I return. I plan on taking my running shoes so that my co-worker Kim and I can log some running miles...and sadly, I will not be able to swim during that time.

See you in a few weeks!

Damn you Craig Powers....

So I catch up with this friend of mine Craig last week...fellow triathlete himself. I ask him when his first Ironman will be and he 'casually' sneaks in "What do you think about Western Australia 2009?" Man!! Ever since then I can't get it out of my head....why sure? Another Ironman in AUSTRALIA!!! absofreakinlutely!!!

So with that I am considering the sign up in December...if I can only save my pennies to get there!! Anyone want to come along?

a new goal...October 25, 2008

I will be doing Couples Triathlon next weekend....and then I will do the Austin Triathlon in September. But my A race of the Fall will be the Florida Challenge. This is the very first Half Ironman I did two years ago...and I am ready to go back and kill this course!!! It's gonna be awesome! (plus, selfishly it gives me the chance to go back to Florida for a few weeks and see some friends that I miss very very much!)

I am still laying somewhat low. I did 2 swims this past week...both around 2300 m with T3. It felt good to stretch out in the pool, but hard to get the motor running again. No running yet as my legs aren't quite ready for that. I did go on a 35 mile bike ride with Chadro yesterday. It was fun...but my legs were tired the rest of the day.

Gonna do a few small workouts this week to just gear up for Couples Spring Triathlon....will Team Magleen take first this year?

a few more Ironman pictures...

me on the run..this is pretty much how I felt and those are my girls Heidi and Robin cheering in the background.

my big finish....this felt so good!!

the kind volunteer wanting to make sure i was ok...i was!

the tears, the smiles, the laughter....all the emotion finally came out...I could not have asked for a more perfect day!

Run: 26.2 miles!!! and the FINISH!!

When I thought the run would be the worst part of the entire day, it turned out it was my favorite as I had a lot of support out on the course! (with some surprises along the way)

As I got in from the bike transition and said a huge..."Thank You God!!" for no flats and bike issues, I made my way to get my Bike to Run bag and headed to the changing tents. Changed out of cycle jersey into tri top and then handed the Body Glide to the volunteer and told her to put it anywhere my Tri Top touched my body. With the dry climate, the last thing I wanted was major chaffing. The Body Glide left a slight white film on my body.

Next stop: Sunscreen station. I walked up, put arms out and said...Get me!! The volunteers went at it and covered me...as they started to rub in, I said "oh no, that's ok...it will do that itself, I got to start running!!"

As I got out onto the run course, a friend told me I looked like Casper! I said...I am already going to be in pain, I don't want it to be worse because of a sunburn.

Here is where mentally things got interesting...I headed out for the small first loop and noticed that quite a few people looked as if in pain, not letting it get to me I put one foot in front of the other (as planned). I got to mile 3 and saw many friends from Austin...Coaches Chrissie and Mo, my good buddy Adam Reiser and a few others. Just two miles later at mile 5 were the ladies from Florida...and one surprise. My friend Heather that I had performed with at Disney drove in from Seattle the night before. She had told me she was coming but I did not know if logistics and her son would keep her from this....I don't know why I doubted..it's Heather for crying out loud! She had her son Zach and dog with her and was screaming on the sidelines with my other 3 friends. When I made the loop back around and hit mile 10..there they were again but with Heidi's parents now joining them. (it is awesome when 6 people are SCREAMING your name) Then a few miles later..the Austin crew again! A few miles later, a sign with my name and number and a woman I did not recognize at all..little did I know that my friend Missy Daly from Orlando had told a friend of hers in CdA my name and number and she was just out there cheering for the heck of it...how cool is that?!?! With all of this support...the run went by fast as I focused on who I would see next rather than the mileage or the numbness in my feet!!

When I reached half way...I couldn't believe it..It didn't even feel as though I had run 13 miles at this point...I felt good, my pace felt comfortable and I thought...I JUST might finish this marathon within 5 hours. My goal initially was to run half way and decide from there...at 13 miles I knew I could run 20...so I made it to 20 and said....Hell! It would hurt to walk now, I gotta keep moving!

Rounding the corner for my big finish is something that I will never forget...Adam Reiser was at the last corner and told me to "Enjoy it, I deserve it!" I wish I could have made those last few minutes last a little longer. It almost felt like I was in slow motion going towards the arches and the voice that proudly announced..."COLLEEN WILSON, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!" I wanted to turn back around and run over the mat again just to hear it one more time! (can you do that?) When I realized the clock said 13:14 on it, I thought something was really wrong. I couldn't have done it under 15 hours?!?!? (which was my super stretch goal!) When I asked Adam if that was right..he laughed and said.."Yes Colleen...you had a super great run of 4:30! You looked solid the whole time, as if it was a 10k or something!"

It was then that the emotion hit me hard. The tears started rolling and Adam walked me over to my girls from Florida where I celebrated with tears, hugs, pictures...see below.

What a crazy ass day!! And it was only one week ago that I couldn't walk down stairs or get up from my bed!

I am ready to set a new goal...don't worry, nothing crazy! I know I need to sign up for another race (not an Ironman yet) and get myself on a schedule! Tonight I will start going to core class again and do some light biking and swimming this week. Running will be a few weeks...my feet are hurting a bit still!

I am going to upload a few more pictures after this post...enjoy!

Thanks again for all the crazy support!

The Bike: 112 miles

So as I head from Swim to Bike into the changing tents I realize I must have had a good swim (once again, not knowing time). A few things about the changing experience...the wetsuit strippers? Yeah, that is the deal. I had two guys yank on the legs and I was on my way to the tents. Got inside and it was TOTAL and UTTER MAYHEM!!! It was so packed that I couldnt' find a volunteer to help me at first or a seat to sit in...but one finally came over and helped me put my arm warmers and jersey on. That is tougher than you think with wet skin. Grabbed helmet and bike shoes and was on my way out....saw the sunscreen folks and they smothered my legs with some SPF and I went to go find my bike!

Headed out onto the first loop and I was feeling good. I had written some messages on my aero bars to keep me in the race as far as nutrition. (DON'T GET BEHIND! SALT EVERY HOUR!! EAT EVERY 30 MINUTES! AERODRINK EVERY 10 MILES! SMILE! THIS IS FUN!!) The first loop I felt great and I stopped to pee once. Now before you all start to write me and tell me to go on the bike, I tried, I could not make it happen. I could not get myself to relax that much. Oh well. The second loop was much harder as the climbs seemed longer and steeper for some reason and it started to play mentally with me. And I had to stop twice to pee and so that was frustrating..it was hard to get back on and gain momentum. Then I looked down and saw SMILE! on my aero bars...I knew that I had to play it smart. Keep drinking, watch cadence and save my legs for the run. Do not let stupid things get in my head.

As I approached mile 90, I dug pretty damn deep to get back to transition continuing to hydrate and get myself ready for a marathon. I felt good. I felt strong. My final time on the bike was 7:00. I am wondering what it would have been without 3 stops to use el bano. I possibly could have broken 13 hours. Maybe next time? Did I just say that??

Swim: 2.4 miles!!!

As most of you all remember, one year ago..the swim was not something I enjoyed AT ALL. I would whine on my way to the pool, I would grimace at the thought of an open water swim and I would go to every race thinking things started once I got OUT of the water. Well....Nemo I am no more my friends and I proved that on race day!

I had been in CdA since Wednesday and was able to get in the water on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for about 20 minutes each day just to feel the water and visualize the swim. I felt good going towards race day and I had a plan thanks to Chrissie and Mo from T3.

In the past I had always started near the back during Tri's but since my 100m had gotten better my coaches had told me to start up front. They said those that are up front don't want to be a part of the kicking, pushing, fighting, they will just swim around me and then I can find my pack to swim with. That is exactly what I did. The cannon went off and I was in the VERY FRONT!! The first 300m felt awesome and I was with super friendly swimmers as not one kick or punch came my way. Finally I found a group to swim with and I had my eye on the last red bouy to make that first turn left. It was the first turn that panic hit me. It looked like a bunch of seals trying to make a turn. Finally I took a deep breath and calmed down, I realized that with so many people I could just stretch out and get pulled with the draft. I put my arms and legs straight out and got pulled around the corner with no bruises. Once I cleared that I took off for a good 100m to clear the pack and find a group again.

The second lap I found my rythym even more so and came out of the water at 1:18. (averaging 2:03 or my 100s) Folks...my goal when I signed up a year ago was to just clear things by 1:40!!!! Clearly I had done the work and I stayed in the game mentally for the swim. I was not wearing a watch at any point during the day so I did not know this until I finished but I got out of the water feeling really good....not exhausted and destroyed. It set me up for a great day.

My coaches used to call me The Windmill when in the water. They can't call me that anymore. I will continue to swim even during this recovery phase because it has helped my fitness so much! Crazy that I really like swimming now!!!

Lose Yourself..thanks Eminem

While I will get on that total recap of the weekend and my race....I have to say a large THANK YOU to Eminem. As I started to walk down to the swim, on the large speakers came his song...Lose Yourself....it got me pumped inside. I love some of the lyrics to this song and there were moments during the race where I could feel the beat pumping through my veins...

Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted, one moment
Would you capture it, or just let it slip?

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin'
What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out
He's chokin' how, everybody's jokin' now
The clock's run out, time's up, over, BLOW!
Snap back to reality, oh, there goes gravity
Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked, he's so mad
But he won't give up that easy, no, he won't have it
He knows his whole back's to these ropes
It don't matter, he's dope
He knows that, but he's broke, he's so stagnant that he knows
When he goes back to his mobile home, that's when it's
Back to the lab again, yo, this whole rhapsody
He better go capture this moment and hope it don't colapse on him

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime

This will alwasy be in my pre-race mix now! I will start recapping the weekend very soon! Thanks for all the well wishes...yeah, I said I would NEVER do this again before the race....I am going to have to take that back. I WILL do another Ironman, just not in 2009....who wants to join for 2010? :)

If you didn't know....

I AM ONE OF THESE.....HELL YEAH!!!

Fond Farewell & THREE

Had a good last night in Austin...met up with my friend Fuller where I received the ultimate plane goodie bag full of trashy magazine and clean magazine, gum, hair ties, bubbles (I left those at home to not get flagged), tic tacs, iTunes card and all sorts of fun goodies. Then Beijing (meg b)stopped over to give me 2 homemade CD's for the trip. By the way Meg, I have only listened to the one entitle bad ass. Yeah..it rocks. Then I opened up a box from my friend Stephanie in Orlando...when I opened the cardboard box there was a little blue Tiffany's box inside. As I opened the card (I am paraphrasing) it read, "when it gets really hard you will certainly need a litle faith." I opened the box to find a silver cross necklace. And then the tears started....Stephanie is another one of those amazing women that has stood in the gap for me when I couldn't do it any more. She is my music buddy as we enjoy rocking out to the same bands and she is one of the most giving people I have ever met. Thanks Steph...I am wearing it right now.

Dropped miss Eloise off at the week long baby-sitter and saw a few more good friends...(thanks Julie, Tom, Randy and Jeff for talking me off the Lost Creek bridge) and met up with Sammy for dinner and final packing.

Now....I am in Denver waiting for the final flight to Spokane where I will meet up with new friend, Jami and we will spend some relaxing time together in beautiful CdA!! I can't wait to see what restaurant and good times we will have....

I am so excited to see this journey come full circle this weekend.

Only THREE DAYS...THREE STINKING DAYS!!!

**by the way Pat...I am enjoying all the "muppets" so far on my plane all decked out in the compression socks, aero helmets, IM gear to let me know they have done 6 others all over the world. Good times. Good stinking times.

FORE!!!!

I love this picture! Way to go Tiger in the US Open....I want to feel like him in this picture on mile 18 of the run!

I leave tomorrow! I am all packed! I am READY!!!

FORE more days!!!

In the next few days....

Got home and had this email from Shelley....man, I have a lot of really amazing friends. Thanks for the reminders...Did I mention I am nervous??

"So in the next few days, and particularly on Sunday, when the miles are feeling oh so long, I want you to remember...

who you are! A survivor, a fighter, a rock star, a fabulous woman.

why you're there! And only you know the real reason. Just remember it and stay true to it.

you've done the training. All of it. It will take you where you need to go.

you're my hero. Enough said.

you are loved. By me, your friends, your family.


I'll be watching you on Sunday. I only wish that I could be there in person to see your face as you come across that finish line.

If you need something while you're gone, call me. I'll do what I can to help.

You're on my mind. Now go get em Snakebike!"

It is things like this that will run through my head on that course. We do get by with a little help from our friends...yes? Ok, off to eat a good dinner and REST, REST, REST!!!

Carrie'd Away!!

My other friend, Carrie B. or Tri to Be Funny blogger sent me this on e-mail today...

1.) If there's ever a moment you feel like you're working too hard--YOU ARE! Slow down and get back within yourself. (unless you're sprinting to the finish line)

2.) Don't let anyone other than a race official pull you off the course. As Chrissie and Mo said, there may be times you want to quit or abandon the race. Don't DO it unless you medically CANNOT continue. Chill out for a while, walk, eat...whatever it takes to change the attitude and get back on the course.

3.) Only think about one discipline at a time.

4.) Consume a ton of calories on the bike. It will make all of the difference in the run.

5.) You've planned your race. Now, race your plan!!! (sound familiar?!?)

I cannot wait to watch you cross the line on Sunday night. I swear, I'm going to be glued to my computer all day!! I'm so glad this sport has led me to a new friend and I can't wait to celebrate properly!!!!!

Have the best day of your life and smile like there's no tomorrow! You are going to be an IRONMAN in just a few short days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Carrie...you are a true gem...so glad we are friends through this crazy thing called Ironman!!

Carrie W...super FUNNY!!

I open up my email and have an ecard (If you haven't seen these cards, someecards, check out the site, they are too FUNNY!!) Thanks Carrie W for the good laugh this morning.. Here it is...



She wrote that the card was a bit premature but she is sure I will make the marathon...don't you worry Carrie...SNAKEBITE will make you proud!!!

Cinco.

NO more weekend workouts. NO more. I stayed true to Saturday and Sunday workouts. I feel strong. I am eating like a champ right now, I am staying hydrated...and in honor of the number FIVE....let's dance.

I think you get the picture...

Nine

Do we all see that IM is NINE days away....yes, in the Single Digits now.

Breathe In, Breathe Out Colleen.

Is it ok to drink at work?

Magic Number

1916

This is the Bib Number to track me with. Ironmanlive.com, June 22.

Team Colleen!!

You don't even know how much I love these girls...you just don't. These ladies in the picture are my posse from Orlando, Florida. From left to right..Robin, me, Heidi, Andi. I met Andi from the Wonderful World of Walt Disney singing days...("do you remember when we were in Vybe??") I met Robin and Heidi through Team In Training and well, the rest is history I guess you can say. These ladies will fly up to Idaho for my Ironman in 10 days. They will sit through 13+ hours of me on this course, they will cheer and probably lose their voices, and they do this just because they love me and love seeing me set goals.

Life is good with people like this in it...I love them for the way they have supported me THROUGH IT ALL!!!

Can't wait to see you 3...

Look what he did...

Yes, I went to turn in the gear bag at J&A's a bit ago, (the bag that goes with my bike for Tri Bike Transport) Sam had taken part of yesterday to put some finishing touches on my bike and well, as you can see, he gave it the old Livestrong touch. Made me laugh and smile!!

I have to say in all this crazy training, it has been nice to have someone that enjoys taking care of my bike...Sammy has been awesome in replacing my cables, new brakes, a lighter durace cassette, handle bar tape, cleaning it...dialing it all in so that when I get it off the truck in Idaho...all will be good. (I have also learned that I am not so great in taking care of my bike...)

Ironman here I come....Thanks Sammy!!

Fartlek Workout & a Swim...

Ok, so now into the taper it all feels weird. It is hard to motivate myself for a 45minute Fartlek run. However, I left work at 4:00 and went to the trail to get this done. I am glad that I did this.

I usually go to the Tuesday morning swim...somehow my alarm went off at 5:00 AM and the next thing I knew I was waking up at 730 AM..I slept through swim yesterday morning...which meant I had to go in the evening...which means ADD Colleen comes out because after a long day of work and a run ...I don't want to pay attention. However, last night at swim I focused as hard as I could putting in the 2900m with my swim coach, Chrissie. By the way, if you live in Austin....I love T3 and there swim program. Why I chose to do the bike/run portion with Texas Iron and get coaching from them, the swim part of my Ironman is going to rock because of Chrissie and Maurice. If you are looking for a great swim clinic and many swim sessions during the week to choose from check out T3.

Our workout consisted of a lot of 150's last night, and Chrissie told me it was all about consistency and being comfortable. From the moment I hit the water for warm-up to one hour later...I felt really good and strong. I kept all my 150's under 3 minutes...(let's remember 4 months ago when holding my 150s at 3:30 was a task)....it looked something like this.

300 warm-up with drills
8 x 150 (each 150 had some sort of spin on it...fast 50, 85% 50, fast 50..etc.)
300 recovery with drills
6 x 150 with fins (these were fun..keeping on a 2:45 interval..I killed it coming in around 2:25)
cool down...

It is crazy that the ONE thing I really want to keep doing after this Ironman is swim. I have really learned to LOVE it and I want to continue getting better as I see the swim improving my overall fitness!! (don't get me wrong, I want to keep biking and running...I just want to do it on my terms for a few months, not be tied to some schedule!!)

Anyhow...I am tired and trying to stay hydrated. I turn in the bike TODAY!!

ONLY TEN STINKING DAYS AWAY!!!!

last Big weekend!!

Had another strong weekend....Friday was a 75 minute run that happened primarily in pouring down rain in the morning. There is nothing I detest more than wet socks and wet shoes...however, I persevered.

Ran into my good friend Cathy at the grocery store later that afternoon. She is another CdA'er and we were talking about all the things going through our head, how moody we have been and the ups and downs of emotion.

Got to bed rather early after seeing Son of Rambow with Sammy. Really good, funny movie. Love me some British and 80s humor. Got up on Saturday and crawled my way to the kitchen to prepare for the final 4 hour ride. For some reason, I was moving rather slowly and the 7 AM start became 915 AM. I went an swam 45 minutes in Barton Springs first where Andrea Fisher swam 4 lengths to my one and then got out and started my bike ride (sans the wetsuit of course) I felt good on the final 'BIG' ride...just taking it easy and adding in some hills as I took on the Dam Loop, Riverplace, Courtyard and a trip up Lost Creek at the very end. Good times.

Got back to my place and rested a bit and then met my friends Meg and Fuller for Chuys!!...this is Meg below from Cap Tex. She is super cool. Went home and just cleaned up some things, watched the movie..P.S. I Love You and fell asleep around 930. Yes, I know....I am such a partier.

Got up at 530 on Sunday, ate some food...and left for my run rendevous with my friend Shelley. I had mapped out a route from Rogue Equipment that was 14 miles..7 out, 7 back. It was a pretty route and Shelley ran the first 7 with me, which was good because it caused me to take things easy having a friend to run and chat with. As I hit the turn around the first 7 were in 1 hour and 9 minutes...I wanted to move a bit quicker and do the final 7 in under an hour. That is what I did and I felt great at the end. It was good to put my feet on the asphalt and take time away from the trail. (I also find it is easier for me to bail on Town Lake trail runs. I get bored easily) I did the final 7 in 57 minutes...meaning 8 minute miles and a negative split!! Later that day I went for a recovery swim in Barton Springs...and that was a really great ice bath!!

I spent the rest of the day making lists for packing and getting my bike ready for Tri Bike Transport. Started working on transition bags and special needs bags and other various house chores.

It is now Monday...and the official taper begins. A 60 minute recovery ride today is quite laughable, but I will do it. The rest of the week?

Tuesday- swim with T3, 45 minute run
Wednesday- swim at the Quarry
Thursday- Texas Iron workout, bike
Friday-Day off!!!
Saturday- 30 minute swim, 2.5 hr ride and 30 minute run
Sunday- 75 minute run

I know this is going to feel weird but I am tired of feeling tired so I know I need the REST!!

Only 12 more days!!!

Hungry, Hungry Hippo

Yes, we have all played this game. In fact, I wish I were right now. Instead I am trying to keep from eating EVERYTHING in site!! I feel like one of these Hippo's going for every crumb put in front of me! It's not cool.

Uno, Dos, Tres.....Workouts!!!

Here is what the weekend held for me...

First- Friday swim of 2.4 miles. I was headed to the Quarry after work and had written on a piece of paper..you WILL do this today. And that is exactly what happend. 5 laps of the Quarry, 2.4 miles, a new awesome wetsuit (thanks Jack!) and a time that I was really really happy with. Now just add some really cold water and 2000+ athletes, and we will see what happens, right? (insert smile here)

Second- I had gotten the idea from Michelle (another CdA athlete) to do 2 loops of the Longhorn course on Saturday. Originally I had planned to ride Real Ale but when I realized it didn't start until 830, which means 900 for cycle events, I just didn't want to be on an 85 mile ride in all that heat...and I knew the terrain was some difficult climbing, so my time would be longer. Instead, I took off for Lake Decker with a 630 AM start, my tummy full and ready to go. The first loop was great as I just got my legs moving and played things super smart averaging 16.6 mph for that loop. (I also got lost once so that played with my speed a bit in searching for this road called Monkey) I drank 5 water bottles and did all my nutrition as planned. I took off for the second loop knowing that my friends Randy & Naomi were going to come find me on the course to provide me with support and Naomi was going to ride the last 25-30 miles in with me. They found me at mile 85 and when Randy opened up the back of his car he had COLD COLD water, gatorade, pickles (my absolute favorite on a bike ride!!!) and a PB sandwich for me. I fueled up and Naomi and I took off for the last bit. When I got done my final average was 17.1. I had really kicked it in for the second loop and I felt amazing at the end...in other words...my 60 minute run went really well. It wasn't about speed it was about me feeling comfortable....and I did. (insert another smile)

Third- After much debate I decided to wait and run Sunday evening. Sunday morning I had not had enough sleep after visiting with some friends the night before and I didn't want to run in the heat of the day. I took off for my 2.75-3 hour run around 615...and man, did it hurt. I am guessing, it is supposed to though right? I mean after 115 mile on the bike the day before, what is going to be comfortable about a 3 hour run. I did some of the run on the trail, some on Lake Austin and Scenic throwing in a few hills. And although it was tough, I finished it and I felt really accomplished at the end. (insert an even bigger smile!!)

Ironman in 19 days and I can't believe that it is here. I need to eat right, sleep and make sure I stay in the mental game. I need to make sure I don't let the taper get me down. I am really looking forward to June 22, 2008. Thanks for all the crazy support friends!

This weeks schedule is:

Monday: DAY OFF!!!!! YIPPEEEEE!!!
Tuesday: swim & tempo run
Wednesday: swim and 90 minute ride
Thursday: Texas Iron Brick workout (PM)
Friday: 75 minute run
Saturday: 60 minute swim and 4.5 hour ride
Sunday: 2-3 hour run, and 30 min recovery swim

One last tough week and then the magic word.....TAPER!!!

Tough day at the office

So yesterday I got up around 630 AM to do my first run of the day. (yes, it was double duty) With the way my stomach was feeling I was super nervous with what would happen...it was only 40 minutes, I can do this. It went fine and I actually felt pretty hydrated and strong.

I got in my work day and around 630 PM began the 80 minute run. (15 min. w/u, 50minute tempo run & 15 minute c/d) As I began to run on the trail the wind picked up, the skies got dark and it started to rain. I decided to hang in as long as I could. My quads were burning and not feeling good as I was only 30 minutes into the workout. Then the skies opened up and there was thunder. Since I opted for Safety First, I headed back towards my car putting in 60 of the 80 minutes into my feet. I was happy with that as I knew I had a tough bike trainer workout in the AM.

Which brings me to 630 AM again this morning. I got on my trainer and go through a series of timed sprints (3x5min, 3x3 min., 3x1min & some recovery in between) on the bike....the entire workout took me 1 hour and 15 minutes. I felt great at the end averaging 19.2 mph. Tonight is a 2.4 mile swim. YIKES!!

More later....only 24 more stinking days! (that is what Mama T would say!)

Horrible Hilly Hundred and Hotter than Hell!

Yeah, that was my Saturday. I took off a little before 700 and Sam was with me for the first 10 miles as I headed out to Fitzhugh from my place downtown. The goal was Johnson City and 100 miles.

All I can say about this ride is I did it. It was horrible and it was really really hot by 10 AM and I was nowhere near completing this ride. I drank almost 12 water bottles and I did all my nutrition the way I had planned. I felt full, tired and like shit at the end. (wondering how in the hell I will move my legs through 26.2) My computer said 98 miles at the end of it all and I was just ready to get OFF my bike. I had some really bad issues on my saddle with my girly parts that I need to get fixed by this weekend's long ride. We will see.

On Sunday I got up to head down to Auditorium Shores to see friends and past participants from TNT do the Cap Tex Triathlon. It was fun to see friends race and to see one of my coaches, Andrea Fisher, win the Olympic distance! After that I got some food in my stomach and rested my feet for a few hours before meeting Mama T for my 2 hour run. She did the first 7 mile loop with me and then I took off on the 5 mile loop and then some after that. As I was going through the first loop, I looked at T and said.."I don't know how I am going to do the second loop?" She replied, "Let's focus on this loop." Yup, she was right. I have to battle with what is in that moment. I can't look ahead. I can't be in the water and be thinking about the 112 mile bike...or be on the bike and think about the run...I have to focus on the NOW and get through what is right before me.

I finished the 2 hour run with 13.5 miles under my belt, went home, showered and met up with some folks who were celebrating their accomplishments from earlier in the day!!

Monday was a super lazy day as something I ate at Uncle Billy's the night before did NOT agree with mine or Sammy's stomach. Yeah...food revenge part 2. I kept myself hydrated and got some good sleep and then got up for a 40 minute run this morning. It didn't feel awesome, but I did it.

That is what I also learned this weekend in talking to Pat Evoe after my 100 mile ride. At this point in the training, it is about getting up and doing what is on my schedule. I may have some really tough days and some really good days...but this is what preparing for an Ironman is about. (I am also finding that right now I am FOREVER TIRED, wanting to go to bed by like 900 PM.) My mental game seems to be on right now as each day presents new challenges.

Less than 4 weeks friends. I am scared.

Race Thoughts....

I had referenced this article way back in January....this week has been tough for me mentally and so I re-visited...maybe it will help some of you. With the whole food poisoning episode my workouts have been tough to get through and with not doing a long ride last weekend, my mind is playing major tricks on me. I have even considered just going up to cheer on friends and not racing. I am scared that I won't do well on the bike since I have not put in the time in the last month due to the Wildflower trip and getting sick. This article helped a bit and I am feeling a bit more positive. Tomorrow is a 6+ hour ride out to Johnson City and so hopefully I can feel some of the strength returning tomorrow and work on my nutrition plan.



1. On race day, you will apply only about 20% of your mental energy to your physical performance, and 80% to maintaining that performance. What I mean is that the extent of your attention paid to pacing and racing will be "Stay in this HR range." Everything else will be "What do I need to do right now to maintain this effort?" That is what, when, how much to eat/drink. How do I feel right now, is a problem developing, if so, what do I do about it, right now?

2. Right now. What I mean is you MUST race in the moment. It is a very long day. Do the best that you can this very moment, don't think about what to do 10 hours down the road. You have all day to fix a problem and get back in the game. The 5 minutes that you take to fix a problem can save you 30 minutes later in the day. Stay relaxed and only control what you can control. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

3. Decision-making. The OODA Loop. Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. Observe your situation, orient yourself and determine possible courses of action, decide what to do, and then ACT. Go faster, slower, forward, back, stop, but do SOMETHING. If it doesn't work, repeat the process and DO something else. If you let the race "get inside your loop," you react to it and it decides for you. You will go from one crisis to the next.


4. What is the right decision? Often it will be do nothing, which is actually doing something. Your body can only do so much at the same time. If you are eating and exercising at the same time, you are asking your body to perform two tasks. The harder you exert yourself, the harder it is for your body to process the food that you eat. Sometimes the best decision is to just slow down, way down, for 5 minutes, or to just stop. Again, that five minute heart-to-heart with Mr. Port-O-John could save you 30 minutes later in the day. In a race this long, some problems just work themselves out if you give them time.

Advice, Part 2

5. By now you should have a pacing plan and a nutrition plan. Your pacing is probably based on a heart rate range, and your feed plan should be based on calories per hour. It is important that you have determined what works for you in training in both of these regards. Everyone is different. Do what you have determined works for you, and don't try anything new on race day. Be sure to drink 6-8 ounces of water, not Gatorade, whenever you eat something that is calorie-dense, such as gel or a bar. Think of water as an aid to digestion, not just as water.

6. You've spent all this time developing a plan. Expect it to not survive first contact with the race. Be prepared to modify or change your plan if you need to, don't follow a plan into a brick wall if it's not working for you on race day. Observe, orient, decide act; Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome, blah, blah, blah.

7. Should you set a goal time for yourself? It depends on you. I have, but I've trained to race it, not just finish. But whether you have trained to race or trained to finish, I think you should set a goal time when you get off the bike. This will provide you with one very important asset: focus. Focus will guide you when things get very, very fuzzy. Determine that you need to run a 4:10 marathon, for example. Break it down to 13.2 splits, mile splits, half mile, quarters, whatever it takes for you to break the marathon down into small, manageable distances. And then race those small distances, not a marathon. For the first 13 you may be able to think and focus on 1 mile at time. As the run goes on, you may find yourself saying, "What do I need to do to get from this manhole cover to that light post?" Without something external to focus on, you risk developing tunnel vision. You will only be aware of what is immediately around you, can only think about 20-30 seconds into the future, and react to what the race is giving you, rather than taking charge of what you are doing.

Advice, Part 3

8. Use the aid station and your fellow teammates to take you away from the race. With the aid station and 25+ people that you know doing the race, you should see someone familiar every few minutes. If you try to look good, think about your form, speed up, whatever, for those 20-30 seconds that you see someone familiar, then that is 20-30 seconds that someone has taken you away from your pain and helped you think about something else.

9. The purpose of the swim is to get you on the bike. The purpose of the bike is to eat for the run. The purpose of the first run lap is to put money in the bank to pay the monkey that will jump on your back the second lap. The Second Lap Monkey. He is very a big monkey. If this is your first Ironman, you have probably felt in your training everything that you will feel on race day, except the Second Lap Monkey. You can't train for that.

10. The Second Lap Monkey carries a big stick, and its name is Pain. Love it, hate it, get angry at it. Breathe it with every breath, feel it with every step and use it. It lets you know you are still alive, more alive than most people will ever be in their whole lives. The clock keeps on ticking and everything bad must eventually come to an end. All you have to do is keep running in a straight line until someone tells you to stop.

Michelle L.....can we meet up for that scream now?? Seriously? I am NOT kidding.

More after this weekend. Prayers are welcome.

Supah Swimmer...

I guess the whole rest thing was good yesterday. I was quite tired at the end of my first day on the new job so I got dinner, got to bed early and was at swim at 545 AM. I got through the 2900m workout in the hour and it was a good benchmark for me.

After a good warm-up of 1100 m we had 15 x 100m...after 5 we had 5 seconds less rest leaving the final 5 with only 10 sec rest between each 100. The key was to hold tempo. I never came in over the 2 min mark. I finished each 100 between 1:55 and 2:00 minutes which felt really good....

now I am tired and hungry.

Tonight is a brutal track workout with Texas Iron...600 m repeats..I think ten maybe. I don't know. More on that later.

Schedule for this week

Here is what coach said.
"I would continue to keep the mid-week as a recovery but you can do some long sessions this coming weekend. I’d recommend a 5-6hr ride on Sat with a long run Sunday morning and maybe another longish(3-4hrs) ride Monday. That way you get a few more days to replenish your stores but still get some great distance in."

I know I have to trust and listen but I feel like I am ready to take it on again.

I had to post this so that if you all see me trying to go hard in the middle of the week you can smack me.

Scary Scary

So I got up and took off to do the Dam Loop on Saturday.....got finished in about 3.5 hours (this included throwing up all my nutrition and oatmeal about 7 miles before I finished) and my legs felt as though someone had walked all over them and I was super dehydrated once again. I spent the next couple hours pumping water into my system & a bit of food before I went to go work a few hours at J&A's. (Helping out my friend Jack since I had to call in on Thursday.)

On Saturday I finally got two full meals in me without them returning back to me in a not so pretty fashion and so I got up on Sunday and headed out to Texas Ski Ranch for the Skeese Greet's Sprint Tri. Not sure if I was going to race, I had told Stacy I would come out to do the National Anthem. I got up and felt ok and so I put my bike and gear in the car and decided....What the hell? Right?? If I pass out....At least I am well surrounded. I was told NOT to the 2.5 hour run on the schedule but this was ok.

Skeese Greet's was fun...same course as the Rookie the weekend before so I knew how to push myself for the hour workout. I was able to swing a PR and took off one minute from my time last weekend. I had the same swim and bike but my run was 7:48 miles instead of 7:56 which was funny cause I felt super slow on the run. Funny how that goes.

Packed up my stuff..headed home and took it easy until about 330 I decided to go out for that 1-1.5 hour run. I was able to do the 1.5 hour run but once again, I am still not full hydrated for distance and so it was tough to get through the final 15 minutes of the 1.5 hours I took off for.

I drank tons of water the rest of the evening and I am waiting for my schedule from my coach for this week. This week was supposed to be recovery but I want to put in some distance on the bike on Saturday.

Tonight is hills on the bike. Tomorrow will be a track workout and swim. Wed-Sun????

To be continued.

Ironman Build? What??

I stopped by Hill Country Running Store to see Andrea Fisher and ask her about my Ironman build this weekend. I knew she had gone through a rough bout of Food Poisoning a week ago and I wasn't sure if I should be doing a long bike ride tomorrow since I have had NO REAL FOOD in me since 1230 AM on Wednesday. (and I am still trying to slowly put food back in)

She said if I do too much too soon it could come back worse as she found out after the Rookie and ride this past Saturday.

Absolute fear comes across my face and she can see this. I CAN'T MISS A 6 HOUR BIKE RIDE AND A 2.5 HOUR RUN!!! I CAN'T!!!

She said to try and get in a longer ride sometime next week.

I don't know if I can make that happen with the new job starting on Monday. What to do? What to do?

I am going to see how I feel later tonight, I guess.

The Rookie, Ride from New Braunfels & Run

It was a good, long tough weekend in the world of training. And as I look ahead, it doesn't get any "easier". I have decided my new mantra is "DO THE WORK. NO EXCUSES."

I got up on Saturday morning to head to the Rookie Tri in New Braunfels. It is tough racing a sprint when you have been training for distance! I ended up with a 1:03, which I was happy with. My swim was strong, the bike was fair (not used to going hard for only 11 miles....all this distance training makes intensity seem weird) and then the run I did 7:56 miles.

After the race about 7 of us that rode the 50 miles back to Austin in order to get in some longer bike mileage. It was fun, good pace back to Austin....but it was HOT. I mean....by the time I pulled into J&A's shop at 230, it was like 98 degrees and I was ready to GET OFF MY BIKE, as were the rest of us.

The next morning, swim practice with T3....and well, that was funny. The workout hurt, I couldn't get into any kind of rhythm and possibly at one point there may have been a few tears. So I did not go on my 3 hour run until later in the afternoon....

The run went fine until the final half hour when I just wanted it to be over. My legs were hurting, burning....not feeling good. But I finished it. I finished my longest run to date, putting in almost 20 miles and I am glad I persevered through it cause then I headed to Homeslice for my Fireman's 4 and pizza and all was right with the world! (Is it weird that they expect me on Sunday night?)

Here is what my week looks like:

Today, (Monday) 2 hour hilly ride with Sammy.
Tuesday- swim and Track workout.
Wednesday- 2 hour ride (with Sammy) with some sprints.
Thursday- 80 minute run & Open Water Swim
Friday- Recovery Swim
Saturday- 6 hour ride, 60 minute run off the bike
Sunday- 2.5 hour run

Say your prayers folks, it is gonna be a long week!

Veloway...good ride

So tonight I left work at 4 PM, went home got my biking stuff (had to make a quick trip to J&A's to get my bike....it's a good story, I have my own personal mechanic and I didn't even ask for it)

Made my way to the Veloway. I was supposed to ride for 2 hours and time each 8 mile trip around the Mopac Feeder. My computer was acting up, so I couldn't see mph or rpm's but I timed each trip.

First Loop- 28:32 (just trying to warm up the legs and feel good)
Second Loop- 25:16 (felt really good)
Third Loop- 23:18 (that loop was good and the wind picked up a bit)
Fourth Loop- 21:09 (I did it...I was able to take off time each loop! YIPPEE!!!)

The final partial loop was a cool down where some girl decided to ride up next to me and give me some tips. Kind of annoying...but oh well.

Tomorrow is a 70 minute run with some fartleks....and then an Open Water swim.

This weekend will be touch but I am READY!!

Back in it!!!

So after a very long week in North Central California with a very Kick Ass half Iron team.....I am back in Austin and ready to move full speed ahead with 5 weeks of very hard training before the lovely taper to my first Ironman.

I was able to get in a few really good workouts and trying not to stress too much about not getting in a long bike ride. Got in a few swims, some hill repeats and long run and one bike ride. Travel day was Monday coming back, so I did nothing on that day.

Yesterday, (Tuesday) I left work and had a track workout of 8x800 with 200 recovery in between. Keeping all my 800's around the same pace. I was able to go between 3:45 and 3:50 for each one. I was happy with that & I felt strong. After run it was time for a T3 swim....so off I went to Lost Creek for 2800m. It was a strength workout with some timed 100m in there. In talking to Mo, I feel like I am in a really good spot with my swim for Ironman and I can see the improvement, which is really exciting! After about 2500m in the pool last night we did some timed 4 x 100 on a 2 minute interval at 85% and I came up with 1:45 EACH TIME!!

So two good workouts.

Tonight is a 2 hour bike, I will probably make my way to South Mopac.
Thursday- 70 minute run with some pickups in the middle & Open Water Swim.
Friday- Open Water Swim (going for 4 laps in the Quarry)
Saturday- The Rookie Tri & ride home from New Braunfels with Magzilla.
Sunday- 30 mile hilly bike ride with a 2.5 hour run and a recovery swim.

I AM EXCITED TO BE BACK!!!

No Blogging...until Tuesday

So that Alida doesn't have a fit...I need to let you all know. I am headed to California. Wildflower Triathlon with 30 of my closest friends. Final TNT trip as Team Manager. I will be camping also. No Computer. No Cell Phone.

Training will be difficult and I will have to get creative.

Have a great weekend.

Don't miss me!!

And Good Luck Pat Evoe....St. Croix, 70.3!!

Tough yet Effective...

I have had some allergy and chest congestion issues since Wednesday...I took Thursday and Friday off to recover for the weekend.

Saturday- 4 hr, 15 min bike ride (70 miles) averaging 17-17.5 mph followed by a 60 minute run putting in almost 7 miles. I started this workout with Maggie at 1:00 in the afternoon...it was HOT.

Sunday- 90 minute bike ride with 5, 10, 15 & 20 min at goal pace with 5 minutes in between. It was raining outside so it became a day on the trainer. Did that and then off on a 2 hour run. I did some hills within this run and the exciting thing is I felt strong!! My feet were a bit sore and tender by the end of the run (did I mention I NEED new running shoes?) but my body felt like it had MORE in it. I am guessing that is the way I should be feeling?

Super exciting friends!!!

This Week's Training!!

Monday- swim with T3 tonight!
Tuesday- 75 minute ride (AM workout), 75 min ride with TEAM MAGLEEN and 60 minute run. (PM workout)
Wednesday- swim with T3, early morning!!
Thursday- Bike workout in the AM, possible hill repeats. 40 min ez run with 2-3 strides (PM)
Friday- DAY OFF!!!! WOO HOO!!!
Saturday- 2.5-4.0 hrs ride with 3 X (20-30 min at goal pace) all with 15 min ez in between. 60 minute run off the bike.
Sunday- 90 min ride with 15,10,5 min fast all with 5 min ez, 2 hour run off the bike!

DOUBLE BRICK WEEKEND.....who is in??? anyone?

It's gonna be RAD!!!

by they way, TODAY is 2 month until race day!!!!

Running, Radiohead & Homeslice Pizza!

"I am building a fire and everyday I train I add more fuel....at just the right moment, I light the match." Mia Hamm

I love this quote. Thanks for sending it to me Beth C.!!! That is how my run felt yesterday. I knew my legs were tired from my ride on Saturday but I took off for Town Lake Trail to get in the 2.5 hours on my schedule.

The first 8 miles were slightly painful as I couldn't get into a rhythm and I was wondering if I would actually complete the 2.5 hours. It was around mile 8.5 that my body started to not feel so heavy and I picked it up.

The reason why? I changed the iPod from shuffle to just Radiohead tunes. Thom Yorke sang right to me and each step became easier! Thanks so much for joining me on my long run Thom!!!

I stopped at 2.5 hours and had completed 17 mile total averaging around 9 miles/hour. I was happy with that. I felt like once I pushed through the crazy feeling in my legs and lit the match.....WATCH OUT!!

Got home, started to ice my legs for about 10 minute and headed to Homeslice for some pizza & beer. I had good company while I was there....he makes me smile just a bit.

Holy Hilly workout batman!!!

Yes, Saturday was a FUN day of hills, sweat and the chance to test my mental game in this thing we call Ironman training.

Here is what took place:

630 AM, wake up, eat and get ready to RIDE.
715 AM, leave the house and head out to LCRA parking lot on Lake Austin Blvd. Met with the TNT Cap Tex Tri team. Spend a few minutes encouraging them for their day and take off...here is where it gets interesting.

I had looked on my map and saw that I could take Red Bud Tr. to Westlake Dr. and pop out at Davenport Village off of 360 where the TNT Wildflower team is doing a multiple brick workout so then I can say hi to them.

Let's remember friends. I still don't know Austin that well and had no idea that taking off on Red Bud and Westlake was going to be hilly terrain and I also met a ravenous dog that wanted to take off my leg while riding by.

I finally get to 360, say hi to the team and I am off on the 5 hour adventure...here is the rest of what I rode on Saturday, May 19, 2008.

360 to Bee Caves
Bee Caves to 620...up 620
Steiner Ranch 4 mile loop doing 3 repeats of the final hill on 620.
Riverplace...yes more climbing.
Down City Park, finally some recovery
Right on Courtyard....10% grade climb. ouch.
back to 360.
(insert tiny mental breakdown here)
Then Bee Caves to Barton Creek
one final climb up Lost Creek.
Back home. Change Shoes. 30 minute run.

If you are tired reading this and if you KNOW these roads. Tough day. Oh, did I mention I was by myself? Yeah...by myself. 75 miles, 5 hours of climbing.

This afternoon I will run 2.5 hours. Longest run yet...details to follow.

ACL LINEUP!!!!!!!!

September 26-28. This is where I will be. Will you?

Kicking some serious AZ!!!!

Gotta give these girls some space in my blog... Wendy and Carrie completely DESTROYED Ironman Arizona...check this out, I just got to brag!!

Wendy C., age 46, breast cancer survivor, first Ironman and amazing spirit too! Here is what she did to the course:

Swim 1:10:47
Bike 6:09:26 (18.19 mph, yeah..BAD ASS)
Run 4:37:50
Total: 12:08:16 432 overall and 4th in her age group!!

Carrie B., age ___, super fun triathlet in Austin, first Ironman, supportive of others goals, has a great blog...Tri to Be Funny.
Here is what she did to the course:

Swim 1:20:24
Bike 6:40:24
Run 4:04:40 (9:20/ mile average...HOLY SHIT!!!)
Total: 12:16:41 471 overall and 12th in her age group (tough age group, 75 total)

YEAH, freaking ROCK STARS, so glad to know you two ladies!!!

Can't wait to see what you do to your SECOND Ironman!!! (did I just say that?)

Curvy Road Ahead

So this has become one of my favorite signs in Austin. As I learn new routes and visit old one's, I love to see that there may be something fun coming up! This weekend was about intensity not about volume on the bike. I also had a lot of personal commitments throughout the weekend...Here is what the weekend looked like for training...

Friday night- Open Water Swim at the Quarry. I made it around 3 laps...approximately 2300m and here were my splits for each lap...
15:16
16:18
16:07

First lap was obviously a bit fast (I was without wetsuit so I was just trying to get warm!!!) and then the last 2 were pretty consistent...I was happy with that.

Saturday- ride 2.5 hours, hilly ride. I did SW Pkwy to Barton Creek to Bee Caves, and turned around close to 620 and headed back in, completing the ride with 2 repeats of the FULL Lost Creek....what a bitch that was, yet effective. Made it back to my house by 1030, showered and cleaned up, time to go to a friends wedding!

Sunday- got my run in...late afternoon which was good for me but really hard. I was supposed to run 2 hours, and I did BUT it felt like 6 hours. My legs were led for first 30 minutes and then I came across these ladies sitting out on the trail with a sign that said "FREE ADVICE" I of course could NOT pass this up, I stopped to talk to them and they asked me what I was training for...as I told them, their free advice was, "why are you doing this? Stop running now and go have a margarita!!" gotta love free advice!

This week is going to be tough fitting in life and training but I will do my darndest...here is what I have done already and will do.

Monday- swim 60 min. T3 swim at night, 2900m, swam my 100m at 95% in 1:45!! Was super excited to see that!
Tuesday- got up for 75 min. on the trainer with some timed sections in the big gear for climbing. Yeah!! Tonight will be a 60 min run with some tempo and sprints inter-mixed!
Wednesday- swim with T3, brick with Maggie perhaps.
Thursday- run in the AM, Texas Iron bike workout in the PM.
Friday- Open Water swim at the Quarry, will go for 4 times around.
Saturday- long bike, 4.5-5 hour ride with a 30 min run off the bike.
Sunday- 2.75 hour run....ugh. & a 45 minute recovery swim.

Super Swimmer

So I redeemed myself last night at my Swim session with Chrissie at T3. I did not get up Wednesday morning, because my body is really tired with all that is going on at work and fitting in training, I took the morning to sleep in. (yes, until 730 AM...but that is sleeping in at this point!) I knew I had nothing on my plate on Wednesday night so I would go to swim at night.

I don't want to make a habit of this as swimming at night is so hard, I just want to go home and curl up with a book and go to bed...instead my evening was extended to swim from 710- about 820 and I didn't get home until after 900 after grabbing some food.

What I loved is that because the Arizona folk were not at swim AND the cloudy skies kept people away, I got a lot of personal attention since we only had about 6 people total.

It was a tough workout, some super long sets...2900m total.

The workout began with a 600m warm-up and our final set was a 6X50 with the first two 50s at 90% and the third 50 at 80% (recovery). Repeating this twice. I took off for my first 50 and held it at 51 seconds!!!! (fast for me) Chrissie said, "now you have to hold that and/or get faster." Yikes. Maybe I took off to fast!!?!?!?!? Nope, I surprised myself holing the 51 seconds for the next 50. During the 4th and 5th 50m, I held it at 49 seconds...yeah took off 2 more seconds!!! You must realize that when I came to T3 in November of last year, Mo called me Windmill arms as I motored my way through the water, with no rhyme or reason to my technique. And my 50m was probably well into the 1:15-1:20 mark. To see my times get better AND to do this at the end of a long workout, means I am getting stronger. The hour and twenty minute swim for my Ironman is looking more and more doable!!

I think I will keep swimming after Ironman, just because I am seeing it improve my overall fitness. And I am starting to like it!!

Beer=bad swim

Tip of the week:

Apparently, when you decide to stay out late and watch the NCAA final game and drink through almost a pitcher of beer you will feel like complete $hit for your 545 AM swim practice in the morning. And sometimes through lunch.

or at least that is what I heard.

Weekend Update!

This past weekend was JAM packed with stuff, but I managed to get it all in...

Saturday- Met up with some of the TNT Wildflower folks to ride out to Johnson City. I love this ride! Pretty terrain, rolling hills and the weather was picture perfect for us! I got in the 60 miles and then off the bike for a 20 min run. I am being pretty picky about nutrition at this point. I finished all the water and food I needed to and the 20 minute run actually felt good!

(then I went with the some of the TEAM for a Burger, got home, had about 2 hours to myself and then off for a gig at Carlos & Charlie's with my band. When I got home at midnight...me was very tired)

Sunday- took the morning to sleep in, which sadly at this point is anything past 800 AM!! I got up at 830 AM, met Mama T for church and then I had to do a 1.5 hour run. Finished that and spent the rest of the day doing laundry, working on some music stuff and making my plan for the week.

I have found if I sit down on Sunday afternoon and just take ONE week at a time, I don't get overwhelmed with the ENTIRE Ironman Schedule. Here is what this week looks like:

Monday- day off (We like that)
Tuesday- Swim with T3, 45 min run with 5 X 1 min fast, 2 min ez
Wednesday- Swim with T3, 75 minute ride on trainer
Thursday- Texas Iron Brick workout, (don't know if I will make this so will do on my own)
Friday- Swim at the Quarry, open water practice
Saturday- 60 minute swim at Bartson Springs, 2.5-3.0 hour ride immediately after.
Sunday- 90 minute base run

Last week I dialed back things about 50% during the week to recover from Lonestar and then hit things on the weekend.

I am back in the swing and feel really great about where I am with IM training!

Thanks for ALL the support friends...your emails, texts & calls have been awesome!

A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO CARRIE B. (Austin) & WENDY C. (Orlando) doing IRONMAN ARIZONA THIS WEEKEND!!! IT IS THEIR FIRST 140.6....BOTH OF YOU WILL KICK SOME SERIOUS ASS!!!

Best Finish Yet.

I am guessing my Ironman finish will be pretty awesome too....but this day will be on my brain for some time.

Good week, ready to get back!!

Before going into the weekend here is what my week looked like:

Monday- DAY OFF!! Beers and Tex Mex with Meg B. and Amanda F.
Tuesday- swim 2400m
Wednesday- swim 2900m & 1 hour bike on trainer. (yes, I was supposed to ride with Maggie, however when you get to the location and have no helmet then you are punished to the indoor trainer. yuck)
Thursday- 2 mile run in the AM, Texas Iron Brick workout on 620 hills..Tough, totally kicked my ass!!
Friday- Open Water swim tonight..will try to go 1.5 miles.

Here is what the weekend will look like:
Saturday- 3-4 hour base ride
Sunday- 1.5 hour run, 45 minute recovery swim

That is recovery week for me and next week I am back to hitting it hard reaching for the peak!!

I am a little over TWO Months away from the BIG day!!

Get excited folks!

Get your T-shirts!!

Ok...so my old roomie from Florida is a LITTLE bit excited about the Ironman coming up. She thinks I am crazy, but because I do crazy things she get's to make t-shirts! She has already worked on one design for CdA. Of course, my one request was...you gotta cheer on Team Magleen. One don't come without the other .....unless you want to possibly buy one of us dinner and drinks?

Recovery Week??

Coach Jamie wrote, "This week should be all about recovery. Cut out the intensity for the first part of the week and dial things back by 50% for the entire week. Excpet swim workouts, you can still do the full time on those. Friday should be off."

Here is what my week will look like with 'dialing things back'. I love Ironman training.

Monday- Day off!!!! Dinner with Meg B. & Amanda F.
Tuesday- 2300 m swim, 25 minute run EZ tempo.
Wednesday- 2900 m swim, 60 minute EZ spin. (with Maggie in the PM!!!)
Thursday- Texas Iron Brick Workout
Friday- Day off!!! :)
Saturday- 3 hour base ride, 20 min run off bike.
Sunday- 1-1.5 hour run (depending on how I am feeling) and a 45 minute recovery swim.

What I love that even though dialing back....I am still going almost 12 hours. Awesome.

Welcome to April and May Colleen.