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!)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, May 23, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, May 19, 2008
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.
"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.
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.
Friday, May 16, 2008
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.
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.
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