50 Days!

Ironman is 50 days away.  Today, during my long run, I kept thinking about how I have only 7 weeks to get these legs ready for a marathon.  My longest run so far has been 14 miles.  My coach says we will start ramping up the miles. 

Last weekend I had an amazing opportunity to compete in the full aquabike at Redman in Oklahoma City.  I got to swim 2.4 miles and bike 112 miles.  It was like a catered training day! 

The swim was two loops.  I can't say that I particularly enjoyed either of them, but I got through it. The  best part was finishing and getting out of that lake!   I wore the wetsuit that I'll be wearing in Arizona, so I'm very familiar with all the places it will leave "wetsuit hickeys."  Arizona will be much colder and more crowded, but I'm hoping to swim it in approximately the same time of 1 hour and 25 minutes.  We'll see how that works out. 

The bike course was also two loops.  The first loop was great.  There was a lot of people and very little wind.  Just before finishing my first loop I was able to get to my special needs bag.  It had all of my nutrition for the second loop and other special goodies.  A very nice volunteer helped me with my bag.  She even ran and grabbed toilet paper and hand sanitizer when she noticed me applying more butt butter.  All modesty goes out the window on race day.  I'm sure those poor kids who were dragged out to that race by their parents saw all kinds of interesting things at the "special needs bag" station.  After my quick pit stop, I finished the loop and headed out for another 56 miles of fun. 

The second loop was lonelier and windier.  I found myself making up songs to pass the time. After a while I realized that I was ready to get off that bike.  I had to stay in a low heart rate zone and treat it like it was the Ironman.  I had to pretend that I still had a marathon and save my legs even though I really wanted to go faster.  After 6 hours and 51 minutes (21 minutes slower than I was hoping for), I finally finished the 112 mile bike ride.  My friends were there to cheer me on as I heading to transition. 

At this point my race was officially over, but I still needed to run for 30 minutes.  This was to see if my pacing and nutrition on the bike worked.  I felt like a million bucks, and my legs couldn't wait to get on that run course.  As I was running I couldn't believe how good I actually felt.  I would have run longer, but I knew my friends were waiting.  I was also pretty sunburned and figured I should wrap it up. I still had a long drive back to Texas waiting for me.  Aquabike racers were told we could grab our running shoes and run through the finish line so our name could be announced and we could get our picture taken.  I loved running down the finishers shoot and crossing that finish line.  I pretended like I was finishing up my Ironman.  The whole day made me more excited for the real thing! 

On a different note, one of the little girls I taught last year completed her first triathlon this morning.  I got to go and cheer her on.  I don't think I could have been more excited or proud of her if she were my own child.  She's been training for months, and she rocked it!  Seeing all those kids out there today...in the rain...melted my heart.  They looked so proud with their medals and snow cones after the race.  The little girl I went to watch had a fall on her bike and STILL had a great bike split.  She has a nice little scrape on her knee, but she can brag that it's a triathlon injury. 

"The one thing all famous authors, world class athletes, business tycoons, singers, actors, and celebrated achievers in any field have in common is that they all began their journeys when they were none of these things. Yet still, they began their journeys." ~ Mike Dooley

Long!

I can't decide if I ONLY have two months to go or if I STILL have 2 months to go until I'm in Arizona for the Ironman. Part of me is ready for it to get here, but part of me knows that I still have a lot of work to do.

My long rides are getting really long.  Actually, my runs and my swims are getting longer too.  Jeneen has been joining me for part of my long rides.  We've been riding a 25 mile loop.  It's nice because there are no stop lights and little traffic.  I can park my car at a ball park and use it as an aide station.  The downside of this route is that there is a lot of chip seal and it's a nice little drive from my house.

Yesterday I rode 100 miles.  It was a good, yet very long, ride.  I've only done this one other time, and it was two years ago.  Last time I did it there were aide stations every 10 miles that felt more like little parties.   One aide station even had snow cones and a band!!  When I finished the ride there was a big banner, music, beer, and someone there to take your picture.  I didn't have any of this yesterday, but I realize now that I didn't need it.  Two years ago I had some rough moments during that ride.  There were even some tears, but at the end of the ride I was completely elated!  For weeks I was on cloud nine!  Yesterday I didn't have those moments of weakness.  I did get tired, but I didn't cry!    As I finished up, I rode quietly into a parking lot, packed up my bike, and headed home.  I felt a different kind of satisfaction. 

I was able to use the day to try to work out my nutrition.  As I've mentioned before, I LOVE to eat, and training makes me hungry.  You would think that I would have no trouble getting in the 200 calories/hour I need on the bike, but it is hard. Earlier in the week I popped into the Tri Shop and asked for help selecting nutrition.  I told them that I needed whatever had the most calories!  I had never put those words together before.  My mouth tingled a bit. I left with a variety of my favorite bars, waffles, gummies, and gels.  I also picked the same sports drink that will be served on the Ironman course.  It has a more calories than what I was using before.  By the end of the ride I was still 200 calories short of my goal.  I bet if I were sitting at home watching television I could have easily taken in those calories.

As far as nutrition goes,  I had better luck on my run today.  I only needed about 150 calories/hr.  By the end of my 2 hr. and 15 minute run, I had consumed 400 calories.  My stomach handled it very well.  Overall, I had a great run.  My pace is still not fast, but it is improving.  We had great weather...temperatures in the 60's and a light drizzle.  I LOVED it! I ended up running 13.5 miles. I've never run more than 13.1 so this was a new record for me.  My coach has me doing a 5 minute run/1 minute walk combo.  It's working great!

My legs were rewarded this afternoon with a one hour massage at an actual spa!  They loved it. I think this might have to be a regular part of my Sunday...at least until Ironman.

Next weekend I'll be doing the full aquabike race at Redman.  It's a 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike ride.  It's just like the Ironman, but without the run.  I'll get to take another crack at my nutrition.  After my race I'll run out on the course for a while to see how my legs are feeling.  I've heard great things about this race, so I'm pretty excited.  

"Champions aren't made in gyms.  Champions are made from something they have inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision...they have to have the skill and the will.  But the will must be stronger than the skill." ~ Mohammad Ali

Hungry Girl Part 2

Last year I wrote about how hungry I was during my half Ironman training!  I gained 10 pounds (no, it wasn't all muscle) getting ready for that race.  When Ironman training started I was a little nervous.  Would I gain 20 lbs?  I even worried that the wetsuit I purchased for Arizona wouldn't fit by the time the race came around.

As my training got underway the 10 pounds just seemed to melt away.  Getting a little sick helped speed up the process.  During the summer I was even able to shed a couple more pounds without trying.  For a while I didn't seem to have an appetite at all.  I was having to TRY to sneak in extra calories where I could.  One of my favorite ways of doing this was adding peanut butter to my smoothies...YUMMY!

Over the last couple of week my appetite seems to have caught up with my training.  I'm once again at the point where I can't seem to eat enough. On Saturday I drove through the drive though at Dickey's BBQ after my long ride.  I ordered my meal and asked for an extra roll (to eat in the car).  I absolutely LOVE their rolls. The simple carbs seem to hit the spot after a workout.  It must have been my lucky day because I was handed a separate bag with not one, but TWO extra rolls!  I ate both on the way home and figured I would eat the third one as a snack later in the day.  That idea went out the door because I ate it as soon as I got home. 

When you're burning thousands of calories during a workout your body will scream at you to replenish.  It's embarrassing and expensive to eat this much.  Today I had my usual English muffin, PB, banana, and honey breakfast sandwich between my run and bike ride.  This typically keeps me full for a while,but today I barely got 20 miles in on the bike before I was ready to start eating my own hand.  I was very thankful for the Cliff Bar I had with me....and so was my hand.  By the time I finished my 40 mile ride I was ravenous!  We went to Fuzzy's Taco Shop where I ordered 3 tacos.  I wanted more, but I was too embarrassed to go back for seconds.

Trying to satisfy my appetite is a lot like a dog chasing it's tail.  I'm just going to have to accept that it's not going to happen.  I'm trying to keep lots of fruits and other healthy snacks around my house.  It can be tricky to find healthy meals on the go.  Between work and training I don't always have time to cook.  Cedars Woodfire Grill and Simply Fit Meals are two places I can get quick healthy meals.  It can get expensive, but I figure it's better to spend the extra money and fill my body with real food as opposed to the junk in typical fast foods.  When I'm craving something sweet, like cookies or ice cream, I try a glass of chocolate milk.  It usually does the trick.

"Do you know what my favorite part of the game is?  The opportunity to play." ~~ Mike Singletary