Weekly Recap: Making Progress

It was a mixed bag this week.  I got by.  With a little help.  From my friends.

Swim - 8820 meters
Bike - 144.65 miles
Run - 17.33 miles
Total - 17.23 hours

First open water swim of the year!  I met up with my Beginner Triathlete friend, Bonnie, at Klineline Pond for an after-work dip one night.  It was awesome to finally meet her in person.  The water was chilly, but tolerable, and we were able to stay in the water for about a half hour.  Hopefully I'll get a few more sessions in before race day.  The biggest lesson learned?  I need a new wetsuit!  This one is too big and it drags and isn't very flexible in the shoulders.  I keep putting off the purchase hoping I'll lose weight.  Time to buck up and just get one already.

Julie rallied with me for 35 miles of WIND on the bike on Friday night (after my 4200 meter swim).  Unfortunately I didn't snap any pictures while we were out there.  But here's one from my marathon session in the pool before the ride.

The highlight of the week was meeting up with Bonnie again on Saturday morning for the longest bike ride of the year so far.  We started in Beaverton, headed out to Hagg Lake, did a few laps around the lake, and then back to Beaverton.  Total distance was a little over 90 miles, with about 5000' of climbing.  I am much slower than I would like to be at this point.  But I'm trying to be thankful for just having the ability to ride.  Speed is just icing.  And we don't always need to have the icing.

My savior from a trip to Bonk Town - POPTARTS!

And you know you're in good cycling country when you see signs like this on the rural stores.

I topped off the week with a swim, run, and recovery ride.  And a trip to Athletes Lounge for some triathlon bling!!!!

Weekly Recap: Hard

Some weeks are just hard.  This was one of them. 

Julie and I were talking about this photo the other day.  That's me, working my way through a few levels of personal hell at Ironman Arizona 2009, about to be passed (lapped?) by Mr. Thumbs Up Guy.  From my fuzzy Ironman memory, this was somewhere between miles 4 and 10 of the marathon.  The heat was bearing down on me.  I had been puking and couldn't keep anything down.  My stomach was beyond bloated.  My feet were starting to blister.  And I was trying to grasp the concept that I may feel this way for another 16-22 miles.  But check it out - I'm sucking it up, moving forward, one foot in front of the other.  And eventually things got better.  It cooled off, I was able to start eating again, and my feet eventually just went numb.  And I had the Best...Time...Of...My...Life.

My body is refusing to lose any weight at all.  The little aches and pains that come with the training load are making themselves known.  The blows at work keep coming.  Chores, mail, and laundry are stacking up to a disgusting level.  The weather has made me it's little bitch.  But you know what?  Gotta keep on moving forward.  And I have to believe that things will get better.

Some bursts of sunshine during my week:

- Jessica kick boarding next to me during an entire 1:45 pool running session.

- Coworkers who rallied and doubled my fundraising in one single morning. (Go here.)

- A Mom who listens to my daily bitching updates every morning on the drive into work.  Mostly egocentrically talking about myself and training.

- A husband who brews coffee each morning and fixes dinner (and pre-dinner and post-dinner) each night because I'm too busy or too tired.

- Julie laughing with me while I bawled on the side of the road in the pouring rain with another 4 hours to go.

Weekly Totals:

Swim - 6350 meters

Bike - 136.75 miles

Run - 19.21 miles

Total = 15.66 hours

Weekly Recap: Recovery

Ahhhh, recovery week.  How many of you long and yearn for some rest days, and then absolutely hate it when they get here?  I turn into a complete and utter MONSTER.  A grouchy, bitchy, stomping-my-feet-everywhere monster.  Who eats anything and everything I can get my hands on.

So I filled my time with distractions.  I worked a lot.  I baked 3 dozen cupcakes and 4 dozen cookies for friends and coworkers.  We rearranged the furniture in all but one room of the house.  And redecorated the living room and main bedroom.  I took a 13 hour "nap".  And got a really long massage.  About 10 loads of laundry finally got done.  I spent an afternoon with my best homegirl.  Had an overdue dinner date with the hubby.  And went on no less than 3 coffee dates with girlfriends.  However, the fridge is still empty, because I really hate grocery shopping. (Mom?  Will you please come visit again?  Please?)

Oh, and I still did some training.  Obviously I have some work to do on my mental game, but y'all, physically things pretty much sucked too.  I couldn't hold even a 2:10 pace in the pool.  I got schooled on the bike by someone who was hungover and soft pedaling (in my defense, she's really really fast).  And I topped out at a 12 minute mile.  I'm trying to buy into Coach Liz's "cumulative fatigue" theory, but it's always disappointing when you aren't able to do what you think you should be capable of.  Moving forward!

Swim - 4000 meters

Bike - 42.1 miles

Run - 8.44 miles

Strength - 0:25

Total - 6.43 hours

Photos! Fun!

Washington's version of "spring" during a long run.  Shortly after the taking of this photo I was covered in hail, followed by sun, followed by gale force winds and heavy downpour.  Followed by sun.  And hail.  At the same time.

Return of the ice baths!

My Mom came to visit.  Yay!  She played Zombies on her iPad...  while I did intervals on the trainer.  She did come run with me afterwards though.  And she cooked a freezer and a half of meals.  And ironed.  And grocery shopped.  I love Moms.  My Mom, specifically.

Packages on the doorstep during Ironman season are the best!  This is the first chance I had to try the new PowerBar Perform formula.  SO MUCH better than Gatorade.  It has my seal of approval.  The sad thing about this photo?  This might get me through June.

More "spring" in Washington during a bike ride.  Unfortunately, the race course in Idaho probably looks quite similar.

I'm Alive

I'm still here!  Sorry folks, I got carried away by real life for awhile there.  Tomorrow will mark 8 weeks until show time.  That means 5 weeks until taper starts.  Seriously, where did the time GO?  I'm in the middle of the last build series, and while I've botched it up quite a bit, I think I'm still on track for a finish before midnight on June 26th.  Status check:

Swim - My swimming is pretty solid at this point.  I've logged double the volume in the last 4 months than I did in all of 2010.  Open water swimming will start soon too.  (Note: Lake Coeur d'Alene is currently 42 degrees and it snowed on the course last week.)

Bike - Let's face it, I'm still too heavy to climb efficiently.  Race day is going to be painful.  But I can't go back in time and fix it, so I'm going to try and be positive and let that carry me through the hills on the course.  This WILL change before Arizona.  It has to.

Run - I'm not going to set any records, but I'm feeling confident about the distance.  (I would also say something about being injury-free, but I don't want to jinx it, so there will be no mention of such things.)  If nothing else, being severely undertrained for 3 of my last 3 marathons has taught me that I have the will power to get through the miles.  And I'll have a fun time doing it.

And in case you're wanting a volume update...

A couple of weeks ago:

* I was still recovering from being sick, and still dealing with major allergy issues.  I did well on the bike, but had a hard time getting enough oxygen while running.

Swim - 6550 meters

Bike - 117.25 miles

Run - 11.96 miles

Total - 13.12 hours

Last week:

* This was supposed to be a 16 hour training week, but I ended up logging around 80 hours at work.  So, I'm going to view almost 13 hours of training as a major win.  I also did a long swim of 4000 meters and a long run of just under 12 miles.

Swim - 6750 meters

Bike - 82.03 miles

Run - 18.23 miles

Total - 12.52 hours

Weekly Recap: Meaty

The training note from my coach on Monday read "OK - things are going to start getting meaty around here."  No joke.  Especially after looking into the future a couple of weeks.  I was a little unsure of myself, since I was still a bit sick and heading out of town for a 6-day business trip.  That didn't sound like a recipe for success.  But I DID IT!  I'll fast forward to the summary:

Swim - 7286 meters

Bike - 96.25 miles (ALL on the trainer)

Run - 15.91 miles

Strength - 45 minutes of TRX (ouch, it's been a while)

Total - 13.12 hours

If you want to hear some of the gritty details, forge onward.

Monday - I got to see an alligator.  Up really really close.  This has nothing to do with training, but how cool is that!  I said "see you later alligator" to people the rest of the day.  I was very amused with myself.

Tuesday  - I had my long run of 2 hours on the calendar.  It was impossible to do this before the 7am start time at work, so I opted out of the group work dinner and headed back to the lakes near Louisiana State University.  There were dozens of walkers and runners out until the sun went down, so I felt safe and right at home.  Except that it was 75 degrees and not raining, which is very much different than home these days.  (Dear Pacific Northwest Weather Gods, it's not funny anymore.)  The temperature was perfect, a nice breeze was blowing, and the mosquitoes weren't too bad.

Wednesday - I started the morning with a little TRX.  I had also done some strength training on Tuesday, so by this point I was having a hard time bending over to put on my shoes.  Good stuff.

Wednesday night (after a good southern crawfish boil) I headed on over to the most disgusting excuse for a lap pool I've ever seen.  I wouldn't have been so annoyed had I not paid for what was advertised as a "25 yard pristine lap pool".  So, in Louisiana, 25 yards = 15 yards, pristine = so murky you can't see the bottom, and lap pool = no lane lines or painted stripes.  Oh, and 90 degrees is apparently the optimal workout temperature.  However, the 350 pound ladies doing water walking provided a bit of open water swim experience.  And at least I had access to the spin bikes afterwards (which were indeed spin bikes as advertised).

Thursday/Friday - Rest days.  Unintentionally.  What happens in Baton Rouge stays in Baton Rouge, so you'll have to use your imagination.

Saturday - I made it back into town late on Friday night, so Saturday was a rough start.  After a 2 hour trainer ride (seriously, weather gods, enough!) I headed to the pool for the longest session this year.  And I had a new gadget courtesy of my Mom to track the laps.  Thanks, Mom!

Sunday - Oh my.  This day sucked.  It started off with practicing my Ironman morning nutrition, which was by far the best part of the day.  Can't I just practice eating all week?  Oh wait, I do.  Then I was off to the pool for another 2500 meters.  And then back home for FOUR HOURS on the trainer.  FOUR HOURS.  (Alright, I give, what would you like me to sacrifice?)  And then a 3 mile brick run.  But I did it.  And I'm really proud of myself.  This day is what the guts of Ironman training are made of.  The days that suck and hurt and you find the gumption to get through it anyway.  This is what makes us ready.

Last Week, A Little Late

Yes, I know it's half way through this week already, but here's my update from last week.  Bettah late dan nevah.  I'm in Louisiana at the moment and their accent has infiltrated my brain.

I headed into this week (um, last week) with one of the nastiest illnesses I've had in awhile, and I was thankful that it was a recovery week so that I could get back to 100% without missing too many key workouts.  The overall volume was weak sauce, but I got lots of rest and even took an extra day off mid-week to rest up a bit more.  Sunday was an all-day travel day from Portland, OR (mid-40s and storming rain) to Baton Rouge, LA (mid-80s and nothing but sunshine).  SUUUUUNSHINE!  Before crashing for the night I managed to muster up the energy for a sunset run along the lakes near LSU.

Swim - 1600 meters (hey, you try swimming with a sinus infection!)

Bike - 45 miles

Run - 11.9 miles
Total - 6.09 hours

Weekly Update

After almost a full month of working with Coach Liz, I just recently missed a few scheduled workouts.  Spring allergies served me up with an awesome sinus infection/bronchitis combo, forcing me to take some downtime.  The difference between now and before?  I actually wanted to train, but I physically couldn't.  So overall, I'm still counting the week as a "win".  Attitude is the hardest thing to fix, so now that I'm motivated and encouraged and have my head back in the game, the rest will come a bit easier.  Note that I didn't say "easy", just "easier".  Lots of hard work ahead!  I'm entering a recovery week and then the Ironman-specific build phase begins.  13 weeks until show time!

Last Week's Training Totals:
Swim - 2800 meters (missed a long swim session)
Bike - 94.7 miles
Run - 2.19 miles (missed essentially all the run workouts)
Total - 7.79 hours (vs. a planned 12 hours)

Sarah's Army

My army = tissues with aloe, tissues with Vicks, allergy meds, cold meds, neti pot and sea salt gargles, green tea (out of an IM mug of course!), comfy jammies, and really bad daytime television.  Obviously, this training week isn't going quite as planned.  So far I've missed a 1 hour run of hill repeats and a 3500 meter swim.  I'm skeptical of the 3.5 hour trainer ride scheduled for tomorrow, but confident that I'll give it my best shot.  The truly terrible thing isn't so much that I'm sick, but that my appetite is still very much alive.  And laying in bed for 18 hours a day just doesn't cut it in the calorie-burning department.  Sigh...we'll see what the morning brings.  Stay healthy, y'all!

Getting the Hang of It

Another week is in the books!  My body is finally coming out of hibernation and eager to get with the program.  Instead of feeling completely wiped out, I'm excited to do the next workout.  And sometimes I want to go further or faster than is on the schedule.  Okay, okay, I'm totally wiped out too.  But I'm adapting to the training load and enjoying the work.  Yeah!

And now...it's time to focus on nutrition.  Ironman Coeur d'Alene is not a flat course, and hauling an extra 30 pounds up the hills is not a good use of my energy reserves.  I've struggled with weight my entire adult life.  Even when I make good food choices, I have a very difficult time shedding pounds.  My metabolism has been on vacation since I turned 17.  So I just have to work harder.  It's not fair, but it's what I've got.  Which means that I really have to make those good choices.  And here's the thing: I'm an intelligent person.  I know what "good choices" looks like.  I'm plenty educated in calories, glycemic index, and carb/protein/fat ratios.  But I still make bad decisions more often than I make good ones.  I don't know what the solution to this is, but I'm working on it.  Thankfully I have some good resources to help me figure it out.

Back to this past week.  Recall that I recently completed test week, where we determined my swim pace, my LTHR on the bike, and LTHR on the run.  We discovered that my HR doesn't recover as nicely as it should while I'm running.  So I've been relegated to purely zone 1-2 work for the next few weeks.  I understand the philosophy behind this and am trying to be patient.  It's tough to be even slower then normal right now, but I know that I'll come out the other side healthier and faster.  In the meantime, the miles just won't rack up as fast.  Eye on the bigger prize, right?

The highlight of this week was a 3 hour ride OUTSIDE on Saturday.  The weather was weird and I couldn't decide between shorts/leg warmers or tights.   So I compromised and went with capris and long socks (compression socks, actually).  The end result?

I know, I'm quite aware of the awesomeness of this getup.  It also garnered quite a few hollers from the yocals.  Hey, at least I was visible.

Do you want to know the best mid-ride espresso stop in Vancouver?  River Maiden Coffee House.  Mmmm...Stumptown coffee.  Go there.

And no week would be complete without some Sunday Morning Solitude.

Weekly Stats:

Swim - 5700 meters (I messed up a workout and forgot to do 250 meters)

Bike - 72.68 miles

Run - 16.75 miles

Total - 10.68 hours

Can you say "Anaerobic"?

This past week was a recovery week.  Or at least a twisted version of one.  It was also a test week, which meant that I spent 3 of the 6 training days getting acquainted with my lactate threshold.  Low volume but high intensity.  Now it's time to spend Sunday afternoon rocking the compression socks and some Jersey Shore on Netflix.  Don't judge.

Swim Test

The first up was the swim test on Tuesday.  I hate very strongly dislike swimming hard.  It's, well, hard.  I always end up with water up my sinuses, my lungs burning, and my heartbeat pounding out of my ears.  I also knew deep down that if I didn't have someone in the pool with me, there was a strong possibility that I wouldn't finish the test.  My good friend Jeff came out to swim with me.  And since he's quite a bit faster, he was able to do the workout with me, work the lap buttons on the Garmin, and play cheerleader.  I got the test done, although I was slower than I had hoped.  But that just means I have ample room for improvement.  I'm almost (almost!) looking forward to the next test to see how much time I knock off the pace.

Bike Test

Thursday night was the bike test.  Since it was dark and raining I had to do this one on the trainer.  Knowing that the television annoys me once I hit zone 4, I cranked up my headphones and did my best to focus and just absorb the pain.  Funny thing, I LOVE hurting on the bike.  Time trials are my happy place.  Except for when it involves hills.  Then I'll take sprints in the pool any day.  I passed this test too (thanks Eminem and Kanye!) and now I have a fresh set of heart rate zones to train with.

Run Test

Test week culminated with the run test on Sunday morning.  My boss was awesome and joined me at the track to help get me through it.  I really do have a great support system!  I didn't pass out.  I didn't puke.  I didn't poop my pants (wouldn't that be embarrassing in front of the boss).  Success!

Weekly Stats:

Swim - 4800 meters 

Bike - 35 miles

Run - 11.86 miles

Total - 6.55 hours

Caution: Cyclists on the Road

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WARNING - STRONG OPINIONS AHEAD!

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It's that time of year again (at least in the Pacific Northwest) where the icy mornings begin to give way to sunny afternoons, there is a little more daylight after work, and cyclists put the trainers away and start hitting the road.  HOORAY!!!  Unfortunately, that sentiment isn't necessarily shared by all vehicle drivers.  Especially after a long winter of not seeing us on the road.  Those stupid cyclists in their stupid spandex!  Why don't they ride on the dang sidewalk?  They have no right to be in my lane!  If they are riding on the road, they need to pay more taxes, daggonit!  Oh, the rantings of fat lazy Americans everywhere.

I generally try to keep my blog a happy place.  Free from negativity and politics and debate.  But it is my blog after all, and I feel compelled to share some information that may enlighten the unenlightened.  Yes, I know that calling them "fat lazy Americans" is quite immature and probably won't help my case.  But it made me feel better.  And since I'm an American, am clinically overweight, and tend towards laziness when given the chance, I'm allowed.  I get the feeling that I'm preachin' to the choir here anyway.  So feel free to use these tips next time you find yourself in a debate on the topic.

Let's start with a few factoids:

1) I agree that to the majority of the world, our spandex does indeed look stupid.  But I guarantee that after a 4 hour ride in cotton shorts (or even a 1 hour ride), you will be a convert to the miracle fabric.

2) It is illegal for cyclists to ride on the sidewalk in most cities/states.  And just plain dangerous.  There is no way I could navigate through pedestrians, signs, curbs, and tree roots while hauling at 20+ mph.  So unless a cyclist is riding similarly to a pedestrian walking, they are required to get off the sidewalk and stay on the road.

3) Even if you are in a city where it is legal to ride on the sidewalk, it is also very much legal to ride on the road.  Love us or hate us, we are allowed to be there just as much as the cars are.

And now let me address the taxes bit.  The question "Should bicyclists pay extra taxes?" surfaces in the media on occasion.  Some of my own friends and family members (gasp!) even insist on it.  It inevitably comes up in any debate about cyclists riding on the road.  I think we can all agree that roads are paid for primarily by taxes and tolls.  I think we can also agree that taxes come from federal income tax, state income tax, sales tax, and property tax.  (As well as some taxes that don't apply to the normal US resident.)  Some thoughts:

• The US median household income is around $50,000/year (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009).  Recent polls show that the average household income for triathletes is $126,000/year (USA Triathlon, 2010).  The median income (not household income, mind you) for competitive cyclists is $75,000/year (Active Marketing Group, 2007).  So triathletes/cyclists have about double the taxable income of the rest of the nation.
• The majority of these cyclists are vehicle owners.  I think it's safe to say that many of these vehicles are nicer than those of the general population.  My peer group and the parking lots at race sites are certainly strong examples.  Those vehicle owners have paid sales taxes on those awfully nice and expensive vehicles, they have paid license and registration fees, and continue to pay fuel taxes to operate them.
• The majority of cyclists either own a home and directly pay property taxes on those homes, or they are home renters and indirectly pay those property taxes on a monthly basis.  It's likely that homes owned/rented by cyclists, based on the median household incomes, are much nicer than residences of the general population.  Thus, cyclists are paying more in property taxes than non-cyclists.
• So not only are cyclists contributing their fair share to the public road systems, they are contributing more than the average American.  Even so, paying taxes is not a prerequisite for using the roads.  Children, the unemployed, and foreign visitors all legally use our roads without so much as a single cent paid into the tax system.
• When I'm not riding on the road, you will often find me running on the road.  And sometimes I hold up traffic to cross the street or on a narrow passage where cars can't safely pass me.  How about a foot tax, eh?

Based on the above information, I conclude that the cyclist-hatin' population is either ignorant, or jealous, or both.  There I go again being immature.  Don't be like me.  Some more thoughts:

• People who exercise are healthier and therefore are less demanding on the health care system.  Obesity-related medical costs are estimated at $147 billion.  Per YEAR!  Smoking-related medical costs are also staggering - $97 to $137 billion per year, depending on the source.  Health costs for alcoholic related issues are over $20 billion per year.  Care to guess how much bicycle-related injuries cost?  $5 billion per year.  (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009.)
• Cycling emits about 100% less emissions than vehicles do.  Whether you are a super-green activist concerned about greenhouse gases, or a devout conspiracy theorist who thinks global warming was invented for financial gain by the government, you can't argue that bikes still produce less emissions than motorized vehicles.
• Semis, cars, and trucks all cause damage to the roads.  Earthquakes cause damage to the roads.  Floods cause damage to the roads.  Construction causes damage to the roads.  Bikes do not.

But we do need to do our part.  So y'all, just a reminder to wear your helmets, stay as far to the right as you safely can, stop at the stop signs (okay okay, most of them), definitely stop at the stop lights, signal signal signal, and generally be respectful to those around you.  And if you still get honked/yelled at or buzzed or things thrown at you, here is some advice that I've found quite effective.  Blow a big ol' sloppy kiss at the jerk wad and wave like they're your long lost cousin.  They LOVE that.

Ca-Ching!

I just wrapped up Week 2 with my new coach, Elizabeth from Multisport Mastery.  I turned in a little over 10 hours of solid swim/bike/run.  Money in da bank!  Figuratively speaking, of course.  In real life, money is flying out the windows...for food, and electricity for the water heater.  I had forgot how Ironman training life develops into the following formula:

Weekday -
Sleep, Eat, Train, Shower, Eat, Work, Eat, Train, Shower, Work, Eat, Train, Bubble Bath, Eat, Sleep


Weekend -
Sleep, Eat, Train, Shower, Eat, Nap, Eat, Laundry, Nap, Eat, Train, Bubble Bath, Eat, Sleep

Those formulas are probably why I have so much difficulty slimming down during training.  For right now, I'm going to focus on getting into a routine and let my body get used to the work load.  Weight loss will come later.  And although I'm no doubt consuming much more than I need to be, I'm trying to make sure that what I eat is helpful for either recovery or to fuel the next workout.  Well, except for the french fries I'm mowing down while writing this.  One thing at a time here.

Some highlights from the week:

1) On the menu for Tuesday's lunch was a 3250 meter swim laced with some lovely short sprints intervals.  Keep in mind that I've been in the pool about a dozen times.  Since 2009.  Which means that swimming over 500 meters is sort of challenging.  My very first assigned workout last week was a 3000 meter swim.  This was after I mentioned that I haven't been swimming and I don't like the pool.  Gotta love that.  I like how she rolls.  For you non-triathlete readers, the Ironman distance swim is 2.4 miles, or 3860 meters.  In 2009 I think I went over 3000 in training only twice (see above note about my anti-love of the pool).  I do believe I'll be in good shape for the swim this go-round.  Thanks coach!

2) I met up with Julie for an early morning run on Friday.  Due to work and other obligations, I finished up my Thursday workouts at around 10pm.  My legs were not amused when I woke them up at 5am for more fun.  When we hit the turn-around point, I devised a super secret plan to get Julie to leave me so that I could quit running as soon as she was out of sight.  However, she knows me quite well and was devising her own super secret plan to counter my super secret plan.  She cracked the whip and made sure there was no walking until I was safely in the driveway.  That's friendship right there.

3) Riding outside.  So rad!

Weekly Training Totals:

Swim - 5550 meters

Bike - 74.80 miles

Run - 16.13 miles

Total - 10.33 hours

Next up: Test week.  Oh YAY!

Beyond the Red Barn

On Monday afternoons, for as long as I've been doing triathlon, a group of cyclists meet in Vancouver, WA for something called "Beaches".  It's a ride that starts in the parking lot of Beaches Restaurant (great happy hour and awesome bartenders Michaels and Terry), and heads out towards Vancouver Lake along the deserted flat country roads.  It's a fast and furious ride in a paceline, sometimes hitting 30+ mph.  I never could hang on for the entire ride, but I often made it to at least the turnaround at the red barn.

Yes, I know it's not red.  But the rusted roof is red-ish.  And that's just what it's called.  The Red Barn.

I don't join the Beaches crew anymore, but I do still ride the route when I want a set number of miles and don't want to think about directions or traffic or anything other than getting in the aerobars and zoning out.  And when I ride Beaches by myself, I still turn around at the red barn.  I had no idea until today what was beyond the barn, so I kept on riding, thinking I was on some big adventure.  About a minute later the road dead ended at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge.  In a gravel parking lot filled with illegally dumped trash, big trucks with 15" lifts, and a weird mix of 80 year old couples, skateboarding teenagers, and camo-covered old dudes.  I'll be turning around at the red barn from now on.

I woke up this morning mentally prepared for a 2.5 hour ride on the trainer.  It was rainy and windy and stormy outside.  Not good bike riding weather.  I had resigned to watching reality tv reruns on Netflix and developing saddle sores from sitting in the same position for that long.  But I had to go into work and postpone training until later in the day.  This turned out to be a wonderful blessing (as working on a Saturday morning rarely does).  By the time I got home, the wind had died down and the sun was beginning to peak out from the dark clouds.  And it just smelled different outside.  Like spring was peering around the corner and secretly trying to warm things up.  For the first time since last fall, I ventured outside without a beanie or heavy jacket.  Or even pants.  Look, SHORTS!

And SUN! (Yes, I know I need to remove the race sticker residue from the helmet.  But I've been bu-sy and haven't had much time for making myself look even cooler.)

To end this fairly long story about a fairly short ride, I'll just say that it was MAH-velous to feel the road under my wheels and get some real mileage in.  I wrapped it up with some short climbing in northern Vancouver and then a nice cool down in my neighborhood.  Almost 40 miles at just under a 15mph pace.  I'm a lot slower than I should be at this point in the training, but I'll get there.  Especially if we keep having Saturdays like this.  Hooray!

P.S.  This is for Macey.  MOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo!!!!

A New Start

I finally did what I don't do very often.  I admitted that I'm not capable of doing something myself.  And I'm so happy that I did.  There was no way that I was going to get to the starting line, let alone the finish line, of IMCdA on the path that I was on.  Thankfully, Elizabeth from Multisport Mastery agreed to take me on.  Blogger world, meet coach.  From now through June (and possibly November), she is the madness behind my method.

Week 1 started off with a bang, but not one loud enough to completely scare me away.  For the first time (ever!) I nailed all of my scheduled workouts.  And it felt like every single minute had a purpose.  No junk miles.  No lillydallying on the trainer while texting friends, or stopping at the wall every 50m to chat with someone in the lane next to me.  So I'm kicking up my compression sock covered feet and basking in the awesomeness of a solid week.  For like 5 minutes.  Because week 2 is getting underway.

Swim: 5500 meters
Bike: 56.25 miles (trainer miles, estimated at 15mph)
Run: 14.55 miles
Total: 8.63 hours

Figuring It Out

I'm baaaack.  Hello again, interwebz.  The hiatus was much needed, and now I'm TOTALLY REJUVENATED.  And by TOTALLY REJUVENATED, I mean "really freakin tired and I'm going to just fake it until I believe it".  I naively thought that taking a break from structured workouts, blogging, and the seemingly unimportant parts of life would magically make things calm and structured and less crazy.  Hahahahahaha.  It's okay, you don't have to hide your snickering.  In reality, it just made more time available for the things that were stressing me out in the first place.  And suddenly my calendar wasn't open for things like lunch dates and happy hour and drawn out phone conversations with my homegirls.  And, um, running/biking/swimming.

So, I'm back.  And I know that my millions of blogger fans have missed me.  What?  You haven't?  Oh...  Regardless, I've missed me.  Clearly, I haven't figured out how to balance everything and make it work.  But like everything else that has happened over the last 30+ years, I'll Figure It Out.  I always do.

With just over 4 months to go until Ironman Coeur d'Alene, I've got some major catching up to do.  Instead of following Fink's "Be Iron Fit" 30-week plan, I'm jumping ship and using a 20-week plan.  I need something different this time around.  Less predictable and more interesting.  And you know, there's like only 20-weeks left.  I'm not sure exactly which 20-week plan I'll be using.  But I'll figure it out.  Hey, maybe I'll even get a coach.  And I'm not totally starting from scratch here.  I've been training about 4-8 hours a week, depending on whether I worked until 5pm or 9pm.  And depending on how many 12am-3am phone calls I received.  I've been in the pool a few times, been riding 20-40 miles on Saturdays, and getting reacquainted with the running kicks gifted to me c/o Mother Nature.  So stay tuned for weekly training updates and my progress towards becoming a 2x Ironman.

And really, what's the worst that can happen here?  It would be not crossing the finish line before midnight.  In the wide world of life, if that's the worst thing that can happen to me, I've got it pretty damn good.  To quote Norman Stadler, "I have no powa [power]".  Oh wait wrong quote.  Let's try this again, "tomorrow will come and the sun will still rise and the sun will still set".  Or something like that.  He's a wise one, that Norman.

In case you're wondering what I've been up for the last month or so:

I went to Mexico with my Mom.  Where I did actually work out a few times.  I also drank about 300 margaritas.  So we'll just call that a wash.

I became a Luchador.

I took up whitewater kayaking again.  Because, you know, I have this abundance of free time that is just begging for more activities.  Paddling is almost as good for the soul as early morning fall runs on crunchy leaves through red, orange, and yellow trees.

 I had a great day with my family in Tacoma.  I love them.

 I made cuppycakes!

And redecorated the bedroom.  It's a work in progress, actually.  For instructions on how to make an awesome headboard like this one, go here.

And lots of other things that I didn't take pictures of.  Thanks for coming back to read my ramblings after the self-imposed time out.  Hang on, because it's going to get a tad cuckoo for the next 20 weeks!

Hiatus

Me is taking one.  It's just a short break.  From the blog mostly.  From structured training a little bit.  See you on the flip side.

Week 5 Recap

This was only slightly better than the Week 4 failure.  But in my own defense, it was another holiday week.  I used the last few days of 2010 to get all of the laziness out of my system.  Hopefully it's all out of my system, because the training volume is about to make a sharp vertical tilt.  I'm half-way through the base phase of the plan.  Another 5 weeks until the build phase starts and the 20 weeks of "real" training begins.

Lessons Learned This Week

1) When riding outside in sub-freezing weather, it is imperative that you wear either very warm/thick socks, or more than one pair.  And those socks should be something more substantial than mesh lightweight triathlon socks.

This isn't the most flattering picture, but I want y'all to see how COLD I was. But you can't really see "cold" in photos, so just imagine frozen appendages. And I need to get the race sticker gunk off my helmet.

2) If your lips are as blue as the background of this blog, it's time to turn around and go home.

3) Running at your normal pace, after a couple of weeks of not much running, leads to incredibly sore legs.  At least the view was nice.

Plan vs. Actual

Volume
Swim: 0 meters
Bike: 46.22 miles
Run: 6.25 miles
Strength: 1.12 hours
TOTAL = 5.43 hours (yikes, 3 hours below target)

Weight Loss

Let's just say that the holiday bloat is NOT making me very happy.  No, I don't want to talk about it.  Yes, I'm working on it...

Week 6 Plan
Mon - rest
Tue - swim 1:00, run 1:00
Wed - bike 0:45, brick run 0:15
Thu - swim 1:00, bike 1:00
Fri - run 1:00
Sat - bike 2:00
Sun - run 1:00
TOTAL = 9 hours (+ strength)

2011 Goals

I'm not so big on resolutions, because I always feel like such a failure when about 2 days into the new year I've already broken them all.  And then where do you go from there?  I do like to set goals though.  Maybe it's just semantics, but I like the idea of goals better than resolutions.  And I've gone far too long without re-evaluating my short and long term goals, so the start of 2011 seems like as good of a time as any to reassess and lay out my priorities.

2011
- Be kinder to myself
- Half marathon PR
- Reconnect with friends
- Finish 2 Ironmans, healthy and happy
- Finally reach a BMI that isn't "overweight"
- Stick to a budget...so that I can travel

January
- Nail 90% of my planned workouts (equal to missing only 1 workout/week)
- No eating out unless it's protein/salad/soup (but happy hours with Julie are allowed!)
- Swim!