The Race Report

Thankfully I got a decent night’s sleep on Friday night, because I did NOT sleep very well the night before the Ironman. I had two alarms set for 4am because I was so paranoid about oversleeping, but I was wide awake by 2:30am. I finally gave up and got out of bed at 3:30, made coffee, ate my bagel with peanut butter, drank some Gator Ade, and was ready to head to the shuttle with Dan at 4:30 (poor Dan).

We arrived at the Olympic Center just before 5am and it was already mobbed. It was such an amazing sight to look out over the transition area at the thousands of bikes and gear bags all ready and waiting.

Our first stop was body-marking, then to the transition area to pump my tires. I met Deanne there and then we headed over to the Special Needs area on Mirror Lake Dr. to drop the rest of our bags. We were finished with everything by around 5:30 and had an over an hour to kill before we had to head over to the swim start.

Now that we were there, and all of my stuff was where it needed to be, I was totally calm: I only had three things left to do that day and they were all going to be fun as far as I was concerned. Also, Mother Nature had apparently grown bored with us because the weather was perfect, there was only a slight chance of rain for later in the day.

Deanne and I sat by the side of the road on Mirror Lake Drive with Dan and Quinn and eventually my friend Rachel showed up! I was so thankful I got to see Rachel and Robert before the start! Rachel has been one of my best friends since grade-school and she and her husband came all the way from MA to cheer me on, along with our great Salem friends Bonnie, Patty, Cindy and Deb who Deanne and I were looking forward to seeing later!

My wonderful friend Rachel!

At 6:30 we got on our wetsuits and headed over to the swim start, where we met up with Deanne’s family and got lots of hugs and good-lucks. From there, Deanne and I set off to the water.  We got in just as the pro’s were starting at 6:50. The water felt so warm and as we floated there in our wetsuits waiting for our cannon to go off, I felt so happy and lucky to be there. All of my nervousness was gone and I was so excited to start!

Heading into the water

The unique thing about the Lake Placid Ironman swim course is that there is an underwater cable that runs the entire length of the course, so that if you are lucky enough to swim within sight of this cable, it’s like pool-swimming where you don’t need to pick your head up to sight at all. Unfortunately, EVERYONE wants to be on the cable and unless you’re one of the strongest and fastest swimmers, you are warned to swim wide and stay the hell away from it. Likewise with the turn-around buoy: everyone tries to cut that corner as close as possible and there is always a big pile-up of bodies trying to take that turn. My mantra for this swim has always been “Swim Wide!”

Once the cannon went off and the mass chaos started, I got disoriented in the sea of pink and green swim-caps and lost track of where I was heading. Everyone was on top of one another and we literally had to doggie-paddle 

quite a bit just to keep from getting hit and kicked. I had to laugh when one guy picked his head up and screamed, “THIS IS CRAZY!!!” Once I could finally put my head in the water and swim a few strokes, I looked down and saw that cable right underneath me. OH SHIT. And from there I proceeded to get my ass kicked for the entire first lap of the swim. I was in such a sea of bodies that there was no way I could get away from it, and that meant by the time I got to the turn-around buoy, I was so close to it I could touch it. This was not what I had planned! But by the time I got out of the water and saw the clock for my first lap it said 41 minutes! Wow – that was way faster than I thought I could do it. So, hey! Let’s do that again! I ran up on the beach, over the timing mat and jumped back in for my second lap and got right back on the cable.  It was much more spread out this time and I swam pretty much all the way to the turnaround completely unimpeded right on the cable. I never had to look up. However, once I got to the buoy there was another big pile-up and I got a big, sharp kick right in the face.  I decided it was time to give up the cable and just get myself back to the beach in one piece.

I got out of the water at 1:23, which was way faster than I thought I would do, and went right over to the wet-suit strippers, the saintly volunteers who tear your wetsuit off of you. I laid down on the mat and a nice lady came over and grabbed my suit by the ankles and whoosh! It was off and I was up and running to the transition area. I saw Dan, Rachel, Robert, Bonnie, Patty, Deb, Cindy and Deanne’s whole family cheering me on – thanks guys!!

I ran into the women’s changing tent, a volunteer grabbed my bike gear bag, I ate a Bonk-Breaker bar, drank some water and I got ready to go.  Once out of the tent, another volunteer ran and got my bike for me and I ran with it to the mount-line and headed out! I think it took about 2 minutes before I lost one of my water bottles. Ah well, if that’s the worst thing that happens to me today I will be one lucky girl.

The bike course was crowded on the way out, and it was slow going up the hill out of town, but that was a good thing. I wanted to take it very easy on this first lap. But once we got to the dreaded Keene hill, I realized I wasn’t as afraid of it anymore. The weather was beautiful, there was no car traffic, so I decided I was going to man-up and not use my brakes so much this time. It was actually fun! There were stretches where I didn’t brake at all, and yet my top speed was still only 36.4 mph. Apparently I am not built for speed.

My support crew

The first lap was awesome. I only stopped once to refill my water bottle and hit the port-a-potty. I felt great, and even in the most difficult parts, where I felt like I was climbing forever and my legs were burning, I would look off to the side and see a waterfall and the mountains in the background and think, “I am SO lucky to be here doing this!” Papa Bear was the last big hill before heading back into town to start the second lap, and it was filled with spectators and people dressed in crazy costumes, music blaring….it was really fun to see and took my mind off the misery of that hill. People had staked big signs by the side of the road for the riders, some inspirational, some just very funny (my personal favorite: If An Ironman Was Easy, It Would Be Called Your Mom”).

Coming through town back to the Olympic Oval, I saw Deb, Cindy, Patty and Bonnie again cheering and I headed back by transition to start my second loop. The second loop started out great, the Keene hill went smoothly again, I only made one stop again to refill and use the bathroom. I was so happy to see Deanne when she caught up to me at about mile 70 and I managed to ride behind her for a few miles.

My nutrition plan for the bike ride was to have 2-3 bars of solid food early on, and then nothing but Gu’s, sports-drink and water for the last half of the ride. I always have problems with stomach-aches after eating on the bike, and so far this plan had worked pretty well for me. Maybe I had one bar too many, or maybe I swallowed too much of Mirror Lake on the swim, but after about the 90-mile mark I started getting a stomach-ache. By the time I hit those last brutal 10 miles of the bike, it was getting really hot out, my stomach was KILLING me, and suddenly those water-falls weren’t looking so spectacular anymore.  I just needed to get off the bike. I slogged back up Papa Bear, past the guys dressed up like cheer-leaders, headed back into town where people were all lined up at the course screaming (which was SO nice!), and got to the dismount line. A volunteer took my bike, I went and got my run gear bag and headed to the changing tent.

I felt awful. I was dizzy, hot, and I felt like I was going to throw up. One of the volunteers grabbed me and sat me down, she took off my shoes, got me water, and helped me get my running shoes on (seriously, these volunteers were the greatest people on earth). By now it was after 4pm. I had no idea how I was going to run a marathon feeling like this. I staggered out of the tent and managed a slow jog out of the transition area. Every step was causing my stomach to cramp up. I made it to the first aid station and had a few sips of water and a few sips of Ironman Perform, grabbed a couple of Gu’s just to hold in my hands in case I needed them, and kept going.

I was so miserable, but I didn’t want to walk yet. I had just started! So I kept running and thought about what my good Ironman friend Patty had told me before the race: the first three miles of an Ironman marathon SUCK. Get through those, and you’ll be fine. OK. Three miles. I can handle anything for three miles. I kept going. It was SO hot and there was no shade yet. But I hit the first mile marker, then the second, then the third, and once I hit the turn on to River Rd., which is a beautiful (and shady!) out and back for 6 miles, I started to feel better! There was an aid station at every mile and I stopped at almost every one so I could take small sips of water and sports drink (my stomach could still not handle anymore Gu’s) and kept running. I still had a stomach-ache for the entire marathon, but after a while I just got used to it. I would see people throwing up by the side of the road, I saw one guy lying down

and screaming in pain because his legs were cramping so badly, and I would think of how worse off I could be. A stomach-ache wasn’t going to kill me. I kept running.  

Once I hit the turn-around on River Rd. and started my return towards town, I got excited thinking of seeing my family and friends who I knew would be somewhere on Mirror Lake Dr. That thought propelled me all the way up those 2 giant hills back into town, and on the second big hill, I caught up to Deanne! We talked about how excited we were to see everyone, and then I kept going. It was so exciting getting into town and hearing the screaming people and the music coming from the Olympic Oval. I made my way down Mirror Lake Dr. and saw Deb, Patty, Bonnie and Cindy screaming for me. I came to the run Special Needs stop and a volunteer got my bag and I quickly re-applied some Body Glide, grabbed my long-sleeved shirt and tied it around my waist in case it got cold later.  Then I finally saw Dan, the kids, my in-laws, and  Deanne’s family and they were all going crazy! I was able to give them all hugs before heading on my way. Thankfully, it was only about a stretch of a mile before the next turnaround and I got to come back and see them all again before heading back out to River Road.  It was such a huge mental boost to see them all.

By this time, the sun was going down and it was so much cooler – perfect running weather! My stomach was still hurting, but now I had discovered the warm chicken broth at all of the aid stations. OMG, it was the best thing I had ever tasted, and I was literally just running to get to the next chicken broth table. I think it helped my stomach, and I didn’t get a single muscle cramp for the entire marathon, and I’m attributing to the broth. Best. Stuff. Ever.

The run was pretty uneventful during these miles. I knew miles 13-20 would be the most mentally challenging. Other than the aid stations, I only had to walk once for a few minutes when I really thought I was going to throw up. But I didn’t, so yay! What really helped my psyche was when I hit the 20 mile mark. Only a 10k left! It was getting dark out by this time and there was a guy handing out glow necklaces to everyone.

At this point I still hadn’t REALLY let myself think about finishing. I was trying to stay in the moment and not get ahead of myself. Especially after those first few miles of the marathon, you just don’t know what’s going to happen out there and I wasn’t going to take anything for granted. But, once I was off River Road, and was running back towards town around mile 23, everything was really dark and quiet and I saw a man standing by the side of the road by himself. As I ran by, he clapped and said, “Congratulations, you’re going to be an Ironman tonight.” And then it hit me. I choked out a “Thank you…” and that’s when the tears started. He was right. I have 3 miles left and no matter what, I was going to finish. It was a very emotional last 3 miles. I was exhausted, and both relieved it was almost over, and a little sad that my Ironman experience was coming to an end.

I had to speed-walk up those last 2 big hills, but I didn’t care at that point.  So was everyone else. As I got closer to town and heard the cheers, I started running a little faster. Coming back in was NUTS. People were in the middle of the road screaming for us, screaming our numbers, screaming my name (which was also on my bib). The tears kept coming. I turned on to Mirror Lake Dr. hoping to see my family, but when I didn’t see them, I realized they were probably already waiting for me at the finish line. Wow.

Those last two miles were so surreal. I could see the lights of the Olympic Oval from across the lake, could hear the music blaring and people screaming, and I just needed to GET THERE. I finally made the turn and it was such a flood of emotion stepping on to that Oval. I will never be able to describe that feeling. It was so loud, and bright, and everyone was screaming (I never did get to hear them call my name! Oh well!). As I ran to the finish line I saw all of my friends and family screaming and waving. I was absolutely ecstatic. I ran across the line and immediately a volunteer grabbed me, asked if I was ok, if I needed anything. She got me a foil wrap, some water, put my medal around my neck, got me my Ironman hat, and led me over to take my finish photo.

I was on such an adrenaline high that I felt like I could run all the way back to the condo if I had to. I found Dan and Jack, and Jack was SO excited, and I was so happy he got to see me finish (Tenley was sound asleep in the stroller by this point).

We are Ironmen!!!

Deanne came in just a few minutes after I did, so we all got to celebrate together for a little while before it was time to head home. I never could have done this without her, or my family who I have relied on for so much support over this past year.

Thank you SO much to Dan, Jack, Tenley, my mother-in-law, father-in-law, Rachel, Robert, Cindy, Patty, Deb, Bonnie and the whole Hobba clan for trekking out to cheer us on. I'm sure I can speak for both of us by saying what a huge help it was to us seeing all of your smiling faces out there! You are the best!

The person I need to thank the most is my husband. I know he may not understand my need to do these things, but he always respects it and supports me and without that I never would have crossed that finish line. So THANK YOU DAN!!!!

Also, I wish I could thank all of those volunteers personally. They, the spectators, and all of my fellow athletes, were so encouraging and positive. Also,  thanks to Rachel, Dan and Tracie for the great pics! 

So that ends my journey to 140.6. Will I do another one? I’m thinking maybe, but not anytime soon. Maybe once the trauma to my family and our bank account wears off! I certainly couldn’t put my family through anything like that again for a long time, but maybe when the kids are older? It was just such an incredible experience that I don’t want to say never.

And here are my results:

SWIM:          1:23:50

T1:                13:18

BIKE:           7:47:55

T2:                9:03

RUN:            5:06:39

OVERALL: 14:40:45

Twelve Hours and Counting!

It's Ironman Eve and we finally got our Wi-Fi working well enough to write a final pre-race blog post. We got here Thursday afternoon, and apparently there was a bad storm here Monday night that knocked out power everywhere and internet access is still spotty.

Once we got here, I had to go register, get all of my gear bags, get weighed-in (so they know whether I'm too dehydrated at the end of the race, in which case there is an IV tent). After that, we did a little sight-seeing downtown before we went back to the condo.

I met Deanne first thing Friday morning for our last training swim. We did one loop of the course. There were so many other people out there training, I even had someone swim over me once. It was good practice, because I'm expecting a lot of that on race day: 3000 people all swimming in that little lake at the same time. Whew! That night, Deanne and I had a mandatory race meeting. Getting out of that thing was like trying to leave a concert at Great Woods. It took us over an hour just to get out of the parking lot.

When I dropped Deanne off, I finally got to meet her PA family who had just gotten into town. After hearing about them for so many years, I felt like I already knew them. They were every bit as warm, funny and crazy as Deanne had described. I can't wait to see them out on the course!

My final race preparations for today were to check in my bike and drop off my gear bags. It took me two hours to pack all of these bags. But I love where my bike is racked -- right next to the finish! Once all of this was done, I finally started feeling less nervous. Everything is where it's supposed to be, I'm here, and now all I have to do is go for a swim, a bike ride, and a run. It's not rocket-science, right??

Our condo looks right out over Lake Placid and there is a small beach where the kids can swim, and a restaurant. It's pretty awesome. I'm glad we're not staying right downtown because it is HECTIC right now with nervous athletes. I'm happy to be somewhat removed from all of that. For now.

My plan for tomorrow is to be up at 4am, eat, get dressed, and head to the shuttle at 4:30 to get to the race site. From there I have to get body-marked, drop off my Special Needs bags, put all of my water bottles on my bike, and then go for a short warm-up swim. Then.....wait for the cannon to go off!

So, this is it. This time tomorrow I will hopefully be 1/2 way through a marathon. And I'm especially excited to know that my cheering squad all arrived safely yesterday: Patty, Bonnie, Cindy, Deb and Rachel -- I'll be looking for you!!

The Final Countdown

Just got this again from the Ironman people, and this time I think I can finally say, "Hell, yeah!!" The days are ticking down now. We're leaving for Lake Placid first thing in the morning and I'll hopefully be able to register and start working on my Special Needs bags. Thanks to my amazing friends who watched my children while I packed like a maniac and made an emergency trip to the bike store for a new tire, I was able to get everything organized in the last two days.

And thanks to my amazing Ironman friends, I've gotten some great advice on what I'll need for the course. When I register, I'll get 5 bags to fill: one for my dry clothes for after the race, T1 supplies (transition from swim to bike), T2 supplies (transition from bike to run), Special Needs bike (anything I might need at the 1/2 way point on the bike) and Special Needs run (anything I might need at the 1/2 way point on the run). I can put anything I want in these bags: food, dry socks, Body Glide, spare tubes, pics of my kids..... anything that will help me get through the course and also lift my spirits when I need it.

I'm having a hard time believing that by this time next week, it will all be over. I'm glad I registered for a trail marathon in the fall because I feel like there's going to be a big void in my life once this is done. Despite all the stress and exhaustion of training for an Ironman, I can honestly say it has been a truly great experience and I just hope it results in a successful race day!

Tapering is not relaxing.

So here I am 2 weeks into my taper. I'm anxious. I'm irritable. I have virtually no appetite. I'm having trouble sleeping. I'm losing patience with my children.  I guess my body has become so accustomed to the workload that I'm going through a bit of a withdrawal. I have 10 days left and I just need to get to the starting line and finally DO this.

I've spent the better part of the last year preparing for this thing, and it's now 10 days away. I've learned a lot about myself and about triathlon training in general throughout this process. I would now like to share some of my newfound knowledge with you. Here are some of the key things I have learned:

1. Puking does not necessarily mean the workout is over.
2. I will never be hard-core enough to pee on my bike.
3. It takes a village to raise an Ironman. You will never get to the starting line without the support of family and friends.
4. Enjoy that tail-wind while it lasts. The ride back is going to suck.
5. There is no such thing as bad running weather, only bad clothing choices.
6. Triathlon swimming is a contact sport. Treat it as such.
7. Rest is the fourth discipline.
8. A compatible training partner is worth her weight in gold.
9. I always have one more interval left, even when I really, really think I don't.
10. I'm a lot tougher than I thought.

Training Camp

Deanne and I set off at the crack of dawn Friday morning for our training camp weekend in Lake Placid. The plan was to run one 13.1 mile loop of the course that afternoon, do the entire bike course plus a 6-mile run Saturday morning, and then do one 1.2 mile loop of the swim course Sunday morning before we left.

The training camp is run by Deanne's coach Jeff from Breakthrough Performance. There were about 20 of us all together, and Deanne and I shared a condo with the only 2 other women at the camp. It was a beautiful place and I got my own room in a queen-sized bed! That in itself was worth all of the anxiety this weekend caused, but I digress....

On the Lake Placid run course.

Once we got there, we had time to eat lunch, check in at the condo, stake our claim on sleeping arrangements, and then we set out to see where each of us will be staying during race week. Once we got back, we got ready for our run, which didn't end up starting till almost 4pm. I really liked the run course. The best part is that it's an out and back that will go by one section of the lake 4 times, so it's a great route for spectators. There is one nasty hill that I managed to run up during this one loop, but I can imagine there will be quite a bit of walking on race-day.

After we got back, we quickly showered and headed over to Coach Jeff's condo for a catered dinner with the rest of the campers and a seminar on the race course. By the time it was over, it was 10pm and I was TOAST. I had some trouble getting to sleep that night thinking about the monster day we were going to have, but once I was asleep, I slept like a rock. It's amazing how well you can sleep without 2 small feet in your face or someone peeing in your bed.

The alarm went off at 5am the next morning and we quickly ate, got all of our water bottles, Gu's, tubes and all of the other gazillion things we needed for the bike ride. I was so nervous I could barely get down my bagel. It seemed like forever before we finally set off, and almost immediately we were greeted with a gigantic uphill. I wasn't bothered by going up so much as I was fretting about the descent to Keene, which has kept me up at night for months. Coach Jeff had said in his seminar the night before that it was totally doable to descend that hill in aero-position without ever hitting the brakes. Ha! I'm surprised my brakes didn't melt before I got to the bottom of that thing. It was one scary-ass hill. I did what Marty at Fitwerx told me to do and feathered the brakes, sat up nice and tall to make myself into a human parachute, and I still was going over 30 mph. But I did it. Once. Now I had to finish the loop and do it again.

There was a good stretch of the route after getting into Keene that was just super-fast and fun. I was going 20 mph without even trying and it felt great! But that feeling was short-lived once we took the turn onto rte 86 towards Wilmington. There we were greeted with an uphill that just seemed to go on for miles. I dropped my chain on this hill which wasn't such a big deal, just annoying. And from then on it was just hill after hill and it seemed like I was never going over 10 mph. At one point the clouds started rolling in and we got a little bit of rain, but it cleared up pretty quickly before I hit the last few hills: Baby Bear (piece of cake), Mama Bear (eh, could be worse), and Papa Bear (holy shit!!). And then the loop was done and I quickly stopped at the condo to use the bathroom and refill my bottles before heading back out.

Deanne was at the condo already and waited for me so we could start out together. She was having some gearing problems and she also dropped her chain on the hill heading out of town, but once she was back in the groove, she hit the turbo button and was gone. I was definitely the slowest biker of the bunch, but I was more concerned about survival than worrying about trying to keep up with anyone.

Once we got to the Keene descent again I realized one of my worst nightmares had come true. It had just rained and we would be descending on wet roads. I wouldn't let myself go over 20 mph and I was so terrified every time I hit the brakes thinking I might skid out and end up on the pavement. My hands were both cramping from the death-grip I had on my brakes. I was SO relieved once I made it to the bottom. But relief soon turned to dismay when I noticed the black clouds and heard the rumbles of thunder.

By the time I got back to that turn towards Wilmington, the skies had opened up, and I was slogging up that giant hill in a heavy downpour, wind and lightning. I was convinced the wind was going to blow me into the ditch on the side of the road. I couldn't see anything. I was freezing, and why in God's name did the rain HURT so much??? I found out afterwards that it was actually hail. Of course it was. The rain let up for just long enough to dry off a little before the next downpours started, and then a third thunderstorm hit. It was ridiculous. Between the wind and the rain, I was at one point pedaling downhill and only going 10 mph.

But I finished! It took me 7 1/2 hours, but I finished. And despite the misery of the last loop, I'm kind of glad it happened. Now I know I can do that bike route in any kind of weather. I just hope I don't have to do that again!

Deanne was back at the condo getting ready to run by the time I got back. I quickly dried off and changed so I could go with her. Now Deanne is one strong runner, and has more than enough endurance for the both of us, but she was having a bad running week. I think she was just tired after a killer training week, but she was having her doubts when we set off for this 6 mile run and I persuaded her to set out with me and just see how she felt.

The thing that's great about having Deanne for a training partner is that we've been doing this together for SO long and we're both fully aware of what the other is capable of. She's dragged me through workouts probably more than I've dragged her. But we both know that when the other says "You can DO this!", that we really mean it. I knew she could, and she did. Sometimes you just need that other person to drown out the little voice in your head.

Getting our wetsuits on takes longer than the actual swim.

So on to Sunday, which I thought would be such a nice, relaxing swim, until for whatever reason I totally panicked and hyperventilated for the first 10 minutes. No idea why. There were a bunch of us in the water at once, and even though it wasn't a race, it kind of felt like the start of a triathlon, and it just triggered something. I hate that feeling. Even though I know it's going to go away, at the time you get so caught up in it and start wondering if you'll even get through it, and then all of a sudden something clicks, you catch your breath, and you just SWIM. And then all is ok. But those first few minutes are a doozy. And I know it's not just me, but I'm hoping I can keep myself relaxed enough on race day to head off that panic before it starts. But otherwise the swim was great.

And so ends our adventure at training camp. It was definitely a confidence-builder, and I feel like I learned a lot about the course.

Perspective

I had a post half-written, mainly kvetching about how tired I've been this week and worrying about a couple of missed workouts. As I was writing, that little voice inside my head (which seems to give me nothing but grief lately, BTW), chimed in and said, "But you GET to do this!" And that little voice is right. I get to do this. I am lucky. I am lucky to be able to worry about how I'm going to fit in that run before my kids' end-of-the year show. I'm lucky that I got to make the choice to take an extra rest day this week and make board-books with my kids instead. I'm lucky that I get to get up in the morning and put one foot in front of the other and kiss my kids and head out the door.

I've been thinking a lot this week about my friend Deanne and her family, who suffered a heartbreaking loss last week after a close family member passed away. He endured a long, tragic illness and left behind his wife and young son. 

While I had never met him, I saw firsthand how this has affected Deanne and it really put things in perspective. I am lucky. Stop whining and fretting about missing your Masters swim and just enjoy the ride. My problems are small and I'm blessed to have them. 

So while I mostly try and squash that voice inside my head, because she's usually such a bitch, this time I listened. I'm not going to write about how tired I am (even though I am). I'm just going to say how much fun I had having some extra family time this week. Enough said.  

Are We There Yet???

One of my favorite quotes from my good friend Deanne's blog that sums up this weekend is: "Put on your big girl panties and shut the f*** up!" Because that was pretty much what I've had to do for the last 48 hours.

For Saturday, we both had a 5-hour bike ride scheduled, and my plan called for a 45 min. run afterwards. Problem is, the weather forecast said torrential rain for the next 5 days. Deanne and I decided to take a chance and head out at first light Sat. morning and try and beat the rain. It didn't work out so well. It was already very windy and sometimes hard to control our bikes, and after about an hour and a 1/2, we started feeling the first drops. We kept going further and further away thinking we'd be ok before the hard rain hit.

At one point before the rain started we stopped at the Ipswich Y and I tried to multi-task by eating my energy bar and using the bathroom at the same time. Unfortunately I got one bite before I dropped the thing on the bathroom floor and had to throw it away. I guess that was my punishment for being disgusting.

It wasn't long after that that the downpours started. We were riding in such heavy rain and wind it was hard to see the road. We were drenched and freezing, and the puddles in the road hid all of the potholes and made the ride even more treacherous. And to add insult to injury, to get back home, we had to cross the Beverly Bridge, which is fairly steep going up and down, and no fun at all on windy days. Because of the wind, rain and slick roads, we stopped before the start of the bridge and debated whether we should just take off our shoes and walk our bikes barefoot over the bridge rather than risk the ride. The thought of that was so depressing, that we decided to chance it. It was the most terrifying biking experience I've ever had. By the time we got to the top, the winds were threatening to blow us into traffic, we were both white-knuckled holding our handlebars, and we unclipped one foot to catch ourselves if we went down. I kept my brakes on and yelled "OHMYGOD!OHMYGOD!" the whole way down the hill.

But! We made it. And, because we are so badass, we both went to our respective houses, dried off, and got on our trainers for the remaining hour and a 1/2. I quickly put on my running clothes and opened the door to rain coming down in sheets. It was awful. I was completely soaked within 10 seconds and my shoes filled up with so much water that it felt like I had 5 lb. weights on each foot. I could barely see anything and that 45-minute run felt like two hours. But I did it.

I passed out in my daughter's bed at 8pm that night completely exhausted and woke up before my alarm at 3:30am (I had it set for 4am). I needed to do a 45-minute bike ride and then meet Deanne for a 2-hour run at 5:15, and THEN get picked up by my friend Cindy to go swim at 7:45.  I got up and tried to eat a 1/2 bagel with peanut butter right away, but my stomach unfortunately wasn't awake yet. After about 35 minutes on the bike my stomach started churning. I got off the bike, ran upstairs, and promptly threw up my bagel w/ peanut butter. End of bike ride! I had about 15 minutes to get myself together and go meet Deanne. As soon as I started running I could tell that it wasn't going to go well. My stomach was still off and I was SO tired. I told Deanne she was going to have to drag me through this run, and thankfully, she did!

We had a couple of walk breaks, but overall, I feel like we did pretty well considering I wanted to quit the entire time. And I was totally ready to bail on the swim, but we never see Cindy and I had been  looking forward to catching up. I figured if I really felt that bad I could just float on my back while they swam.  Though once we got there and got in the water (at which point it started raining..AGAIN...) I felt pretty good and we managed a decent swim across the pond which was a little over 1.2 miles.

I am so relieved that I made it through this weekend because it was definitely the most physically and mentally draining training weekend I've had so far. I know I wouldn't have done it had it not been for Deanne being with me on that run. I really don't think I could train for an Ironman on my own. Even when we just run together in complete silence, there's something about having a partner there suffering with you that makes it slightly easier to stick it out. And thankfully we never seem to have our worst days at the same time, so one of us can always pull the other along.

Ride of the Century

Today history was made! Deanne and I completed our first century ride: the Charles River Wheelmen's Spring Century that started in Wakefield, MA. Understandably, Deanne was pretty nervous about it after her accident at the Blazing Saddles century last summer. I tried to stay with her for moral support, and was doing pretty well for the first hour until a series of mishaps caused me to lose her. First: I hit a bump and my water bottle launched out of its cage in the back. I went back to get it and the cap came off and I lost a whole bottle of sports drink. Damn. Someone rode ahead and told Deanne and she came back to find me. We stayed together for a while, but then we had to cross this highway and she made it through and I had to wait for like 10 cars to go by, and in the meantime about 20 people got in between us. Then, I came upon a group of people off of their bikes in the road and I panicked: it was like deja vu from last summer when we found Deanne lying in the road after her accident. When I asked if everything was ok, it turned out they were just trying to figure out which way to go, and I picked the wrong way. After a couple of miles I realized something was wrong, so I stopped and asked a couple out walking their dog and they got me back on track. But by now Deanne was long gone.

So I just chugged along and at around mile 50, this guy and I kept passing each other. I got tired of trying to stay ahead of him, so I settled in behind him and figured at least he'd keep me from going too fast. I never did get his name, but he had scorpions on his jersey and shorts, so I named him "The Scorpion". At one point  he decided to draft off of me, so I tried to move a little to the right, but misjudged and went off the side of the road and on to the dirt shoulder going about 18mph. I was clenching the handlebars screaming, "OHHHH SHIIIIIITTT!!!", convinced I was going down, but miraculously I just slowed to a stop. The Scorpion passed me and asked if everything was ok, and I tried to play it cool and said "Yep, just stopping for something to eat." But I don't think he believed me. I think the screaming tipped him off.

After that, I decided to just stay safely behind him and at one point we realized we'd been riding on a really busy road for a really long time without seeing any markers. We pulled off to a gas station and sure enough, we'd missed a turn a few miles back. Sigh. But we figured it out and found our way back.

I noticed at around mile 80 that the Scorpion was slowing down. Then it got to the point where I was pedaling backwards so I wouldn't run into him. What to do? Offer to go in front? It seemed rude to ditch him.  And what would I say? "I know we've spent the last 30 miles together, but it's time for me to move on. It's not you, it's me." How awkward. Thankfully, he pulled off to the side and took out a Cliff Bar. I said there was a water stop up ahead, but he said he couldn't wait anymore and waved me on. Phew! No guilt. It was nice while it lasted, Scorpion.

I made a big mistake and didn't stop at the last water stop. I was almost out of water and totally out of Gu's, but I felt good and thought I could get by for 20 miles. Bad idea! First, it ended up being quite a bit more than 20 miles for me, it was hot, and at around mile 90 I started to bonk. It was a horrible feeling and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to control my bike. I felt so light-headed. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Anyway, I slowed way down, took deep breaths, and stayed behind someone else going at an easy pace and he brought me in. It seemed like forever, and I ended up with almost 111 miles. I was going to try to run for like a mile afterwards, but nope! I felt lousy and went to get a ham sandwich and lemonade instead.

Overall it was a great experience: the route was beautiful and I felt good for most of it. I think I did parts of it too fast, and I totally messed up on my nutrition/hydration. But, live and learn. I'll do better next time!

On to the Peak Phase

First off, I feel like a bad friend for totally neglecting to wish my Ironfriend Deanne a happy birthday yesterday. Happy birthday and may you totally dominate your new age group!

Deanne did her long bike yesterday (5 hours!), so we only biked together for the first hour of my 4-hour ride this morning. She was feeling pretty beat up which was bad for her, but good for me because it was easier for me to stay with her. Yay!

After we split off, I headed to the dreaded water-tower hill to tackle it alone. After the first time up, I started to strategize: try to make it to that telephone pole before switching to an easier gear, try to make it to that tree before I stand up, and so on. Each time I pushed it a little bit harder. On my third trip up I had some company: a group of guys biked up it with me, and as we pushed to the top of the hill, one guy gasped "Happy Mother's Day" to me. So sweet.

I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to make a fourth trip. And it was so worth it because right by the top of the hill, I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and looked over to see a giant deer standing less than 10 feet away from me, and another one lying down right next to it. At first I thought they were lawn ornaments because they were so still. Or maybe I was hallucinating. Who knows. I have no witnesses. But in any case, I was feeling quite proud of myself for making it up that hill four times.

After my hill workout I continued on my regular route and when I was riding through the woods in Ipswich I came upon a Mom struggling to bike up a hill with her toddler daughter in a bike-seat on the back and a flat rear tire. I rode up beside her and asked her if she knew she had a flat tire. She didn't. I stopped and asked if I could help her, and she said she lived close, but asked if she could use my cell-phone to call her husband to come get her. Once she was all set, I rode away, patting myself on the back  for being such a good Samaritan, helping a fellow Mom on Mother's Day (so far I'm quite a big fan of myself this morning!).

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, but I had a great time. The weather was warm enough to wear bike shorts, there wasn't much traffic, and I felt really good.

My nutrition consisted of:

1/2 bagel with PB and 1/2 cup coffee w/ skim milk (pre-ride)
2 bottles Gatorade
1 bottle water
6 Gels

Once home, I ran in, used the bathroom, and headed out for my 45 min. run. I felt great except for a few twinges in my left hamstring which has been bothering me for the last few days. Thankfully, tomorrow is a rest day. And tomorrow starts the beginning of the Peak phase! Yikes!

Bike Love and Drafting: That's What Friends are For

Today Deanne and I both had a 4-hour bike ride, and thankfully the weather cooperated and we could do the whole thing OUTSIDE! This was the kind of ride that made me remember why I love biking so much. The weather was cool, but not freezing, the sun was out for most of it, and we are lucky enough to live in an area where we can ride in the woods and by the ocean all in one morning.

My wildlife sightings for the morning included: 2 wild turkeys, 2 deer, 4 bunnies, and an assortment of geese, birds, squirrels and chipmunks.

The first hour was tough as I felt very tired (we started at 5:45) and it took me forever to warm up and get into a groove. I didn't see much of Deanne for this hour. She's such a strong biker and doesn't need to warm up like I do. But she's nice enough to loop back and get me every once in a while.

We reconnected in Ipswich at a gigantic hill that many cyclists use to practice for hilly courses such as Lake Placid. Elevation-wise, it's nowhere near some of the hills in Lake Placid, but it's steep. The first time we did this I only managed it once. But today, we made that hill our bitch. We went up and down that thing three times right in the middle of our 4-hour ride.

By that point, I was plenty warmed up and managed to stay with Deanne for the rest of the ride out to Crane Beach and back through Essex.

Drafting on a bike means you ride close up to a person's wheel and ride in that person's "slipstream". You get the advantage of that person blocking the wind, and you also have the luxury of not having to work as hard as the person in front of you. It also works well in swimming, and to some extent in running. If you are lucky enough to find someone to draft off of while swimming in a tri, you just have to be careful not to hit that person's feet, or you will be kicked. I've been on the giving and receiving end of these kicks, and I can attest to how annoying it is to have someone continually grabbing your ankles while you're trying to swim.

While drafting on the bike is a big no-no in triathlons that comes with steep penalties, it's not illegal on our training rides and I admit that once I managed to stay with Deanne, I drafted for most of the way home. I don't think she minds, though. I am currently reading Chrissie Wellington's memoir, and in it she talks about how when bikers draft off of her during an Ironman, she sends them a warning to back off by peeing her pants. Deanne never does that to me. She's a good friend.

So once my ride was over I had to quickly get on my running shoes and head out for a 45-minute run. I managed under a 10 minute mile which I was quite happy about. My hamstrings felt tight, but other than that I felt pretty strong.

My nutrition for today consisted of: a pre-ride bagel w/ peanut butter, 1/2 cup coffee with skim milk, water. On the ride at 1 hr. I had a gel every 1/2 hour (7 gels!). Also, I had 3 sports bottles of Gu Brew. I felt like I could have used more by the end of the run, but I didn't want to take anything with me for that short of a time.

Stuff

I've got one more week of the build phase before all hell breaks loose in the peak phase. I'm almost 2/3's of the way done! It's time to start figuring out the logistics of our trip, making packing lists and designing goofy team shirts for the family.

What has really become overwhelming is the amount of STUFF needed to do this race. I'm usually the kind of person who tries to get by on as little as possible. I don't need all the bells and whistles and all the latest new gear. But I have to admit, for this race, I would rather have too much than too little.

 I was thinking recently about the first sprint tri I did with Deanne and the rest of our tri-friends almost 10 years ago (happy anniversary, guys!). I managed to do pretty well with my old mountain bike, wearing a bathing suit and running shorts and no socks. I didn't have bike shoes, aerobars, a Garmin....I had a cheap $30 shorty wetsuit that probably slowed me down more than anything. The amount of gear needed for that race was pretty minimal.

Flash forward to my first Olympic tri, where I had by then bought an entry-level Trek road bike and had bought a pair of bike shoes and pedals second-hand. I did the swim with no wetsuit and felt like I was swimming in place while everyone else in the field passed me. I did the bike and run in running shorts and a bathing suit. Miserable! Lesson-learned: for tri's longer than a sprint, a certain amount of gear is needed. Especially gear that pads my butt.

I've learned that wetsuits are a necessity to hold up my dead-weight legs. I've also learned the value of a good pair of tri-shorts. And although my Trek served me well for years, last year I broke down and got a tri-bike that makes it SO much easier to run after a long bike. I got brand new pedals and shoes. I've never been much of a gadget-girl (my husband has called me a Luddite on more than one occasion), but I got a Garmin and cadence sensor for Christmas and I don't know how I ever trained without them.

And then there's all the bike stuff: helmet, spare tubes, pump, CO2 cartridges, tire levers...you just can't do a race of this length without tools to fix a flat. There's all of the nutrition/hydration you need to take with you on the bike: gels, bars, sports bottles. You need spare clothes for weather changes, sunscreen, anti-chafing stuff, hats and sunglasses for the run. Oh, and a number belt for your race number. And...I need a nice new tri-bag to carry all of this stuff in. OK, I don't really NEED that, but that might be my splurge.

Lastly, I'm not going to say we bought a new car just for the Ironman, because we had definitely outgrown our little Subaru Impreza, but we definitely pushed our car-buying plans up because there was no WAY we were going to fit everything we need to bring to Lake Placid. So lastly, if you're doing an Ironman, and you're not traveling alone, you need a good-sized car.

The Best-Laid Plans

School vacation week! Aside from getting to spend some quality time with my two little cherubs, vacation week also affords me some flexibility in my training. I didn't have to rush home from Masters swim to get the kids ready for school, and got in a couple of my double workouts before my husband even left for work.

On Wednesday I planned my bike ride for mid-afternoon. I had the kids out all day and felt justified in putting them in front of a movie so I could get in my hour & 15 min. ride at 3pm. This would allow me to shower, make dinner, and have a relaxing evening with my husband after putting the kids to bed. Aaaahhh.....

I got the snacks and drinks, set up the movie in the basement, went to get on my bike, and the phone rings. It's our contractor, who has a crew coming over RIGHT NOW to fix a chronic leak in our downstairs playroom. Argh!

I broke the news to the kids, got changed, and figured I still might have time to get the ride in before dinner. No such luck. They worked in our basement until 6pm.

We had dinner, and I got the kids upstairs early, thinking if I got them to sleep by 7pm, I'd be finished with my ride around 8:15, and that's not SO bad.

Guess what?! They weren't tired. But I was! I was lying in bed with my daughter, trying not to nod off, wondering how the heck I was going to get through this ride.

By the time she finally fell asleep it was almost 7:45. Gulp. I would be on my bike until 9pm. And this wasn't just an easy ride. It involved 6 intervals where I had to go all out for  5 minutes with 3 minutes recovery in between. And between Dan traveling and me being sick, I couldn't possibly skip this workout.

I did the first 5 minutes and swore I would die before I could do that 5 more times. I did the second and thought if I could get through three, then at least I'd be half-way there. I made it through the third and started feeling a tiny bit more confident. I got through the fourth and fifth by just counting in my head. I don't know why that worked, but it did. And then I got to six and I was so psyched to be almost done with these things, that I just plowed through it.

It was exhausting, but the Ironman will be even more exhausting, so I'm glad I pushed myself and got through it. Although the worst part was that I had to jump in the shower, get into bed, and get up at 5am and get right back on the bike. Oy.

Feeling Feeble

I was hit with yet ANOTHER virus this week: a nasty head-cold that came on early Monday morning, after my hardest training weekend. I'm starting to feel like my body is turning against me. It's so frustrating. I've been doing my best to eat right and get enough sleep, taking my vitamins, but the reality is that there is just not going to be much down-time for me, and that is likely the problem. After I get home from my long weekend workouts, the kids need me, my husband needs free-time, and honestly I would rather be outside pushing them on the swings than sitting home with my feet up on the couch (no, really!).

I've been googling endurance training and illness and I've learned that this is a common problem. The immune system weakens after long endurance workouts, and having two small children in school is probably leaving me susceptible to all kinds of viruses.

So aside from sending my germy kids abroad for the next few months, my best options seem to be: making absolutely sure I'm staying hydrated, continue taking my vitamins, hand-washing, hand-washing, hand-washing, and taking a probiotic called lactobacillus, which I read has been shown to cut illnesses in endurance athletes by half. And hopefully with the warmer weather coming, the sick season will soon be at an end.

Between Dan being away in SF and me being sick, I have missed all 3 of my morning swims and one short bike ride this week. I should be able to make up one swim this weekend, but still, not a great week. I have a 3-hour bike ride and 1/2 hour run to do tomorrow morning and Deanne and I are very excited to get OUTSIDE and hit some hills, so I'm resting up today, drinking a ton, and hopefully I'll be ready to roll tomorrow.

Vampire Weekend

I spent the week thinking I'd do half of my 4-hr Saturday ride on the trainer and the other half outside. I couldn't even fathom riding indoors for four hours. I wanted to start at 4:30am because I also had to do a 1/2 hour run immediately after, but I realized on Friday that it would be too cold (for me, anyway) to ride outside at 6:30am. So, I had to suck it up and do all four hours on the trainer. FOUR HOURS pedaling and going nowhere. It was purely mind over matter. My MIL lent me the first season of True Blood on DVD, so I figured it was as good a time as any to start watching that. Wow! What the heck is my mother-in-law doing watching that stuff?? No matter. It made for very entertaining watching as I pedaled away in my basement. Nothing like a lot of blood, sex and gore first thing in the morning. I heard the first pitter-patter of little feet around 6:45 and quickly jumped off the bike and put it on Hulu where I could watch mindless sitcoms for the last 2 hrs.

My nutrition for those four hours consisted of: 5 sports bottles (4 sports drink, 1 water), 1 english muffin with peanut butter, and 4 chocolate Power Gels. 

Also, I had to get off the bike for a minute every hour just for a psychological break, and also for bathroom breaks, turning on the Wii for my son, refilling water bottles, and shutting off the soft-core vampire porn. 

I was supposed to stay in my Zone 2 heart-rate, but I was exhausted from running the night before, my legs were tired, and I stayed mostly in Zone 1 for the first 3 hours, spent most of the last hour in Zone 2, and then at 3:50 had to do 5 minutes of Zone 4, which was killer. My legs were totally spent. Amazingly, once I started running, I felt great and my heart-rate was right where it was supposed to be and my legs felt totally fine. 

The rest of the day was spent pulling my kids around in a wagon for an Easter Egg hunt, cleaning the house for my in-laws, putting together Easter baskets, and then in bed by 9pm to start all over again the next morning.

Happy Easter! This morning I had to do a 45-minute bike and a 90-minute run. I wanted to finish before the kids woke up, which is normally around 7am, so I was on my bike by 4:15am, did a 100 RPM ride while I watched another True Blood (an Easter classic!) and then ran out to Marblehead Neck and back before the sun was even fully up. I was home by 6:40! And it wasn't good enough! The kids had woken up at 5:30 and my husband had bravely kept them corralled in our bedroom for over an hour until I got home so I wouldn't miss the Easter festivities. It wasn't a good scene. The road to the Ironman is paved with Mommy guilt.

It was a hard weekend, but week 15 is done and my family hasn't disowned me yet. On to week 16......

Morning Recap

I spent my last morning of week 14 doing my longest workout yet: a 3:30 ride followed by a 30 min. run. I woke up at 3:59 am, one minute before the alarm was set to go off. I gathered my pile of clothes, Garmin, and heart-rate monitor that I'd left in the hallway and headed downstairs. I was going to fill up all of my water bottles and get my food ready last night, but I fell asleep with the kids -- which has sadly been the norm lately.

I was on my bike by 4:30, and decided to use the Spinervals Lake Placid Ride DVD. The DVD is just under 3 hrs, so I made sure I had plenty of adrenaline-fueled music to get me through the last 40 minutes.

The ride was supposed to be done in my Zone 2 heart-rate range, which is all aerobic, but I always have a hard time getting my heart rate even that high on the bike, so it usually ends up in the high end of Zone 1 and the low end of Zone 2.  At the 3-hour mark I had to bump it up to Zone 4 for 5 mins, which is excruciating -- the longest 5 mins. ever.

I know it sounds boring to watch a DVD for 3 hours of some guy riding a bike, but I can't really focus on anything with much of a plot while I'm training, so watching the pretty scenery and making note of all of the hills actually helped pass the time.

At around 7:30 am I heard the pitter-patter of little feet over my head and knew the kids were up. Apparently they've lost interest in my suffering, because they didn't even come down to say hello.

At that point it was time for the music, and here is what got me through the brutal 5 minutes of all-out Zone 4:

The Misfits: Teenagers From Mars
New Politics: Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
AWOL Nation: It's Not Your Fault

These songs are not meant for little ears, and they need to be loud for the full heart-rate-raising effect, so head-phones are a must.

By the end of my ride, I consumed a total of: 4 1/2 full sports bottles (3 sports drink,  1 1/2 water), a peanut butter and honey sandwich, a banana, and 2 Gu's. I was down to the dregs with my Gu's, and ended up with a Huckleberry flavor, which was as bad it is sounds.

The fact that I only had to make 1 pit stop during my ride means that most of those sports bottles wound up soaking my basement floor. I sweat an incredible amount. I always put an old dishtowel over my bike while I ride the trainer so the sweat won't get all over my components and corrode the hardware, and by the end of this ride, it was sopping wet. Gross!

With the ride done, I quickly got my running gear on, said a quick hello/goodbye to my family and did my 30 min run. I actually felt really good! Although good is a relative term here, meaning I didn't throw up, fall down, or crawl back to my house Julie Moss-style.

It was a great way to end the week. The weather was cool and sunny, my heart-rate stayed right where it was supposed to be, and I maintained 9:30-9:40 minute miles. It was a good confidence-builder.

On to week 15!!

Looking ahead

I'm almost to the half-way point of my training plan. As I finish up week 14, I'm thinking about what I need to focus on for the next 15 weeks (other than swimming, biking and running).

I've got to figure out a fueling plan. I've been diligently writing down what I'm eating/drinking on my long weekend workouts, but I want to have a solid, well-thought out plan for race day. Will I eat any solid foods? If not, that's a long day of Gu's. But I tend to start off every run in a tri feeling bloated and full, and I need to figure out if it's caused by what I'm eating on the bike. 

I don't want to end up like this guy.

Also, I tend to get foot cramps by the end of the run. It's happened in both 1/2 IMs and a little bit in the last marathon I did. I took electrolyte tablets, felt like I hydrated enough, so I'm not sure if it's nutrition-related, or just plain exhaustion. I'm hoping I can figure out how to prevent them over the last few months of training, or else it could make for a VERY long and painful marathon. 

I'm happy to say my tire-changing skills have progressed quite nicely since that first episode in my living-room. Deanne taught me a few tricks she learned and my time went from an hour and a 1/2 down to about 10 mins. Not bad! 

Next, I need to learn how to use a CO2 cartridge. I'm embarrassed to say that I'm a little frightened of them, mostly because of an incident that happened several years ago. I was about 4 months pregnant with my son Jack, out on a ride with my friends, when I got a flat. None of us had ever used one, but my friend Michele bravely volunteered to inflate the tire because she didn't think the pregnant lady should be handling the CO2 cartridge. The instant she opened it, it made a sound like a gunshot, the tire blew up, and her hand was coated in frost. She said it was numb the whole way home. People were coming out of their houses to see what the hell we did. At that point I convinced my friends I was fine, waved them on to finish their ride, and sat by the side of my road to wait for my husband to come pick me up.

So yeah, I need to learn how to use those things. 

Other than that, I'm trying to keep up with my weight training, stretching, foam-rolling, and getting enough sleep, all of which have become more difficult as the training progresses. Deanne and I signed up for our training camp in Lake Placid, which sadly is the same weekend as my wedding anniversary. I really don't know how people do multiple Ironmans and stay married. 

I'm taking my vitamins, mostly eating right, saying "no" to anything that starts after 8pm, and keeping my fingers crossed for an injury-free, illness-free spring. 

There is no "I" in Team (But there IS in Ironman)

See these two on the left? Cute, right? Yes, they are. Also, they do not give a CRAP that I'm training for an Ironman. Not one little bit. They don't want to hear about my bike splits, my catch and pull, or my transition times. And why should they? At 6 and 3, their Mom is the swing-pusher, juice-box opener, boo-boo-kisser, story-teller, and Candy Land-player. Any outside pursuits that cut into their Mommy-time are suspect. But I need them as my Ironman allies, which means this whole endeavor needs to affect them as little as possible. This is why my alarm goes off earlier and earlier, so that the bulk of my day is spent being Mom.

Likewise, I need to keep my husband on board. Dan has been super-supportive and has pretty much resigned himself to being an Ironman-widower over the next few months. Until now, our family life hasn't been affected too much by this. He is used to getting up with the kids on weekends while I finish my long runs and rides (and I am SOOOO grateful for that!). But things are going to change during the build and peak phases when the workouts get longer and longer. After one week I'm already falling asleep by 8pm. I promised Dan I would stay up one night a week with him, which will be Sundays since Monday is my rest day. I'm trying not to bore him with too much training talk. And also I'm trying to be mindful of the fact that he needs free time too, and give him plenty of time on the weekends to do whatever he wants.

My Iron Team

I realize I'm asking an awful lot of my family, and the asking isn't going to end until Monday, July 23rd. On race-day, my husband will do his own version of the Ironman: shepherding two kids around, who will likely be cranky and overtired, and navigating port-a-potties in a strange town overrun with incredibly fit people. I'd really love for them to be there at the start, mainly because the start of an Ironman is a sight to behold, and maybe it will help them see WHY I wanted to do this so badly. But I know getting them up that early could spell disaster for my husband. And of course I want them to see me cross the finish line, and who knows how long that will take me.

My family will also have an incredibly long, exhausting day as part of my Ironman team. And as my indispensable teammates, a big part of my race-day planning will include making sure they are as prepared as I am. I will never take for granted how lucky I am to be able to do this, and I know I would never even make it to the starting line without the support of my family.

Declaring War on My Bad Self

Finally, I'm feeling like I have my mojo back. I did my 3-hour ride on Saturday and my 10-mile run on Sunday and felt like a superstar (and I LOOOOVE my new seat!).

But since this was my second respiratory infection within the last six months, I've realized my body is trying to tell me something. For years I've managed to burn the candle at both ends without suffering much in the way of consequences. I could get up at the crack of dawn and run after a late night of cocktails with my friends, or stay up late watching movies with my husband, a bottle of wine and Indian food. My constitution doesn't seem to be down with that anymore. Actually, between the heartburn, insomnia, and sickness, it seems to be screaming, "You're FORTY, dummy!" And after this last bout, I'm ready to listen.

I'm now starting the Build Phase of Ironman training. Time to stop fooling around and realize that there will be sacrifices. I need to rid my diet of birthday-cake frosting and leftover chicken nuggets. I need more sleep, and my social life has to end by 8pm with herbal tea instead of Pinot Noir. I'm not that invincible 39-year old anymore.

If I'm going to be an Ironman, I need to realize I'm not made of iron.

Saddle-Sore

While I'm convalescing, I decided to use all of my extra free time today at Fitwerx spending money on my bike (sorry, Dan). It needed a tune-up anyway, and my bike saddle has been getting progressively less and less comfortable the longer I ride. So I've been researching saddles online, specifically those built for women.

It's an awkward conversation to have with a bunch of male bike mechanics: "I need a new saddle because my crotch hurts." But I've learned there are secret code-words to avoid embarrassment. Is the pain "posterior" (butt pain) or "anterior" (lady-part pain)?  My answer is C: all of the above and all of the parts in between. The helpful bike gurus at Fitwerx had me try several seats, two of them from Terry, a company that designs bikes and bike gear for women. I had read rave reviews of them online, and I  immediately noticed a big difference. I settled on the Terry Tri Gel Butterfly seat, that is slightly wider in the rear (like me), has a sculpted gel seat for extra cushioning, and a cutout in the middle to give relief to those "anterior parts".

I asked if having a wider, gel saddle would slow me down any, and was told, "It's going to slow you down more if your butt hurts so much that you can't sit." True dat.

Apparently there is a break-in period that can take up to four months, so by August the saddle should be in peak condition. Hopefully my saddle will break in a couple of weeks early, so I can count on maximum comfort when I spend all damn day in it in Lake Placid.

Side-lined

So I saw the nurse practitioner again today, and she told me that I actually sound worse than I did on Friday. But the good news is, it appears I don't have asthma. But the bad news: I do have some kind of bronchitis/chest infection that has lingered for so long that I now need antibiotics, steroids, and an albuterol inhaler to get rid of it.

As she's telling me about the boat-load of pills I have to take every day and the potential side-effects, I said, "Ok, but I'm training for an Ironman -- it won't interfere with my training, will it??"

She looked at me for a second and I saw her take a deep breath. Uh-oh, this can't be good. "You have an infection, your body needs rest to let the medicines do what they're supposed to do. I want you to take at least the next 48 hours completely off, then come back in and I'll listen to you before I give you the ok to start training again."

In my head I'm thinking, "How can I circumvent this?? There must be some loophole in this so that I can completely ignore everything she just said."

She's looking at me like she knows exactly what I'm thinking. "You understand what I'm saying, right? I've done some triathlons too. I know what an Ironman is. You need rest."

And my brain is saying, "Swimming....swimming won't be too strenuous, I can still do that. And biking...maybe if I just spin in an easy gear...biking should be fine. And maybe the running part...if I just go to the Common and run easy around the park. Yeah....that should be ok too. It's all good. It's fine."

She's definitely looking inside my brain, "OK, I'm going to say it like this: this is an INVESTMENT, that you are making UP FRONT so that you won't have to take EVEN MORE time off when you get EVEN SICKER for not taking the time off NOW."

OK, the fog is clearing. I need to be rational. And smart. This is probably where having a coach would be helpful. But I get it. Nothing for two days. Nothing. Two days. Really that shouldn't be a big deal at all. Provided it really is only two days. Which it has to be. Because I'm not going to be very easy to live with if it stretches on for longer than that (or I should say, I'll be LESS easy to live with). 

Two days. TWO.

Breathless

I knew Ironman training wouldn't be smooth sailing. Like the race itself, I knew there would be setbacks, times where I had doubts, injuries, sickness... or all of the above. So, 6 weeks ago I got a chest cold and like just about everyone in my neighborhood, a cough that seemed like it would never go away. I didn't miss a day of training, until a couple of weeks later when I got hit with the stomach bug that derailed me for one day. And the coughing persisted, but the training continued. At times it seemed better for a few days, but then returned as this tightness in my chest, feeling like I couldn't get a full breath. When I ran, I noticed my heart-rate was higher than usual, and I've just been so TIRED. I'd had something like this several months ago and was put on an inhaler for a few days. Yesterday, it got worse. It felt like my airway was tightening and I had to sleep with three pillows last night to get any relief. So this morning I called the doctor and after listening to me and seeing this had happened not so long ago, I was told I likely have asthma. How can I have asthma? Can I suddenly just "get" asthma?! Apparently, I can. It can be triggered by things like a virus, and sometimes once that happens, it doesn't go away. Crap. But she gave me the albuterol inhaler that I had last time and said if it doesn't work, I'm going to have to go on the real deal next week. I've already taken two hits off that thing today and it's not working. I'm feeling discouraged. I couldn't even run today because I can't take a full breath without triggering a coughing fit. I'm nine weeks into my Ironman training and I suddenly feel like I'm 80 years old gasping for breath getting up the stairs. I'm going to do my best to get through my morning run with Deanne tomorrow, and the swim that I blew off today. And Sunday is my first 3-hour bike ride. But I need to be able to breathe. Breathing is important for Ironman training.

Am I Ready??

I got this in an email this week from Lake Placid Ironman. And the answer is, "No! Not yet!". But I'm about to complete my 8th week of training, and in 2 weeks I'll shift from the Base Phase into the Build Phase, where things will really start heating up. The Base Phase starts out pretty light, and stays fully in the aerobic heart-rate zones -- no sprints, no interval training, nothing where I can't comfortably have a conversation with someone. Right now, my typical Base Phase week looks like this:

Monday: REST!
Tues: Bike 45 mins/Run 15 mins (back to back), weights
Wed: Swim 2500 yards (about a mile and a 1/2), run 1 hour
Thurs: Run 1 hr, weights
Friday: Swim 2500 yards, bike 1 hour
Saturday: Run 1hr 15 mins
Sunday: Bike 2 hrs

In the Build Phase, my weeks will start looking more like this:

Monday: REST!
Tues: Swim 3000 yards, run 1 hour
Wed: Swim 3000 yards, bike 1hr 15 mins
Thurs: Bike 45 mins, run 30 mins (back to back)
Friday: Swim 3000 yards, run 1 hour, 15 mins
Saturday: Bike 4 hours (!),  run 45 mins (back to back)
Sunday: 1 hour bike, 1 1/2 hour run

And I can't even think about the Peak Phase yet, which is the final 10 weeks where workouts will top out at 20 hours per week. That's like a part-time job!

I'm confident that all of this base training will get me to that point, but I'll be more worried about the impact on my family. So far it's been very manageable. And thank goodness my husband has been so supportive. But there will be a few weekends at the end where I will be an absentee wife/mother. I hope I can make it to the Ironman without my family disowning me!

Screaming Fast Descent!

There are three infamous hills on the Ironman Lake Placid bike course: Mama Bear, Baby Bear and Papa Bear. They are mostly notorious for the climbs. I don't care so much about climbs. I know they will be difficult, my legs will burn, there will most likely be swearing. But...what's the worst that will happen? I will run out of low gears, my pedaling will slow to a standstill, and I will tip over going about 4 mph. Not ideal, but the biggest bruise in this scenario will likely be my ego.

I knew this bike course was one of the more challenging Ironman bike courses when I signed up. I've seen it, driven on parts of it, but there is one section of that course that causes me endless anxiety: the six-mile steep descent into a town called Keene. I've been reading lots of race reports and the one phrase I keep seeing over and over is: "Screaming fast descent!" Six miles! All downhill! And steep! Some veteran racers call it fun, exhilarating, a great way to make up some speed after all of those climbs! I, however, am a wuss on the downhills. The steepest descent I've done was at the Timberman 70.3. I let myself hit 34 mph before I hit the brakes. And I can imagine the speeds on the IMLP course could potentially get much, much faster.

On my 2-hour trainer ride last weekend I put on a Tour de France documentary to get myself inspired. One of the riders interviewed talked about riding down the mountains of France at hair-raising speeds and he basically said they just can't think about it. They all know that going down those hills at such high speeds, on 2 skinny racing tires navigating hairpin turns is complete insanity: a popped tire, a slippery road, or whatever other calamity that could arise would be disastrous if not fatal. But they  don't allow themselves to think about it until it's done. Given that I'm not an elite Tour de France cyclist, I don't think that's a good solution for me.

Granted, the hills of Lake Placid don't compare to L'Alpe d'Huez, but they may as well be given my experience with these kinds of hills. So, what to do? Just like anything else: practice, practice, practice. As soon as it's outdoor riding weather again, Deanne and I will find the biggest hills we can in these parts and go up! And....DOWN. Also, we'll be making our way up to Lake Placid in the spring and I will get to actually ride...gulp...those screaming six miles into Keene.

Also we're lucky enough to have two Ironwoman friends who are Lake Placid veterans. They managed to get through the bike unscathed, and they will be the lucky recipients of tons of questions from us over the next few months, and maybe some 3am phone calls when I wake up in a cold sweat panicking (No! I won't do that to you! I promise!!).