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......