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.