Keeping it "FUN". . .?

As I am quickly realizing, training for an Ironman can become very serious. It consumes the mind and would consume an entire day if I had the time or would allow it to. I love it, don't get me wrong. Even on the days when I don't want to do it, I still like it and feel better for doing it.

When I started training for this thing, someone experienced once told me to keep it fun (Thank you Chip). I am realizing as race day gets closer that he is right. It is imperative to keep at least some parts of it fun.

I say "some parts" because I have a tendency so swing into auto-pilot pretty easily where I am so focused I forget that it is fun. I have always felt lucky to be able to train (I think losing a friend to cancer over 12 years ago has made feeling lucky to be alive at all an automatic and daily occurrence). But, keeping in my the aspect of "fun" is not so easily done.

One way I have been able to "keep it fun" is by implementing food into my "long" training days. Burning so many calories in a day makes the idea of food consumption a no brainer. I can always eat and as of late, I always do. (PHOTO TOP LEFT: Ice Cream stop in Granville, Ohio).

I am still lugging my camera along on long rides - that ensures the ride will be fun - I find documentation of any event fun. I am still not quite sure how to make the running fun . . . enjoyable. . . ummmm. . . I will continue to work on how I can make running tolerable. (HA). I guess the point is, it is not easy to "keep it fun" every day because to be quite honest, I am too nervous and scared to keep it fun every day. I have days where I am so terrified that I won't finish, I train for an extra number of miles to make my mind feel better and strengthen my body so I know I will be able to walk through the finish (something I do not want to have to resort to, but on race day anything can happen and I am mentally preparing myself for that anything - I hope). (PHOTO RIGHT: Bologna sandwich in Waldo, Ohio).

June 26 - June 30

• 6-26-10 - Bike 88 Miles - MY ENERGY IS BACK! Went on the 1st and last annual Waldo Bologna Ride. I say last because it was difficult coming home the 58 miles that stood before us with such a large chuck of grease in our bellies. Great ride, downed lots of water. Love my B&B group (Bill and Bob) - great riding group to push me.
• 6-27-10 - ME DAY OFF
• 6-28-10 - Run 3:00/O.W.S. :40 - My run today felt good. I was careful to hydrate and take in Gel. Every :45 I would stop for a moment and eat my gel, drink some water and continue running. No aches at the 3:00 mark - progress! I feel as though my bike nutrition is good, now I must focus on staying healthy for the run.
• 6-29-10 - Bike 3:00 - We are closing in on July and I cannot believe it! I had a mini freak out moment today knowing how much time I have to prepare. I know July will be a host of training opportunity and my first half Ironman: Louisville, Lake Placid, and Steelhead - quite the training month that lay before me. The bike felt good. The temperature was finally lower and the humidity gone. My rides with B&B are only going to get better as I get stronger.
• 6-30-10 - Bike 1:30/Run 1:30 - Uneventful but good workout - wish I had more time to bike because it felt great (body and temperature) There was wind but the wind isn't bothering me so much anymore. The run was quirky the first 15 minutes then I started to loosen up.

It's a Girl Thing

Up until this point, my "female" issues have not really been an issue...until now. It started last Thursday and should finally be over by tomorrow (7 days later) and I am sure the heat and humidity have not assisted my situation in a good way.

When training for an Ironman, feeling sluggish is in no way helpful and the last seven days have been spent "doing what I can" to get through the sluggishness of my fatigued and crabby self. Each day I wake up thinking, "surely this is the day I can set out on my normal training schedule without feeling as though someone has tied a rope around my waste and is pulling me backward the entire time I am trying to move forward" and "Surely I can go for just a 2 hour run...just a couple of hours, not climbing Everest here, just a simple run." NOPE! The body can only do what the body wants to do and when an hour after I wake up, the body wants to go back to sleep, I try to listen as best I can and obey...mumbling and grumbling all the way about how amazing it is outside and how I really, really need to get a 40 mile ride in - at least - followed by a short run and maybe even a swim. I have no time for naps and there is no place for a grump in Ironman.

There really is no explanation for why, last week, I can complete a 2 hour ride and a 2 hour run and come home ready for more and the next week, on a 2 hour run, all I can think about is stuffing my face and sitting down.


However, as a female athlete, it is harsh reality and one that I hope will not plague me this badly again.

IS MIDOL CONSIDERED PERFORMANCE ENHANCING?
If not, I may be throwing a couple of cases in my car when I head down to Louisville... and stashing a few dozen in my shorts along with some Hershey Chocolate syrup in my fuel belt. CHOCOLATE... YUM - It makes everything bad good again.

Chalk this experience up to a God-given taper week. I have another coming up in about another 3 weeks. I guess that means I need to use the next 3 to my advantage and go build some muscle and some more endurance for the next time the fatigue fairy comes floating my way - or perhaps next month, I will be strong enough to either outrun her or just knock her out.

So Much and Yet Not Enough

When I think about how far away Louisville Ironman is, it feels like it will never get here. However, when I think about it, I can't believe it is so close. My head is reeling with training tactics - the "I need to's" that I really don't know for sure if " I need to". Run 3 or bike 3 today, swim 2 loops or 3, hills or flat, trail or road, oatmeal or pancakes. My head can't spin fast enough nor can I make a decision about what to do today. I know a trail run is out, unless I like running through mud bogs every 10 feet. My bike is feeling good and I am going to do that tomorrow - perhaps I should run today - that is where my ability is lacking for the moment. A run it is.

June 17 - June 25

• 6-17-10 -Run 2:15/Bike 2:20 - So it appears that the elements enjoy toying with me this year. The heat/humidity has been brutal - today is no exception. on the run, about :20 in, I had to stop a second in order to cross a main road and thought I would vomit. I went on ahead anyway. The bike was a struggle. At the end of this workout, I was so glad to be done.
• 6-18-10 - Bike 1:30/Swim O.W.S. 1:00 - Again, I feel worn out and ready to get away from the humidity. Mentally, I wasn't into the workouts at all.
• 6-19-10 - Bike 62 Miles - Went out for a "leisurely 62" miles today. It was fun to go to Granville and get ice cream and see some friends I had not seen in awhile.
• 6-20-10 - LEGS UP - DAY OFF
• 6-21-10 - Bike 2:00/Run :50/Swim :40 - Got a decent workout in today. The past few days have been tough on me. So I cam calling this my taper weekend and as soon as this fatigue passes, I hope to get right back into my long workouts again. 68 days remain after today. I am almost down to two months and its starting to seem surreal - as if this Ironman thing is some figment of my imagination - let's hope the pain on race days feels this way too.
• 6-22-10 - Run 2:00 - The heat and my stupidity got the better of me today. I went out for a 3:00:00 run that turned into two. Time got away from me today and i left with nothing in my stomach. About 1.5 hours in, the combination of humidity and heat and the sun beating off the asphalt, I was spent. I came home, put on my new compression socks, and rested. Will try this again but the next time I will eat first.
• 6-23-10 - Swim :40/Bike 2:00 - THIS HUMIDITY IS CRAZY! My body has to be eliminating toxins by the gallon when I train on days like this. Still not feeling 100%, but was able to handle the workout.
• 6-24-10 - Bike 40 miles - The humidity left for a day and the difference in the air was remarkable. my legs did something funny on a hill climb, but nothing painful - just something to keep an eye on more than likely.
• 6-25-10 - Bike 2:00 - Once again - worn out and I am getting annoyed. I rode 2 hours, adjusted my aero bars along the way and was just glad to be done. Skipped out on my swim today - just not feeling it.

Emotional "VOID"

Lately my head has been in a fog. If I try to think about the actual Ironman day, my brain won't allow it. I feel as if I have on blinders that are helping me to focus, helping to keep my eye on the end that is too near and yet not near enough. (PHOTO LEFT: the flat terrain of my bike training).
Lately, I have been in a zone. I know what I have to do and am willing to go do it. I am neither frightened nor excited. I am just existing in this world of the eternal workout. 73 days out from the day of the race and approximately 285 days from the day I signed up. Right now, I don't know how to feel; I just can't quite put my finger on what this emotion is that seems to be overwhelming me. I don't think I have ever felt like this before. (PHOTO RIGHT: The "not so flat terrain" of my bike training).

I know this: I will be ready, I am doing everything I can do to prepare myself so that I will succeed, I do not dread training and actually still rather enjoy each day, and I am thrilled that I chose to take this journey regardless of how much work is required because this is turning out to be one of the best decisions of my life.

June 10 - June 15

6-10-10 - I am slacking on my note-taking. I cannot for the life of me remember what I did for my workout this day. I am guessing 2 Hr bike and :30 minutes run - but who knows. It all seems to be blending together at this point. HA! (PHOTO LEFT: Looking down on a hill that makes me want to to cry just thinking about climbing up it again).

• 6-11-10 - Bike 5:00/Run :18 - the plan for the day started out 3 HR ride/1 HR run and turned into a 5 Hr bike instead. the first two hours were on my own doing some rolling hills. During my ride, I decided that I would go out again later with a couple of riders (you guys know who you are) who are better than me. SO GLAD I DID! I am improving I think and now I feel competent to ride harder and further.
• 6-12-10 - Run 1:50/Bike 2:00 - I wasn't certain what my workout plan had in store considering the weather map called for thunderstorms all day. The plan was to squeeze in a run and get on the B.T. for a couple hours. But, a break in the weather let me get 2 HRS of each in and I couldn't be happier. On the run it rained, I had sweat dripping everywhere so when it rained, it all just ran into my eyes (IT'S BURNING). My old 2:00 hour "loop" is now 1:40 (I have to find more places to run - seriously). I felt good. The bike felt great after the run. My time was the same as if I had not run. Good Training Day.
• 6-13-10 - 100 + Mile Bike (Approx 6.5 hours ride time) - Headed out on an overcast day for a 100+ mile ride that became witness to a few bike crashes (my first where not un-clipping while standing proved traumatic). During a pit-stop I stuffed my face with peanut M&M's and Combos (possible Ironman snacks) and on the way home we were faced with sunshine and headwind on an eternal incline. What a day - chaffing and all - I am over that aspect, but still enjoying the preparation of it all. *NOTE* thanks Bill for busting out a bag of real cherries and strawberries that you had on you the entire trip, but only showcased at the 4:30 mark. I still cannot believe the food stash you had along with you. Great work! Love the adventure of the long ride - Look out Louisville, I am prepping to meet you.
• 6-14-10 - Bike 1:30/Run :40/O.W.S. 1:00 - Headed out (AGAIN) under overcast skies for a quick ride, ran :40 in the rising humidity and ended the day with an O.W.S. at Alum. 3 loops, no waiver in swim time. I guess this means my endurance on the swim is fair. Overall, a good, hot, and humid day.
• 6-15-10 - Bike 3:00 - Another hot, humid ride, but how lucky am I to be doing this? At this point (approx 2.5 months out) I am nervous, excited, doubtful, happy, strong and patiently completing each days' session with an enduring patience. I know I will be ready. I will make sure that I am, but the unknown looms out before me like the open sea (It is beautiful and massive and with a mind all its own). The next few months will be filling in the details, making sure I am stronger and ready.

June...ish

So it's June. I thought the summer would never get here and I would have a life-time to prepare for my first Ironman. This, however is not the case - obviously. June so far has a tricky month. I feel as though I am weather.com's biggest fan as I am constantly checking the radar for storms. There has been quite a bit of rain, but not enough to mess with great workouts (as long as I am not afraid of getting soaked on occasion). The humidity has been extremely high and I am slowly getting used to it. I have learned that taking in more than just water is imperative if I want to keep from passing out while biking. Who knew sodium and electrolytes could be such a wonderful thing. (PHOTO: Taking a picture of myself outside of a pizza shop - I have had "food" on the brain lately).

June is a learning experience. I am making sure that I am paying attention to my power and my lack-there-of. I am trying new foods and attempting to mix my electrolyte drinks with just the right amount of water (keeping extra in the car for after). This is it. It is June. Then there is July. After that - August and hopefully by the end of that one I will be able to consider myself an Ironman

June3rd - June 9th
(PHOTO: I went through my first tire. That brown smudge in the middle is actually where fibers are peeking through the rubber - HA!)

• 6-3-10 -Bike 2:30/Run :40 - Again, I felt good. I still have a lot of hill work to do so I don't kill myself later on. The run was hard - not sure why but sweat was pouring off of me - oh yeah!
• 6-4-10 - Bike 2:00/Swim 1:00 - The bike felt great today. I chose a semi-hilly course to give myself more exposure to what I will face in Louisville. Swim was better than on the 2nd because I put on my sleeveless wetsuit in order free up my arms - lovely.
• 6-5-10 - Run 1:20 - A good note is this: I have had to add an additional mile to my 1:15:00 run in order to ensure the time is met. Another note: the humidity was so high, I had buckets of sweat running down my face after 5 minutes. However, it seems once our core temperature reaches a high, it levels out - let's hope so.
• 6-6-10 - Bike 3:20:00/Run :30 - Humidity is tentatively gone. Make way for the wind! I had a good ride. I cam riding around a corner to head for another hour only to find my road stripped for blacktopping - whoops! Turning around was fine. It was nice outside. my run was crap for only the first 10 minutes, after that I felt really good and actually considered running a little further, but not time, had to get home.
• 6-7-10 - Bike 2:45 Hills/O.W.S. :45 - I woke up today feeling nauseous. I think training in this heat is finally getting to me a little. However...headed out for a hilly ride today! I've ridden this specific course once before and only one hill killed me this time instead of four hills - loving progress...I want to see more and more and more...guess that part is all up to me.
• Open water swimming is great. It is different (of course) and is wearing me out (as opposed to the pool) where I am not tired really at all afterward - guess more implementation of open water swimming is in order. QUESTION: open water or pool swimming from here on out? Which is better in preparation? My thinking is...O.W. However, I have been using a wetsuit due to the water temperature. Louisville, wetsuits may be illegal, train in a wetsuit until the water is speed suit ready? So many questions...shoulder is doing well in the sleeveless wetsuit.
• 6-8-10- Bike 2:00/Run :49 - I found a great 2:00:00 loop that has a few more rolling hills/some flat/good roads. 8th day in a row and I could not believe how amazing my legs felt. They were a little quirky the first 5 minutes, but no issues and a great ride. My run was fantastic also! My "hour" path I used last summer after my ride has now turned into a :49 path. Obviously I need to figure something else out because I hate to double back on a run - BORING! But, awesome for feeling fabulous on the run and bike. Its supposed to rain - don't want to waste a day off when its nice you know.
• 6-9-10 - DAY OFF
  FUNNY: I headed out for a ride this week. As soon as I got on the road, I went to check my mirror on my helmet and though, "where is my mirror?" As I went to touch my head to see what could possibly be wrong, I realized, no helmet.

The Open Water

June 2nd

6-3-10 - Run :52/ Bike 1:35/ Swim (open water) 2 miles - Now that the warmer weather is upon us, it is time to bust out the wetsuits and speed suits, wiggle my way into them (as they fit like a giant rubber band) and wade out into the open water to practice sighting. Unlike the pool, there is not a nice, neat black line painted on the bottom of other bodies of water and I am pretty sure no one is going to paint any lines in the sludge of the Ohio River come race day. Therefore, practice with sighting (or keeping an eye on the end point) is extremely important and can be tricky. (PHOTO: Alum Creek State Park Beach where I practice sighting through the "green" water).

The first matter of business in swimming in the chilly open water is to get the wetsuit on. June 3rd was my first attempt (aside from trying it on when it arrived in the mail). After some instruction and some tugging and pulling, I finally got the thing over my calves and butt and onto my body. (PHOTO RIGHT: Me trying to get the wetsuit on, I look happy don't I?).

The first thing I noted was how hot being in the wetsuit was. The temperature outside was toasty which is probably the cause. The second thing I noted was how tight and restrictive this thing was. However, once in the water, I was glad I had the warmth of the wetsuit. Also, having never been in the water with a wetsuit on, I didn't realize how buoyant these things are. I could actually lay on my back and float without moving!! That was very cool.

Off we went into the open water, pulling, pulling, pulling...not really kicking much and not really needing to, the wetsuit was a like a body-pull-buoy - it kept my legs on the surface and I was loving it. What I was not loving was how restrictive the arms were. I felt as though my arms weren't moving very much as the wetsuit kept trying to snap them back to my sides. I do have a sleeveless wetsuit for races and for practice when the weather and water warms up a bit, and I am excited to try it out so that my poor arms can move. (PHOTO LEFT: Finally, into my wetsuit - another small feat accomplished).

Sighting, it turns out, is not as difficult as I anticipated it would be. The water was, as expected and very "green". Swimming in the open water goes a lot more quickly than swimming in a pool where you are forced to change directions every 25 yards/meters. It is a little more challenging, but I love the change of scenery and the diversity open water swimming brings to the training process. Open water swim - check!

Another Trail Adventure

May 28th & June 1st

Some days I just feel like running and not on the sidewalk, through a neighborhood, or down a bike trail. Some days I just want something a little more exciting, a little more challenging. Enter the Alum Creek Mountain Bike Trail. (PHOTOS: Alum Creek State Park Mountain Bike Trail: Phase 1).

5-28-10 - Run 2:06 (Trail run)/Swim 4,000 yards - As previously noted, I did my first trail run at Mohican and would still love to go there again. However, the Alum path is a ten minute drive, Mohican is more like 1 hour and 20 minutes. For convenience sake, I decided to run the trail twice (each loop is 6 miles) and on May 28th, I headed out. I have ridden this path on a mountain bike and even run it in the winter. But, nothing is the same in the wilderness from one day to the next. It was humid and what I found very quickly was that it was quite the obstacle course of bridges and loops, stone piles and roots. The obstacles made it quite the run. This path is more twisted, but it was amazing. I felt great after the run was over and glad I decided to run the Alum trail.

6-1-10 - Run 18 miles (trail miles) - NOTE: 1st 6 miles (1:05), 2nd 6 miles (1:07), 3rd 6miles (1:09). A muddy, slippery path was my long run today. The 1st 6 miles went slower than I thought it would, the 2nd 6 wasn't too bad (my legs would beg to differ as they started to suggest I not go out for a 3rd 6 miles). The 2nd 6 miles went pretty quickly. I have no idea what I was thinking about other than not falling on my face and about how I would complete a 3rd set of 6. By the 3rd 6 miles, I was ready to go home. But, as I stood by my car, re-filling my water bottle and consuming my second PowerBar Gel Pack (still disgusting), I thought about finishing my goal of a 3rd 6 miles and when would I get those 18 miles in. I couldn't wait until next week - that would not be an option. I was ready to do them now, I had prepared to do them now and I was going to do them - NOW.

Reluctantly I headed out for my 3rd set of 6. Admittedly, I zoned out for the first 4.5 miles. I don't remember what went through my mind aside from not falling down and just getting to the end. I knew that each step I took would get me to the finish that much faster.

NOTE: Something I have noticed about myself through this process (and perhaps this is the same with most who attempt any endurance event) When I set out to complete a certain number of miles or a specific time, I mentally prepare myself for those miles. If I try to go over or think about another period of time, my mind tells me that I am done and can quit. For example, when I first completed the 12 miles of the trail, I knew that at 12 miles, I was done. However, when I came out to do 18 miles, I knew that when I was at the end of 18 miles, I could stop - nothing else would do. During the TOSRV ride, I knew that I had to complete 226 miles. However, had it been 150 miles, my mind would have shut down at the end of the 150. I truly think that during Ironman, my mind will get me through. My mind will know that I cannot stop until have complete the total 140.6 miles of the race and after that is done, mentally I will shut down. The mind is truly powerful, as I am learning through this journey - it can pretty much get you through anything if you train it to help your body.

The last mile of the 18 was pretty bad. I was clenching my teeth and grunting to get up the "hills". About .25 miles from the finish, I tripped over a crazy big root and almost face-planted. It did, however wake me up and I was forced out of my "zone" where I had been hiding for the last hour. Finally, I reached the finish. Another long trail run complete. I had accomplished yet another personal goal (small as it may be to some, large to others). Goals are for "crushing" and I plan to destroy many more during the next few months.

NOTE FROM THE DAY AFTER: I was not sore the day after the 18-mile trail run - PROGRESS! The only thing that hurt on my entire body was my finger....????