Normally I am like a little kid at Christmas when it comes to race week, but that isn't the case this time. I have the Toughman Utah Half 70.3 on Saturday and I can't help but feel a little hesitant about it. This is mainly because I don't feel ready! I seriously haven't trained the way I would have wanted to for many reasons. One, I gave myself a mental and physical break following IMTX for about 4-6 weeks. I trained, but it was unstructured what I want, when I want to kind of thing. I needed that break.
After that break, I started in with a training plan and that went well for another 4 weeks, then injury reared it's ugly head. It started with an inner thigh issue, just on the inner side of my knee. Then I think that aggravated my IT band on the other side of the same knee. I have been battling that for the past month. I can still swim and bike all I want, but the run has been pretty much non-existent. I have biked and swam, but even though these are "cleared" activities with the PT, it still bothers me, so I have not done those to the extent that I should.
So, this race will be interesting to say the least. I know that the bike and swim will probably be decent, but the run will be a train wreck. I had high hopes for this race as it is a very fast and flat course, and I was hoping for a PR, but I don't really think that is in the cards. I am more worried about the St. George marathon in October! With pretty much no running the last 4 weeks, it has seriously derailed the training plan I was following for that. Ugh!
I will have a race report as always, and any race is better than no race, so I will go and enjoy all that the sport has to offer. In the meantime, Happy Training and Racing all!
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Monday, July 27, 2015
Swimming with the Iron Cowboy on Day 50!
Many of you in the endurance sports world have probably heard by now of James Lawrence aka The Iron Cowboy. Already the world record holder for the most Ironman Triathlons completed within one year, he apparently wanted more, and this summer pulled off what many people said could not be done. He set out to complete 50 Ironman distance triathlons in 50 states within 50 consecutive days, all while working with the Jamie Oliver Foundation to raise money and awareness for child hood obesity.
Day 50 for him was back in Utah, our shared home state. He is also a member of the same tri club I am in, the Salt Lake Tri Club. It was set up for anyone that wanted to join him for any part of the day. I figured I would be safe and be able to keep up for the swim. I woke up at 3 am my time to drive down to Deer Creek Reservoir to do the swim that was to start at 5:30. I wasn't familiar with the area, so I wanted to make sure that I gave myself plenty of time to get there and find it. It turned out to be no problem at all, and I was there early, which was also fine.
While waiting for him to come out and swim, I was standing around with Rory and Courtney from my tri club and Rory introduced me to Matt Fitzgerald. Say what?!? This was the same guy that has written tons of books and training plans for running and triathlon, including the plan I used to get through IMTX. It was beyond cool to meet him. He had flown in from California just for this event and would be running the marathon with him later. We talked for a bit and he couldn't have been more down to earth and approachable, and even humored this fan with a picture. So cool!
The swim was in the Wahlberg Bay area of Deer Creek Reservoir. I haven't swam here before, and as we all got into the water to swim, I wasn't impressed at first. It was very shallow and murky and I didn't love that. It cleared out after the first couple hundred yards though and was nice. Water temp was about 72 from what everyone was saying. The water actually felt good because air temperature was in the high 40's, low 50's. I was glad that I had brought my wetsuit!
I started out and got ahead of the main group. I then noticed the group was thinning as we got further out and I stopped to get oriented to where we were. Just a few yards behind me was James and his Wingmen and a couple of others. I decided to stick with them. This was pretty cool to go stroke for stroke with them and that is what I did the remainder of the swim. I would stop when they did, and followed their lead since there really wasn't a marked course or anything like that. We turned around when we got (according to their watches) around 1.1 miles out. We turned around and it seemed that James was confused. He relied heavily on his Wingmen for guidance. He was stopping more frequently and then he wasn't responding to their questions. They pulled him over to the shore and saw that he was shaking like a leaf and freezing. Though the water temp wasn't bad, when you have virtually no body fat for insulation as James does NOT, even with a wetsuit, he was shivering and starting to get hypothermic. Another guy in the group took off his full sleeve wetsuit and put it over the one he already had on and he was able to continue. It was a very cool demonstration of team work and perseverance. Any other person would have said ENOUGH ALREADY and quit. That is not even in this guy's vocabulary. It was a matter of finding the problem, fixing it and continuing it. When we got back to where we started, they still weren't at the exact distance needed, so they continued to swim in the zig zag motion in that shallow part to make sure they were true to what they said they were going to do, to the exact yardage. These guys are the real deal.
After getting out of the water, James needed time to get warmed up and prepare for the bike, it probably took about a half hour until he was ready to start the bike. I visited with others while we waited and the energy was electric among this group. Apparently 80-90 had registered to do the swim, but only about 10-12 of us did the whole distance of 2.4 miles with him. There were literally hundreds of bikers through out the day that would join him later. It was very cool do be part of history as he accomplished what virtually everyone said could not be done. I walked away inspired and realizing that my own excuses are pretty pathetic when I want to stay in bed to avoid a 3 mile run on some days. Suck it up Buttercup!!
In the meantime, I still have 4 weeks until the Utah Half and then another couple months until the StG Marathon. I am torn on these. Part of me wants to be done already with the season, but I am also glad that I have these events to keep me training, as I think I would become a couch potato at this point without them. I am coming back off 2 weeks of no running due to a pulled groin muscle, so that adds to some frustration I have had. But, no more excuses. Simply onward and upward!
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
HR Rant
I am so over these stupid things. I have been trying Heart Rate training for almost a year now and you know what? I think it sucks! I have tried to give it time, be patient, tried a gazillion different ways of configuring my zones and you know what? I am either doing it completely wrong or it just isn't what it is cracked up to be. Both are highly possible.
Rant #1 - I hate the dang strap. It is awkward, one more piece of gear to remember prior to work outs, if chafes, and I have a hard time believing that we can send a man to the moon, but this is really the best way we can monitor heart rate on an athlete? I really would love for Garmin to find a way to do it without the strap. have sensors on the back of the watch for Pete's sake!
Rant #2 - HR is highly variable. One day a "Zone 2" can feel comfy. The next day is feels pathetically slow. If it is really hot and humid, it feels hard. Most days Zone 2 for me feels like a walk. Literally. Zone 2 for me is about a 14 minute mile. That is a walk, folks! But in trying to "give it a chance" I have tried to stay in Zone 2 and feel like I barely break a sweat. I call them bag runs. Because I want to put a giant bag over my head so no one recognizes me on the run!
Rant #3 - As much as I hate HR training, it does provide good data and I am all about the TSS scores and all in TP, so I feel the need to wear it for data sakes. It literally provides no score with out a HR data. Ugh! So I feel tied to the dang thing!
That's my rant for the day. I may try to meet with people in my tri club to more accurately nail this sucker down and maybe once and for all figure out this is supposed to work!
I much prefer to just go ride. And run. And swim. Just go by feel! If I am feeling good, I will push it that day. If not, back off. If I know I am doing a long run, I will settle in to whatever I feel I can maintain that day for that distance. I am LOVING the fact that my marathon training plan doesn't even mention heart rate! My IMTX plan was dictated entirely by HR! This has been a nice break :)
Rant over. Carry on. Happy Training and racing all!
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Rock Cliff Oly Race Report and Catch up
I realized it's been awhile since I last posted here. I even completed a race two weeks ago that hasn't yet seen a race report! I did the Rock Cliff Olympic again this year (I did it 2 years ago). Here's the short version:
-I had a good swim, though not as good as 2 years ago. I loved that the water level was much higher than last time, so we were spared the .25 mile run through duck poop
-The bike was still deceptively hard, but gorgeous
-The run sucked. Hard, hot, dusty and slow
-This is the hardest Olympic Distance race I have done other than Rage in Vegas
-I was smoking crack to do this distance and this difficulty of a course just 4 weeks post IMTX. My body hated me!
- The parking situation was greatly improved with the addition of VIP parking with my Triple Play registration. Thanks Aaron!!
-I will not do this race again as an Oly, but it would be good as a Sprint...challenging yet not brutal.
In other updates, as of this past week, I am finally feeling like myself again post IMTX. Man, folks aren't kidding when they say that this is a race that takes weeks to recover and not days. It's amazing how much of a toll it takes on your body! Even once the sun burn was gone, the blisters were healed, and the muscles were no longer sore, there was still a subtle residual fatigue to deal with. I also felt like I was swimming, biking and running through jello. My HR would spike much sooner than I would expect and under not so stressful situations. Alas, 6 weeks post race, I am finally feeling like myself again :)
I have gotten back into a training routine as I still have the Utah Half 70.3 at the end of the summer and the StG Marathon in October. Last week was a great week training wise! I nailed my splits for a track speed work out I was totally intimidated by. I biked a very hot 46.6 miles up to our church camp out up at Chrystal Hot Springs. I did it in the middle of the day in 100 degree temps. It was brutal, but I felt like a rock star when I was done. I also completed my longest run since IMTX (10 miles) with Alicia yesterday. I have missed her and I's long runs together! And knowing she was waiting for me helped get my butt out the door!
Today I have been following my friends online as they race IMCDA. It has been fun and even made me nostalgic about my own IM experience. However, it will still be awhile before I do another. Life circumstances just won't permit it as soon as I would like. There is still plenty to be enjoyed and done in this sport though and I am looking forward to that for the next few years :)
In the meantime, Happy Training and Racing all!
-I had a good swim, though not as good as 2 years ago. I loved that the water level was much higher than last time, so we were spared the .25 mile run through duck poop
-The bike was still deceptively hard, but gorgeous
-The run sucked. Hard, hot, dusty and slow
-This is the hardest Olympic Distance race I have done other than Rage in Vegas
-I was smoking crack to do this distance and this difficulty of a course just 4 weeks post IMTX. My body hated me!
- The parking situation was greatly improved with the addition of VIP parking with my Triple Play registration. Thanks Aaron!!
-I will not do this race again as an Oly, but it would be good as a Sprint...challenging yet not brutal.
In other updates, as of this past week, I am finally feeling like myself again post IMTX. Man, folks aren't kidding when they say that this is a race that takes weeks to recover and not days. It's amazing how much of a toll it takes on your body! Even once the sun burn was gone, the blisters were healed, and the muscles were no longer sore, there was still a subtle residual fatigue to deal with. I also felt like I was swimming, biking and running through jello. My HR would spike much sooner than I would expect and under not so stressful situations. Alas, 6 weeks post race, I am finally feeling like myself again :)
I have gotten back into a training routine as I still have the Utah Half 70.3 at the end of the summer and the StG Marathon in October. Last week was a great week training wise! I nailed my splits for a track speed work out I was totally intimidated by. I biked a very hot 46.6 miles up to our church camp out up at Chrystal Hot Springs. I did it in the middle of the day in 100 degree temps. It was brutal, but I felt like a rock star when I was done. I also completed my longest run since IMTX (10 miles) with Alicia yesterday. I have missed her and I's long runs together! And knowing she was waiting for me helped get my butt out the door!
Today I have been following my friends online as they race IMCDA. It has been fun and even made me nostalgic about my own IM experience. However, it will still be awhile before I do another. Life circumstances just won't permit it as soon as I would like. There is still plenty to be enjoyed and done in this sport though and I am looking forward to that for the next few years :)
In the meantime, Happy Training and Racing all!
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Ironman made me slow and fat
There are so many misconceptions about Ironman athletes. I had them before I became one! I always thought that everyone that was into endurance sports looked like Rinnie or Crowie. I was surprised and relieved when I did my first race back in 2010 at how there were every shape and size and age out on the course. I loved it and it inspired me and still does!
However, when I signed up for an Ironman, I thought I would FINALLY drop those last 10 pounds or so that I wanted to. I thought the sheer volume of the training would make me faster as well. Sadly though, that simply wasn't true, and the more that I talk to other Ironman finishers, it isn't unusual either!
Since embracing HR training almost a year ago (I am still on the fence about this by the way, not totally sold on it) I found that most of my training for IM was in "Zone 2", which is pretty slow if you stick to it strictly. I tried to stay there and follow my plan like it said to, but I found that because I was always running or riding slow, guess what? I am still slow!! In some ways I feel like I am slower than I was before, especially with my running! Now, that being said, I can go forever at that same slow pace, I have the endurance of a diesel engine, but no speed. Kinda frustrating!
And as for shedding the weight that I want to get rid of, that didn't happen either. I found that the nutritionist I visited was way off on what she told me to take in during training in order to train and lose weight at the same time. She recommended just 1600 calories a day. Yeah, um, I tried that for a day or two and I was STARVING. I refused to not feed or fuel my body like it needed to compensate for the heavy training load and ever increasing volume. But therein lies the issue. You have to find a fine balance between how much it requires to fuel and recovery properly but at the same time not go crazy too. During IM training, I ate well, meaning that I ate pretty dang clean, and pretty consistently as well. I never let myself get hungry eating every 3 hours or so. I did actually gain a few pounds, which is frustrating, but I am not sure if that is fat or muscle because I also incorporated strength training for the first time as well. Who knows. I also think that you metabolism is trying to figure what the heck is going on with this new volume load and increase in food, so it kinda hangs on to what it can. And lets face it...I am getting older, so its not as easy to drop weight like I would like too.
Since IMTX ended, I have wanted to eat nonstop! My body hasn't figured out that stuff is over now, so it's back to normal. I need to adjust and I've tried to eat clean, but it is hard. I love Oreos too much!
I officially start my training for the St. George Marathon on Monday. I am excited to be back on a plan, but also this one is a pretty ambitious plan and incorporates speed work and intervals since I am trying to go sub 4 on this one. We will see how that works out, but I am excited to see if I can't try to work on building some speed with this new plan. I am also going to get more strict about what I eat and get back to the gym for weight training. I have found that I am most successful with the weigh issue when I incorporate resistance training into my routine. Nothing major, but 3-4 times a week seems to help.
So, if you are in this boat of getting slower and fatter while endurance training, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! It's frustrating! More and more I am convinced that weight management is not simply calories in vs calories out. If that were the case I would weigh nothing if you looked at myfitnesspal files while I was in my training. I always had a calorie deficit at the end of every day and still do, yet nothing is moving.
There's my rant for the day. At the end of the day, I try not to get bogged down in how I look in race pics, I am not thrilled with it. Instead I say prayers of thanks for the amazing things my body CAN do. I am always grateful for the opportunity to do what we do, and never take that for granted. If I get to do it with a little more junk in the trunk, than that beats not being able to do it at all. So onward and upwards my friends!
So what's next? I have the rest of this week as my time off ( I allowed myself 4 weeks of recovery post IMTX) and then Monday my training plan for the St. George marathon begins. I also do have the Utah Half in August as well, but my plan is going to mainly focus on the run and the marathon. I have enjoyed some down time, but honestly feel a little lost looking into Training Peaks and not having a plan to follow. It will be nice to get back into a training mode :)
However, when I signed up for an Ironman, I thought I would FINALLY drop those last 10 pounds or so that I wanted to. I thought the sheer volume of the training would make me faster as well. Sadly though, that simply wasn't true, and the more that I talk to other Ironman finishers, it isn't unusual either!
Since embracing HR training almost a year ago (I am still on the fence about this by the way, not totally sold on it) I found that most of my training for IM was in "Zone 2", which is pretty slow if you stick to it strictly. I tried to stay there and follow my plan like it said to, but I found that because I was always running or riding slow, guess what? I am still slow!! In some ways I feel like I am slower than I was before, especially with my running! Now, that being said, I can go forever at that same slow pace, I have the endurance of a diesel engine, but no speed. Kinda frustrating!
And as for shedding the weight that I want to get rid of, that didn't happen either. I found that the nutritionist I visited was way off on what she told me to take in during training in order to train and lose weight at the same time. She recommended just 1600 calories a day. Yeah, um, I tried that for a day or two and I was STARVING. I refused to not feed or fuel my body like it needed to compensate for the heavy training load and ever increasing volume. But therein lies the issue. You have to find a fine balance between how much it requires to fuel and recovery properly but at the same time not go crazy too. During IM training, I ate well, meaning that I ate pretty dang clean, and pretty consistently as well. I never let myself get hungry eating every 3 hours or so. I did actually gain a few pounds, which is frustrating, but I am not sure if that is fat or muscle because I also incorporated strength training for the first time as well. Who knows. I also think that you metabolism is trying to figure what the heck is going on with this new volume load and increase in food, so it kinda hangs on to what it can. And lets face it...I am getting older, so its not as easy to drop weight like I would like too.
Since IMTX ended, I have wanted to eat nonstop! My body hasn't figured out that stuff is over now, so it's back to normal. I need to adjust and I've tried to eat clean, but it is hard. I love Oreos too much!
I officially start my training for the St. George Marathon on Monday. I am excited to be back on a plan, but also this one is a pretty ambitious plan and incorporates speed work and intervals since I am trying to go sub 4 on this one. We will see how that works out, but I am excited to see if I can't try to work on building some speed with this new plan. I am also going to get more strict about what I eat and get back to the gym for weight training. I have found that I am most successful with the weigh issue when I incorporate resistance training into my routine. Nothing major, but 3-4 times a week seems to help.
So, if you are in this boat of getting slower and fatter while endurance training, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! It's frustrating! More and more I am convinced that weight management is not simply calories in vs calories out. If that were the case I would weigh nothing if you looked at myfitnesspal files while I was in my training. I always had a calorie deficit at the end of every day and still do, yet nothing is moving.
There's my rant for the day. At the end of the day, I try not to get bogged down in how I look in race pics, I am not thrilled with it. Instead I say prayers of thanks for the amazing things my body CAN do. I am always grateful for the opportunity to do what we do, and never take that for granted. If I get to do it with a little more junk in the trunk, than that beats not being able to do it at all. So onward and upwards my friends!
So what's next? I have the rest of this week as my time off ( I allowed myself 4 weeks of recovery post IMTX) and then Monday my training plan for the St. George marathon begins. I also do have the Utah Half in August as well, but my plan is going to mainly focus on the run and the marathon. I have enjoyed some down time, but honestly feel a little lost looking into Training Peaks and not having a plan to follow. It will be nice to get back into a training mode :)
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Salem Spring Sprint Triathlon Race Report
I signed up for the Triple Play with Racetri this year. This means I have to complete the Salem Spring Sprint, the Rock Cliff Olympic (June 13) and the Utah Half 70.3 (August 22). When you complete all of those you get a special award after the Utah Half. I was all game for this and immediately agreed and registered. Then I looked closer at the dates of the events. This meant that just two weeks after IMTX I would have a sprint and just two weeks after that an Olympic. I have heard various things about how long IM recovery takes, and having never done one, I figured it would be a complete mess, but I would go anyway.
Then I tried my first two workouts this past week since IMTX. My attempt Monday morning at a swim (just 9 days post IMTX) was PATHETIC. I felt like lead the whole time. It took all I could to force 25 minutes, and it was a pathetically slow 25 minutes at that. Then I attempted a bike ride out to the marina and back. Flat, easy 15 miles. I felt great at the time, but after I got home I felt like I had done a century ride. So, I did nothing else the rest of the week and was just hoping to not die in this race! I was pretty sure it would be comical!
Due to it being a typical crazy Saturday at our house, the IronSherpa wasn't able to make it. I was fully prepared to make the trek to Salem on my own, but IronKid #1 wanted to come. I was surprised that he wanted to, but thrilled at the same time. I explained we would have to get up pathetically early and leave, and it would mean a long car drive (1.5 hours one way) and lots of waiting. He said if I bought him a drink and snack at the gas station he wouldn't complain. DONE!
Pre-race:
IronKid #1 and I headed down to the race. I haven't done this one before and am not that familiar with the area, but we were still able to find it okay. It was a blast hanging with my oldest. He's a hoot! I thoroughly enjoyed his company. Great kid!
We got to the race and he helped me with my bike, offered to carry stuff, etc. What a great help! He also held my stuff while I got my race packet and timing chip.
It was fun to have reserved racking as being a Triple Play participant. Loved this! No crowded racks at all! I also got to see several of my friends from my tri club. It was shaping up to be a great morning!
SWIM:
This was a 800 meter swim in the Salem Pond. Not a huge pond by any means, and it did look pretty nasty. However, after swimming in Lake Woodlands and the Utah Lake, it wasn't so bad :). Typical greenish duck pond. I was in the 35+ Women's wave, so we went very last. I stayed dead on straight for the first two swim buoys, and I started off too fast too. My heart was beating through my wetsuit and I was struggling to breathe. I dialed it down a notch, but had a hard time finding the 3rd buoy that was on the other side of the bridge. I am not a straight swimmer, and I noticed I veered way too far to the right. Dang it, Katie! Rookie mistake! I should totally know better! I was glad to find the buoy and stayed on course for the rest of the swim. I did notice however, that when I would put my head up to breathe, the water smelled bad. Eeewwwww!
I finished the swim and was glad to be out of the water. My heart rate was crazy high, so I knew that I needed to chill a bit on the bike to bring it back down.
Final Swim Time: 15:01, fastest swim split of my age group, ....HECK YEAH!!!
T1:
I wanted a really fast transition because I have been working on them. Apparently it paid off, my T1 time was 1:23! Very pleased!
I must note two things here. 1) My transition was only this fast because some nice spectator decided to act as a wetsuit stripper and got it off super quick 2) My truly pathetic/embarrassing/what the hell was I thinking moment happened here when I went to get my bike off of the rack and took down the entire rack with it. Since I am a fast swimmer, there were still a ton of bikes on it. Whoops! Thanks heaven for good volunteers!!
BIKE:
This is a two loop 12 mile bike course. It starts off circling the pond then up a short, but steep, hill. Once to the top of that hill it is a false flat with climbing for a bit after that. No real chance to settle into aero until you are a couple of miles into it. However, the second half of this loop is FAST! I loved it and at one point got up to 31 mph. I was pleased with how good I was still feeling! My heart rate was high, but then again, I reminded myself that this is a sprint, not an IM, so no need to get into Zone 2! I was supposed to be working hard! I decided to ignore HR for this race and just go as hard as I could stand. I was especially pleased with how good I felt, so I decided to put the pedal on the gas until I ran out :)
First bike loop was fun, but I was glad to pass several people that were slow and had no clue what ON YOUR LEFT means. Move over people! I am well aware there are people faster than me, and when they say that, I get over! Apparently several people didn't get the memo on this. The second loop was more spread out, and I didn't have so much of this issue then. I was able to power up the hills, and tuck in on the down. I also passed many people on this course. I felt very fast and strong on this bike...it's about freaking time I felt like this on the bike!
Final bike split for this race was 42:35...second fastest bike in my division. Man, some really crappy cyclists must have been on the course today if that was 2nd!
T2:
Again, I wanted this to be crazy fast. Though I have been practicing flying dismounts, I decided against it seeing as how the bike dismount area was at the bottom of a decent hill. Nope, not happening. Still got off the bike fast and quickly switched shoes. Decided to go sockless again for the run since this worked well for me at Icebreaker.
Final T2 time was 57 seconds.....HECK YEAH!! First time I have even been under a minute on transition! In and out Baby!
RUN:
This is a simple, and pretty boring 5k run along the chip seal roads and neighborhoods near the pond. There is another short steep hill, but it isn't bad. I was running comfortably hard, and my run mile splits were 9:51, 10:22 (where the hill is), 9:19, and 8:27 for the last .1 mile ;) This made for a final run time of 30:36 or 9:46 avg pace. Second fastest run in my division as well. I will definitely take that!
Final Race time for Salem Spring 1:30:36.
POST RACE:
IronKid #1 found me and wanted me to sneak him a bagel from the finish line food :) I then mingled with other friends and IronKid checked the results to see that I had podiumed with a second place finish for my age group! What the crap? I was so excited by this! I literally had no expectations for this race, so I was thrilled and surprised at the same time. We hung out for the awards ceremony, only to also see that my friend Brandy had finished right behind me for the #3 spot! How fun to podium with a friend! It was a great day!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I loved this race, and not just because I landed on the podium. I love the course, and I was reminded how much fun, yet hard, a sprint can be! It is a total different kind of racing, it is all about going as hard as you can! Totally different from the Ironman, when you have to pace yourself and go long. I really think that I could be content doing the short distances and taking on a different kind of challenge for awhile after this. Plus, the training would be fun, I need to focus on speed anyhow! Definitely gives me something to think about for 2016 :)
Also, another shot out to Racetri. I love these guys! I love their races! They seriously know how to take care of their athletes! The races are always fun, yet challenging, and I see myself doing many more in the future! The only thing I didn't love about this race was the orange shirt. I look like a traffic cone in it! But they more than made up for it with the awesome medals and awards!
WHAT'S NEXT?
School is out on Wednesday, so I am looking forward to my summer off and some good training, as well as more down time with the IronKids. I have the Rock Cliff Olympic in two weeks, then nothing until the Utah Half in August. However, I did get into the St. George Marathon for October 3, so I will officially start my training plan for that right after Rock Cliff.
I am excited to be "back". The past two weeks were tough and I hated the residual fatigue and crappy workouts. I am glad that I am back on a plan, of some sort. Technically I have 2 weeks until my marathon training officially begins, and I am going to continue doing what I want and only if I feel like it until then, as I don't want to take on too much too soon. Ironman takes a lot out of you! Though I do feel lost without a training plan....
In the meantime, Happy training and Racing all!!
 |
| Race Day Selfie with this cutie! |
Due to it being a typical crazy Saturday at our house, the IronSherpa wasn't able to make it. I was fully prepared to make the trek to Salem on my own, but IronKid #1 wanted to come. I was surprised that he wanted to, but thrilled at the same time. I explained we would have to get up pathetically early and leave, and it would mean a long car drive (1.5 hours one way) and lots of waiting. He said if I bought him a drink and snack at the gas station he wouldn't complain. DONE!
Pre-race:
IronKid #1 and I headed down to the race. I haven't done this one before and am not that familiar with the area, but we were still able to find it okay. It was a blast hanging with my oldest. He's a hoot! I thoroughly enjoyed his company. Great kid!
We got to the race and he helped me with my bike, offered to carry stuff, etc. What a great help! He also held my stuff while I got my race packet and timing chip.
It was fun to have reserved racking as being a Triple Play participant. Loved this! No crowded racks at all! I also got to see several of my friends from my tri club. It was shaping up to be a great morning!
SWIM:
This was a 800 meter swim in the Salem Pond. Not a huge pond by any means, and it did look pretty nasty. However, after swimming in Lake Woodlands and the Utah Lake, it wasn't so bad :). Typical greenish duck pond. I was in the 35+ Women's wave, so we went very last. I stayed dead on straight for the first two swim buoys, and I started off too fast too. My heart was beating through my wetsuit and I was struggling to breathe. I dialed it down a notch, but had a hard time finding the 3rd buoy that was on the other side of the bridge. I am not a straight swimmer, and I noticed I veered way too far to the right. Dang it, Katie! Rookie mistake! I should totally know better! I was glad to find the buoy and stayed on course for the rest of the swim. I did notice however, that when I would put my head up to breathe, the water smelled bad. Eeewwwww!
I finished the swim and was glad to be out of the water. My heart rate was crazy high, so I knew that I needed to chill a bit on the bike to bring it back down.
Final Swim Time: 15:01, fastest swim split of my age group, ....HECK YEAH!!!
T1:
I wanted a really fast transition because I have been working on them. Apparently it paid off, my T1 time was 1:23! Very pleased!
I must note two things here. 1) My transition was only this fast because some nice spectator decided to act as a wetsuit stripper and got it off super quick 2) My truly pathetic/embarrassing/what the hell was I thinking moment happened here when I went to get my bike off of the rack and took down the entire rack with it. Since I am a fast swimmer, there were still a ton of bikes on it. Whoops! Thanks heaven for good volunteers!!
BIKE:
This is a two loop 12 mile bike course. It starts off circling the pond then up a short, but steep, hill. Once to the top of that hill it is a false flat with climbing for a bit after that. No real chance to settle into aero until you are a couple of miles into it. However, the second half of this loop is FAST! I loved it and at one point got up to 31 mph. I was pleased with how good I was still feeling! My heart rate was high, but then again, I reminded myself that this is a sprint, not an IM, so no need to get into Zone 2! I was supposed to be working hard! I decided to ignore HR for this race and just go as hard as I could stand. I was especially pleased with how good I felt, so I decided to put the pedal on the gas until I ran out :)
First bike loop was fun, but I was glad to pass several people that were slow and had no clue what ON YOUR LEFT means. Move over people! I am well aware there are people faster than me, and when they say that, I get over! Apparently several people didn't get the memo on this. The second loop was more spread out, and I didn't have so much of this issue then. I was able to power up the hills, and tuck in on the down. I also passed many people on this course. I felt very fast and strong on this bike...it's about freaking time I felt like this on the bike!
Final bike split for this race was 42:35...second fastest bike in my division. Man, some really crappy cyclists must have been on the course today if that was 2nd!
T2:
Again, I wanted this to be crazy fast. Though I have been practicing flying dismounts, I decided against it seeing as how the bike dismount area was at the bottom of a decent hill. Nope, not happening. Still got off the bike fast and quickly switched shoes. Decided to go sockless again for the run since this worked well for me at Icebreaker.
Final T2 time was 57 seconds.....HECK YEAH!! First time I have even been under a minute on transition! In and out Baby!
RUN:
This is a simple, and pretty boring 5k run along the chip seal roads and neighborhoods near the pond. There is another short steep hill, but it isn't bad. I was running comfortably hard, and my run mile splits were 9:51, 10:22 (where the hill is), 9:19, and 8:27 for the last .1 mile ;) This made for a final run time of 30:36 or 9:46 avg pace. Second fastest run in my division as well. I will definitely take that!
Final Race time for Salem Spring 1:30:36.
POST RACE:
 |
| ON THE BLOCK!! |
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I loved this race, and not just because I landed on the podium. I love the course, and I was reminded how much fun, yet hard, a sprint can be! It is a total different kind of racing, it is all about going as hard as you can! Totally different from the Ironman, when you have to pace yourself and go long. I really think that I could be content doing the short distances and taking on a different kind of challenge for awhile after this. Plus, the training would be fun, I need to focus on speed anyhow! Definitely gives me something to think about for 2016 :)
Also, another shot out to Racetri. I love these guys! I love their races! They seriously know how to take care of their athletes! The races are always fun, yet challenging, and I see myself doing many more in the future! The only thing I didn't love about this race was the orange shirt. I look like a traffic cone in it! But they more than made up for it with the awesome medals and awards!
WHAT'S NEXT?
School is out on Wednesday, so I am looking forward to my summer off and some good training, as well as more down time with the IronKids. I have the Rock Cliff Olympic in two weeks, then nothing until the Utah Half in August. However, I did get into the St. George Marathon for October 3, so I will officially start my training plan for that right after Rock Cliff.
I am excited to be "back". The past two weeks were tough and I hated the residual fatigue and crappy workouts. I am glad that I am back on a plan, of some sort. Technically I have 2 weeks until my marathon training officially begins, and I am going to continue doing what I want and only if I feel like it until then, as I don't want to take on too much too soon. Ironman takes a lot out of you! Though I do feel lost without a training plan....
In the meantime, Happy training and Racing all!!
 |
| Two medals, one day...I could get used to this! |
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
One week and some change past IMTX
I have had over a week to process and think about my race. Here are some random thoughts I have had:
1) When they say that IM recovery is a matter of weeks, not days, they mean it. My poor body, though it feels better every day, still has some residual fatigue, and my poor feet are still healing from awful blisters.
2) Trying to exercise for the first time yesterday was comical. I tried a nice easy swim and though it felt good, my poor body was saying NOPE as it felt like lead for most of the swim. It was pathetically slow too!
3) This weekend's sprint tri is going to be even more comical than yesterday's attempt at a swim.
4) I have changed my mind about never doing one again. I know I will, but it won't be for awhile. With my kids and their ages, the fact that I am coaching the swim team next year, and other life circumstances, I can't commit to another one for at least a few more years. And I am okay with that!
5) I didn't realize the commitment that it was until it was past. All of a sudden my schedule is wide open with lack of training 15-18 hours a week. I am not thinking about it constantly. I have also noticed a few times I have even been BORED! Ironman is pretty all consuming while getting ready for it.
6) My injuries/battle wounds from IMTX included awful funky sunburn in weird patterns due to the unevenness of the volunteers putting it on, at least 8 blisters big enough to constitute their own zip code, friction burn from my timing chip, chaffing in weird places, hyper extension of my knee on the bike that a week and half later is still sore, nerve damage in my shoulder/neck from being on my bike for 7+ hours (this is nothing new, just the same old issue with the arthritis, but it has SUCKED the past week), and still crying at the drop of a hat when I think about the finish line :)
7) I won't do another IM until I can upgrade my bike to a TT bike. I love Belle, but if I am going to do another IM, I think it would be best done on a TT. I will also not do another one with out hiring a coach. I feel that I have come as far as I can on my own, and I liked my training plan, but don't know that it was enough. Part of me thinks it was, but I am not so sure. I would really want the personalized guidance and feedback of a coach. Plus, it would be nice to take a lot of the guesswork out of it for me. So, given all of those things, it will be awhile till I do another one :)
8) I can honestly say this was the best and worst thing I ever did. I loved the journey, I loved the people I met, and I am proud of my accomplishment, but DANG it was hard!
1) When they say that IM recovery is a matter of weeks, not days, they mean it. My poor body, though it feels better every day, still has some residual fatigue, and my poor feet are still healing from awful blisters.
2) Trying to exercise for the first time yesterday was comical. I tried a nice easy swim and though it felt good, my poor body was saying NOPE as it felt like lead for most of the swim. It was pathetically slow too!
3) This weekend's sprint tri is going to be even more comical than yesterday's attempt at a swim.
4) I have changed my mind about never doing one again. I know I will, but it won't be for awhile. With my kids and their ages, the fact that I am coaching the swim team next year, and other life circumstances, I can't commit to another one for at least a few more years. And I am okay with that!
5) I didn't realize the commitment that it was until it was past. All of a sudden my schedule is wide open with lack of training 15-18 hours a week. I am not thinking about it constantly. I have also noticed a few times I have even been BORED! Ironman is pretty all consuming while getting ready for it.
6) My injuries/battle wounds from IMTX included awful funky sunburn in weird patterns due to the unevenness of the volunteers putting it on, at least 8 blisters big enough to constitute their own zip code, friction burn from my timing chip, chaffing in weird places, hyper extension of my knee on the bike that a week and half later is still sore, nerve damage in my shoulder/neck from being on my bike for 7+ hours (this is nothing new, just the same old issue with the arthritis, but it has SUCKED the past week), and still crying at the drop of a hat when I think about the finish line :)
7) I won't do another IM until I can upgrade my bike to a TT bike. I love Belle, but if I am going to do another IM, I think it would be best done on a TT. I will also not do another one with out hiring a coach. I feel that I have come as far as I can on my own, and I liked my training plan, but don't know that it was enough. Part of me thinks it was, but I am not so sure. I would really want the personalized guidance and feedback of a coach. Plus, it would be nice to take a lot of the guesswork out of it for me. So, given all of those things, it will be awhile till I do another one :)
8) I can honestly say this was the best and worst thing I ever did. I loved the journey, I loved the people I met, and I am proud of my accomplishment, but DANG it was hard!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)