Recovery

My two-week recovery period is nearing an end, which simultaneously makes me sad and elated. Last weekend was a real test with two consecutive rest days on the calendar. Two. Entire. Days. Luckily I bonked after Friday's swim and was force to push my easy bike to Saturday so after sleeping in I biked for an hour and then met a girlfriend for brunch. Brunch was followed by a leisurely outdoor drink, long walk, pedicure and relaxing dinner in the city. I could get used to this rest thing. Or so I thought.

The boredom kicked in on Sunday. After an easy, hour-long walk (involving a flaky, delicious, almond croissant and coffee) I proceeded to clean my apartment for nearly 7 hours. Yes, 7 hours. I did things like mop, move furniture, wash and iron a bed skirt and reorganize closets. I also did laundry, went to a farmer's market and cooked an elaborate dinner. I was so wiped by the end of the day I couldn't wait to collapse onto the couch. I started to wonder: do triathletes know how to relax?

The good news is my body responded well to the break. I had a little bit of training every day this week and had social plans each night. I was tired but only from waking up early again. The deep, heavy fatigue has vanished and my appetite returned to normal. I did my first running - 15 minutes Tuesday after a ride and 25 minutes yesterday - and was issue-free. I still have a swim today and a small brick workout tomorrow before my recovery week is officially over. I'll enjoy the rest day Sunday before leaping into my IMWI build.

Will I be ready? Only time will tell. For now I'm feeling pretty good and am so happy I decided to do two Ironmans this year. I'm not quite ready for the offseason, but I'm sure I will be on September 13.

I've started my race report, which will be posted in three installments just like last year. If you haven't read one, check out my IMWI report and you'll see why it's taking me so long. For a race as long as Ironman it's hard to do a condensed summary and you wouldn't want to. There is so much to capture, so many memories and experiences. I'm hoping to share them with you soon.

Limits? What limits?

This video is incredible. If you ever wonder why your friends and loved ones pursue this crazy sport, this video will help you understand why. Amazing.

IMLP Recovery and Photos

My Ironman recovery is going swimmingly so far. My soreness has almost faded and I've done two very light workouts - a 20-minute swim that had me gasping after 10 minutes and an easy one-hour bike to get the legs moving. I've foam rolled a little and will do some stretching tonight. Aside from general tiredness, the only lingering effect is the massive swelling I'm experiencing. I look and feel like the Michelin Man and have gained more than five pounds. I spent 30 bucks on strawberries, cherries and blueberries tonight for their natural anti-inflammatory benefits and have been stuffing myself with raw veggies. Since I'm pretty much hungry nonstop I figure I might as well eat nature's Advil and hopefully speed up the flushing of the fluid.

I'm not quite ready to reflect and capture the race experience in my usual three part report, so in the meantime, here are some photos of my IM journey. An incredible one indeed.

Ironman Cinderella Story

Almost exactly 11 months ago from this moment I found out I had torn my plantar fascia just days before my first Ironman. I was devastated. Those who have followed my journey know how that story ended and while it wasn't the race I trained for, it was the race I needed. Fast forward to Ironman Lake Placid 2010 and a completely different scenario. I felt grossly undertrained but tried not to stress it knowing I have a two Ironman year. But I literally had a dream race from start to finish and kept thinking - can this really be happening? I'll share a full report soon, likely mixed in with my Italy pics and memories, but in the meantime, here are the results:

Swim - 1:29:51
Bike - 7:06:06
Run - 4:36:38
Total - 13:31:26

And here's my finish on video:

Italy >>> Ironman

What an incredible two weeks of life I've had. My trip to Italy was beyond spectacular and I'm not sure the posts or photos will ever do it justice. I am compiling the pictures now and will do a series of posts next week by region visited and share the highlights and the ride details for each. We covered nearly 300 miles over seven incredible rides and climbed more than 20,000 feet. It was at once challenging and beautiful, some of the most rewarding time I've ever spent on my bike.
We ended up being there a bit longer than planned so I arrived home late Tuesday night. I worked Wednesday and packed like a maniac Wednesday night in preparation for a 7am departure to Lake Placid Thursday. It's been a complete whirlwind fueled by vacation memories and adrenaline, helping to battle the jet lag and fatigue. On Monday I was hiking in the Gran Sasso National Park in Abruzzo and today I'm in Lake Placid surrounded by Ironman madness. It's a great way to beat the post-vacation blues and taper tantrums. I don't even feel like I had a taper!Race day preparation will be in full swing tomorrow and then Sunday is the big day. I'm about 75% trained for this race so it's not perfect, but should be enough to have a great day and form some new memories. I've been spending the last two days with friends from IMWI and other races and remembering why I do this. It's an incredible community of people and the energy is unrivaled. Once again, I'm very lucky to be here.

Best of luck to everyone racing!

Eagleman Race Pics

Since everything I do these days is a few weeks behind schedule, I figured the window of time for me to post pics from my recent Eagleman race was still open. So here goes:

Pre-race with Mark

Body Marking - A b-day earns you a smiley face

Flattest bike course ever


Thank god I'm done


Quick hose down

Post-race feast: what true happiness looks like

Hay in the Barn

Another two weeks of silence have passed here, but it's been anything but silent in my world. I was tackling the final build phase of round one Ironman training while battling the worst cold I've had in ages. The week following my speedy century was a general bust, I managed to get in a handful of moderate workouts to keep loose, but no real training occurred until the weekend. Even then it was after sleeping propped up on pillows after taking a cocktail of cough suppressants. My comeback was another solid 100 on the bike with a great brick run after.

The following week went rather smoothly with nearly everything nailed in the plan. The only hiccup occurred last Saturday during my final long workout attempt. I set out in the wee hours to do a hilly century course in reverse - to make the hills even harder - and was navigating this alone on my Garmin. I was riding a bit old ladyish out of the gate due to my lack of familiarity with the roads and the newness of the experience of navigating, but I was doing it and it felt very empowering. Until I got lost. I wasted at least an hour coasting around with a puzzled look on my face before just winging it and hoping I'd eventually find the route if I rode in its general direction. I watched my average plummet into the 13s and felt the temperature rise at least five degrees. I wasn't happy.

I never fully rallied after the setback. I took no less than eight wrong turns, rode through a pile of gravel while looking at the map and nearly bit it, narrowly escaped a clip-and-fall at a busy intersection that would no doubt have damaged my ego more than my physical well-being, and dropped my chain twice, both times about halfway up a steep hill. The clock was ticking on but I didn't feel I was getting anywhere. I had been out for over eight hours and had only covered 88 miles, but decided I'd had enough. My boyfriend picked me up and I called it a day.

It wasn't the swan song I wanted for my cycling training, but it is what it is. One of the allures of this sport is that you never know what the day will bring, what your body will decide to do or how you will feel. I felt great, but my execution was terrible. It happens. I rallied with a solid 45-miler on Sunday in the sweltering heat and at least had the satisfaction of feeling like I can still ride a bike.

After a 17-mile run this morning it's officially taper time. My race is in 17 days so at this point, the hay is in the barn as they say. There's definitely a lot less hay in there than before my last Ironman, but I'm confident the horses won't starve to death. On one hand I don't feel like I trained for an Ironman, but on the other hand, I did some significant work with a lot of quiet, not-so-exciting aerobic sessions designed to get me through without re-injuring myself. Seventeen days before Ironman Wisconsin last year I was in tears as I limped to a podiatrist and set into motion a chain of events that would blow my world apart.

Aside from today starting my official taper I'm also in my final preparations for my trip to Italy. I'll be in beautiful Tuscany by tomorrow evening and will be on my bike by Saturday. I'm incredibly excited and looking forward to the most unusual taper I'll likely ever do.

As I wrap up this round of training, I thought about the numbers that triathletes get so obsessed with. We post our weekly miles, yards, hours, minutes, average heart rates, calories burned and paces. I used to race to a computer post-workout to log my training so I could see these numbers. Now I often wait days to log a block of training. I know I did it and seeing the numbers doesn't make it any more real. Going into the Ironman last year I had ridden five centuries, completed several runs over 15 miles with two over 20 miles, and swam tens of thousands of yards including at least five or more sessions of 4,000 yards each. This year I've logged just three century rides so far, two of which were personal bests for me. I've yet to cover more than 15 miles running, but my most recent 15 was a major breakthrough in my post-injury running life. I've only done one swim workout of more than 4,000 yards, an Ironman distance swim this past Tuesday. I'm a little fatter, definitely wiser and a lot happier.

Can I do this? Sure. Will I set any crazy records? Sure. Let's not forget I had to walk the entire marathon at IMWI. I could likely just show up in Lake Placid and set a PR. Will it hurt? Sure. More substantial training definitely would have made this easier. Am I excited? Absolutely. I'm not scared, I'm not nervous and I'm not obsessing over the little things that are plaguing many of the first-timers right now. I'll go to Italy, have the time of my life, come home, rest up and race an Ironman. And when it's over I'll let my body repair a bit and ramp up for my next Ironman in September. By the time that one rolls around I'll most likely have logged the same preparation as last year and just might be able to surprise myself.

Fast (for me) Century, Fatigue and Summer Colds

I've had an interesting week hence the interesting title. After my torture session (or massage), I woke up feeling really sore and had a bike ride on the schedule. Even though the weather looked great I decided to set up the trainer instead thinking I could minimize the discomfort. But after a few minutes of pedaling I could tell I was in deadsville. I was utterly fatigued from head to toe and just had nothing. I survived 30 easy minutes and used the rest of my morning to clean and organize my apartment, a much better use of my time given the circumstances.

As of Thursday I was on vacation for a long, relaxing weekend and I can honestly say I've never needed it more. I slept, and slept and slept, nearly 12 hours one night. I did a short ride Friday and still felt flat so a seed of worry was planted. On Wednesday I had signed up for the Montauk Century since I had 100 on the schedule and figured it would be nice to do it in an organized fashion. But nothing sounds more dreadful than a hundred miles on dead legs. So I crossed my fingers and hoped.

On Friday night I developed some chest pain and tightness along with a nagging cough. I brushed it off as another lingering symptom of fatigue and prayed I wasn't getting sick. But after four short hours of sleep I awoke Saturday morning to a miserable chest cold. I was fine otherwise - no head congestion, no fever, no aches, no sick feeling. So I got dressed and soldiered on, hoping the century would go well... and it did. While I didn't feel my best I felt good enough to push and it paid off. I completed my first sub 6-hour 100 and I felt great. I hit the century mark in 5:41:29 and ended up completing 102.6 miles in 5:49:02. I really worked for it, but I also didn't feel destroyed. I've been putting a lot of energy into improving on the bike and feel like it's finally paying off. I can't wait to see where I am by October.

Today was a sick day in the world of training. It included sleeping nine hours, having a leisurely brunch (involving a delicious bloody mary), watching a movie, having a late lunch (involving a beer) and a very lazy evening (involving a few sips of wine). All day I debated heading out for a ride or testing my lungs on a run but it was 90 degrees and humid and my lungs were unhappy so I decided to just relax. I can likely beat this with a few missed days, but if I push too much I'll have multiple missed days and even more miserable days so I'll be patient. After all, a brunch, a nap and a bloody mary never hurt anyone.

Birthday Fun

Celebrating my birthday and new age group with a destination race was a great thing to do. It removed the usual race weekend pressures and gave me a memorable experience. I'll always remember turning 35. Here's a glimpse of my weekend.

Upon arrival in Maryland, it's important to immediately locate a kitschy place to enjoy the local specialty - blue claw crabs


And since it's a race weekend, it's important to carb load


But enjoying blue claws is no joke - you need instructions and special tools


Let the feast begin


The resulting wreckage


After-dinner happiness

This was Friday night in St. Michaels, Maryland. We topped off the evening with a visit to the local ice cream parlor (more carbs) and a stroll around town. It wasn't my actual birthday, but definitely the designated celebration day given it was a race weekend. I'll post pics from pre-race and race once I get my hands on them.

My recovery is coming along beautifully. I was minimally sore but incredibly stiff so I've been rockin' the compression tights, enjoying my good friend advil and stretching lightly. I did a 30-minute swim this morning that felt like absolute heaven (and if you know me, you know that's saying A LOT). It feels so good to move when your body is heavy with fatigue. I had an 80-minute massage/torture session tonight that actually drove me to tears, but I'm sure it will be worth it when I wake up feeling fresh tomorrow.

Eagleman 70.3, AKA the Hottest, Windiest, Hardest 70.3 I've Ever Done

Every time I try to get back to posting here I end up insanely busy elsewhere in my life and slack off. The past week was a whirlwind. I was really stretched at work and attempting to prepare for another weekend away, this time for a race. It was not only my first of the season, but it was my first since the ill-fated Ironman and injury last year. It was also my birthday weekend, so I wanted to: (A) Finish; (B) Have fun; (C) Enjoy some non-race time. Was I successful? Yes on all fronts, but not without a fight.

I've done two other 70.3s, New Orleans and Providence. Both were challenging in their own ways and both were quite hot. But Eagleman elevated challenging and hot to new levels. I'd been warned the race was known for scorching heat and high winds, but the warnings were gross understatements. It was balmy at the start and the first blow of the day was the call for no wetsuits. I'm a mediocre swimmer when I'm actually training and I've been to the pool about 4 times in the last month. But I didn't let it get me down. I got into this sport to conquer fears and test my abilities so this was just another thing I thought I couldn't do that I needed to check off the list.

The swim was actually fine without the suit. I was cruising along and really enjoying myself, thinking "hey, maybe I'm not as slow as I thought." But then as I walked out of the water and glanced at my watch - 57 minutes - I was shocked. I know I haven't been diligent with training, but to go from my usual 45ish to 57 was a huge drop. But what can you do? I stopped for some support from my boyfriend in the swim exit chute and took my time in T1. I wanted to regroup before the bike.

The plan going into the race was to let it rip on the bike just in case I couldn't pull out a good run. I've only done one brick this year and it was on a 100 mile ride. Not exactly the most optimal training for an HIM. I also haven't raced on my foot so there was the chance it was going to be a death march even if the conditions were ideal. But the conditions were far from ideal so I'm glad I gave the bike everything I had. I pushed a higher HR range the entire ride and never stopped pedaling. The course is dead flat but totally exposed so it's hot, sunny and windy. The wind never relented and at times my legs burned as if I were riding uphill. I wanted to finish in less than 3 hours so I never let up regardless of how tired I was and it paid off. I was off the bike in 2:58, a really great accomplishment for me.

The run. Oh, the run. As I rode the final few miles we were passing runners just starting the half marathon. A majority of the field was not only walking, but shuffling along in pure misery. I felt a little ill at the thought of joining them. When people are that broken down in the first few miles you know it's going to be a struggle. I started out with an easy pace and went 100% on RPE. With the heat, sun and humidity (actual temperature 96, real feel 108) it was the only way to go. There were no mile markers and I was thankful for that. I just had my eye on reaching the turnaround as the only benchmark for how I was doing. I was able to run the entire course with very slow walks through each aid station where I dumped as much ice water over myself as I could and struggled to get fluids into me. My stomach was sloshy and I was battling side stitches the entire time so after the 6th or so aid station I couldn't ingest any more fluids. I held ice in my mouth and continued to douse myself. A debilitating side stitch totally destroyed my finish chute run but I was able to hobble in. It took 2:16, my slowest half marathon ever but my proudest finish.

The race wasn't about PRs or time goals, it was about making a comeback and putting a little more distance between my injury and recovery. I sometimes feel like I'm training on a time bomb and any given workout might be my last. As a result I'm undertraining compared to the machine I was last year. But I'm enjoying my life in a different way and if I can still toe the line, feel good and finish, it's enough for me in this phase of my life. Next year may be a different story.

I have some catch up posts to share and will get moving this week. The weekend also included some birthday fun and there are, of course, photos to be posted as well. Congrats to everyone who endured and finished Eagleman!

Free Drinks

So few things in life are free so it's always a nice treat to get something gratis. Ironman has switched beverage sponsors from Gatorade Endurance, my training fuel of choice, to PowerBar Perform. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of PowerBar anything. I think the gels taste awful, the chocolate is similar to a chemically frosting with a heavy dose of salt, and the bars have never been my cup of tea except for the amazingly delicious Triple Threat. However, I'm always open to trying new things so I was thrilled when I arrived home to find a case of PowerBar Perform waiting for me. I heard buzz about Ironman racers receiving a trial so I wasn't entirely surprised but was still thoroughly delighted.

I actually have stomach issues in regular life, but for some reason I can consume just about anything in sport with no troubles. I can "live off the land" in all races, which really simplifies my preparation. I've always been a Gatorade girl, but was specifically training with Endurance because all WTC Ironman and 70.3 races, as well as most major marathons, offered it on the course. And I like it so it's a bonus. Now that WTC has switched I'm not likely to convert 100%, but I'll definitely be doing some long training days with PowerBar Perform to be sure I feel adequately fueled for race day. I have a big brick tomorrow, a 90 mile ride and 40 minute run, so I'll be putting it to the test and will report back what I think.

In my never ending struggle to find a way to train for Ironman without giving up my life and being miserable, I tried another new approach today. I have been avoiding the pool like the plague so I told my coach I'd rather just go, swim and get it over with. No sets, no rests, no wasted time. So I did a 60 minute continuous swim and loved it! Yes, it felt like forever at times but to free the mind and not be counting laps as I bounced back and forth like a ping pong ball was brilliant. Right now I have two swims each week - the 60 minute and a 75 minute. If all goes well I'll give that one a shot this weekend. And if all goes really well, I'll actually be able to finish and not fall apart on July 25, all after having enjoyed my spring, my summer and my life.

Viva Italia!

The best time to book a vacation is right after finishing another vacation. That's exactly what I did today. For the past several weeks we've been contemplating a trip to Italy in July. At first I worried my race would prevent me from going, but when we looked at the dates, it fell during the first week of my taper. There is a slight risk I'll still be jet lagged on race day, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. I'll be spending nearly nine days in Italy and my road bike will be making the journey with me. All I have to do is show up, relax, ride a little and relax some more. It sounds like a great taper to me!

Yesterday was the final day in Lake Placid. We had planned to ride a loop of the IMLP course, check out of the hotel and then take a scenic flight over the high peaks. But when we stepped outside in the morning there was a heavy haze and the smell of campfire in the air. It turned out there was a massive forest fire in Quebec that was blanketing a huge area with smoke. We ended up doing the ride, but the lack of visibility killed our flight plans.

The ride was incredible, by far one of my best on the Lake Placid course yet. The smoke led to some watery eyes and a craving for smores, but was otherwise tolerable. We stopped and took a few photos and enjoyed our final moments in the Adirondacks.

Today was rest but tomorrow begins with a 4:45am wake up so I can do my long run before work. I haven't tackled a Wednesday long run yet so tomorrow will be the test. Hopefully the logistics will work out and I won't be falling asleep by 3pm at my desk!

ADK Weekend

I'm back in Lake Placid for a long training weekend and as usual, feel as though I'm in heaven. We drove up late Thursday night and awoke Friday to some of the most beautiful weather I've ever seen up here. I decided to get my long brick out of the way so I could truly relax this weekend so I got up early, took a quiet walk on Main Street to assess the temperature and geared up and headed out. Since it was a Friday morning and most people were heading to town that day, I had the course to myself. It was peaceful and serene, I felt incredibly comfortable and happy. It was only 47 degrees when I left but it was sunny and felt warm. After my first loop I shed some layers to enjoy the 70+ temps the day had reached. I finished 100 miles around 2:30 and went for a short 30-minute run, my first brick of the season.

Everything went better than I could have asked for given my slow build up to the bigger volume. My feet keep allowing me to do this and I'm enjoying it so I can't complain. I spent the remainder of the afternoon in the gorgeous pool and hot tub at the Whiteface Lodge, my home away from home for the weekend. We then went to The Cottage, a little bar on Mirror Lake that was celebrating their 30th anniversary so dinner was complimentary. There we were, sitting outside in beautiful weather overlooking the lake and the mountains having a free meal. Does it get any better?

The rest of the weekend has been perfect. I spent an hour in Mirror Lake yesterday, my first open water swim since Ironman Wisconsin and my first swim at all in weeks. Once again, I had it to myself. I picked a time where no other swimmers were there and I can't describe what that was like. I popped up a couple times to take it all in - the incredible smell of the air, the silence aside from the birds and the views. This place is magical. The water is so clear I could see the bottom the entire way. If I lived anywhere near here I'd be swimming all the time.

We have another day to enjoy and will make the most of it. I hate to leave but I know I'll at least be back in eight weeks. I have so much to look forward to.

Charting a New Course

It's been quiet around here, but definitely not quiet in my thoughts. I've spent the last couple weeks reflecting on my goals, this sport and my life, mostly about how the three intersect. This intersection is sometimes clear and other times it's a head-on collision. I had a string of recent weeks where mileage was missed for various reasons - weather, mechanical issues, personal plans. Each time it happened I felt a little more stressed. Not guilty like last season, but stressed. The anxiety was crushing other things in my life and started to spill over to my friendships and relationships. My training became a burden to people I care about because I allowed it to be. Lying in bed wide awake at 1am on a Saturday night in tears I paused and took a huge step back.

I do this sport as a hobby, something for fun. Stress, anxiety, conflict and tears are not fun. The next morning was awful. I was exhausted, it was freezing outside and the wind was relentless. I spent the 2.5 or so hours I gutted out on the bike realizing I was no longer doing something I loved. I was doing something out of perceived obligation. I want to ride my bike. A lot. I want to do it because I love it and enjoy it, not because I feel I have to even when it's 45 degrees with 50mph wind gusts. I don't want the people I care about to feel affected by my need to log miles and I don't want to feel anxiety over missing those miles. I have plenty of real reasons for anxiety in my life so my hobbies should be an outlet, not a contributor.

I made a decision that day to change things. The Ironman is an incredible experience but I'm not willing to allow my life to be completely absorbed by it. I enjoy the challenge of training. It makes me feel strong, accomplished and capable. It forces me out of my comfort zone and reminds me that I'm alive. But it's not all I am. I see myself as an athlete, someone who is happiest when active and outdoors, but also someone who wants to be spontaneous and enjoy life. So I decided the rigid Ironman training structure just isn't for me. I had a long talk with my coach about taking a new approach with less obligation and more room for embracing the unexpected. I'm making some sacrifices to have this, including a ridiculously early wake-up on Wednesdays to complete my long run before the work day and long, solo rides on Friday so I can ride whatever distance, pace and intensity I feel like on the weekends. Or I can do something else on the weekends. I can pretty much do whatever will make me happy and that, to me, is living.

I tested out my more relaxed approach during a trip to Lake Placid last weekend. I wasn't up there to train, I was up there for vacation so I did whatever the day, the weather and the mood dictated. I felt incredibly free and was more relaxed than I've been in ages. It was magical.

I may arrive at the start line a little less prepared than I could be, but I want a life with more magic and less stress so whatever will be, will be. I've never felt better about a decision.

Fish On!

Life keeps zipping by and I'm finding less and less time for the blog. While I miss capturing my training experiences here, I don't miss obsessing over the training the way I did for my first Ironman. I posted awhile back how different the second time around feels and as time goes on, that feeling is amplified even more. I'm able to do the training, but I feel more able to balance it with the other parts of my life and that's an amazing thing.

So in the spirit of balance I had a really fun, really unique weekend. I headed down to southern Maryland to join 11 other women for a charter striped bass fishing trip on the Chesapeake. Not only have I never been fishing in this manner, but I've certainly never done anything like this with an all-female group. The women were all incredible, the type who embrace life and truly enjoy it. It was a refreshing change of pace and highly memorable. Particularly, I don't think I'll forget reeling in this 25+ pounder, at least until I empty my freezer and my arm quits hurting.

Before you think the only exercise I got involved lifting beers and reeling in fish, I did take my bike with me and got in a long ride on Friday in the Annapolis area. It was navigation hell so I spent a lot of time on the side of the road looking at Google Maps, but I got the miles in and that's all that matters. I would have gone longer, but when you waste over an hour navigating and have driven four hours to reach your riding destination, you have to roll with the punches.

I woke up bright and early Saturday for a 10-mile run pre-fishing. My legs were pretty fatigued from riding hard Thursday morning (my boyfriend always makes me ride harder than I would on my own!), sitting in the car half of Friday and then the long ride. But immediately I could tell it was going to be a good run and it ultimately turned out to be great. I negative split the miles from 4-10 and had my final two at 8:32 and 8:22 respectively. I was pain-free again and felt a huge sense of relief at the end. I'm really optimistic that I can get back to my normal running self with time.

Stay tuned for more fishing pictures and trust me, they are not to be missed!