And Then There Were Hills....

The Madison Weekend went off just great for Noelle, Cindy and myself. We headed out on Friday to Madison and met up with the training camp crew that evening for some introductions, course talks and logistics for the upcoming two days.

 

Saturday, we got up early and headed out to Fireman's Park to do a 'swim'. It actually was mostly "tips and tricks" from our instructors (of which both had done IM Madison several times and Dwight has done Kona as well....fast cats). In the water we talked about positioning for prior to the canon on race day, sighting, things to practice between now and Sept (bi-lateral breathing for sunshiny mornings when breathing to the East is kind of sucky!), practiced if our goggles get ripped off, and lastly wetsuit stripping! That was kind of fun....at IM you actually don't take off your wetsuits - volunteers do this for you and so we practiced this 'art', which was fun.

After the swim we went back to the hotel and got our bikes for the bike route. Our hotel was in Verona...so we actually biked into Madison (~16 miles) to the Monona Terrace where the bike starts. We biked up the helix (this is the spiral ramp for the parking garage) and then down again before heading out on the route. This was probably worth the camp for me, as these small little nuances (e.g. biking up the helix and down the helix) look really hard or scary - but aren't. And now are off my list of things to worry about come race day.

So, we took off on the bike - 16 miles out to Verona again ("the stick"). Once we got to Verona, we stopped at Brian's parent's house (he was one of the instructors) for refueling and a brief break. Then off to "the loop". This is 40 miles long and done twice in the race - we only did one loop this day. This is where 'the hills' are located. Specifically "the big 4".

Here are my thoughts on "the big 4":

• #1 - hill prior to the high school. Not terribly bad - just long. Doable.
• #2 - this one I personally thought was the worst. Went on FOREVER and you didn't know when it would end because of the curves.
• #3 - a.k.a. 'the bitch' - was bad...but not as bad as #2.
• #4 - pretty bad just due to having done 1-3 prior to this...on race day there will be tons of people here - so should be motivating in that respect.

Average heart-rate for these guys was up in the 170's. Gotta love that. Now, I guess on loop #2, these guys get exponentially worse - so we'll see about that when we go back in August to do the full route. Going down some of these hills was almost as scary - think 40 mph on a 18 lb bike. What would happen if you hit a bump or lost control in this situation? I think Jenny would be a little scraped up. I'm hoping for fair (and DRY) weather come September. Don't want wet roads!

After the loop we ended up back at the hotel (~70 miles total for the day). We got together again for more course talks, run analysis (on video), and logistics for Sunday. Afterwards we had a BBQ at Brian's parent's house again and then headed back to the hotel to sleep.

Sunday, we got up and headed out to Lake Menona for our real 'swim' in front of the terrace. We swam out a little over .5 miles to the bridge and then swam back to the 'swim start'. I felt pretty good and was in the front of the pack (not up by Dwight - Mr. Kona... but pretty close to the front runners). After the swim, we got our wetsuits 'stripped' again and then we had to practice running up the helix like we would on race day to our T1 room. After walking through T1 logistics we went back to our cars and changed for our run.

The run was going to be 1 loop of the run course (13.1 miles). I was a bit concerned regarding my lame leg (calf) how this was going to fare, but was going to give 'er a shot. I ran with our group out about 3 miles into the course and decided that before I got too far into the course, I should probably turn back and ensure I didn't hurt myself any more than I am. So, I got about a 10K in for the day (which was better than last week's weekend milage with this thing).

Noelle and Cindy went on and were going to stay an extra day to get some more biking in - so I headed to the hotel, packed up my things, and headed home (some of us have to work on Monday!). All-in-all - the weekend was fun. I feel I have less to worry about come race day, than I did. Don't get me wrong...there will be plenty that I will find to worry about - but some of the small things we covered should not be on that list.

Going to Madison

I had my appointment with Dr. Dave today and MAN! did my calf just scream when he touched it! It is super, super tender from Tuesday's 'glove' session with him and I could definitely feel the pain today. Luckily, he was 'gentle' on me... we worked my glute/back a bit more and then an ultrasound of the calf and I was outta there.

Tomorrow Cindy and Noelle and I are heading over to Madison for our first official 'training weekend' over there. We shall see how that goes, I guess. I'm hoping the calf holds up decently. Schedule looks like this:

Friday:

- course talks, and misc random stuff with the group that is meeting out there.

Saturday:

- Open water swim

- 1 loop bike course (~75 miles)

- core strength session

- run analysis

- misc talks

Sunday:

- Open water swim #2

- 1 loop of run course (13.1 miles)

- optional loop of bike course

I'll post updates throughout the weekend on how it goes.

First Century Ride of Season

Today I met up with Jen M. and Val to go on the Minnesota Tri Club's century ride. We decided to meet an hour prior to the official start of the ride to get a head start on things and get this thing done with. So, at 6:30 AM, I met up with those two and we headed out on the route. Was a 50 mile out-and-back route with rest stops every 20 miles.

 

For some reason, I had a rough first 50 miles. I think my run yesterday (darn calf!) attributed to some of it, as I was just dogging it up hills - felt like I could not MOVE! Val and Jen were just kicking my butt... so I just hung back a bit and caught up to them at the rest stops vs. trying to pedal like a mad woman to try to catch those two. At the 50 mile turn around, Val had gotten a flat. I caught up with those guys and giggled as they attempted to get the wheel back on - there were some chain issues. Val did get that tire changed in no time flat, however! What a pro!

Then we were back on our way. At this point I was feeling just fine on the bike and keeping pace with those guys pretty decently. The entire ride back we all hung pretty close. I think maybe my calf just needed some 'warm up' time or something - as I felt 200% better on the last half of the ride. We ran into some rain on the ride home, but nothing too bad. (Not like Buffalo!)

At the end of the ride we took a look at our times, and were quite amazed. Ride time (on bike) was 5:36 (average 17.8 mph). Total time: 6:41 (including 4 rest stops and a flat). We had to call Jonny when we got back to the car to tell him the good news. Felt really good after the ride....legs were fine (actually, my limp went away - so wierd!). Am super glad I got this first century ride out of the way and it went so well...I have plenty of these this summer to look forward to.

When I got home, I took a small nap in the afternoon, before doing some work around the house and heading up to see dad in C-town for Father's Day.

All Taped Up & Uniforms

This morning was bright and early core class (since no races this weekend). Jonny proceeded to torture us in many lovely ways. This morning's session in the 'hallway' was extremely gross - as the humidity in the air seemed to bring out the nasty sweaty stench embedded in the hallway carpet as we crawled in various torturous manners across this nastiness. Needless to say, hand washing was necessary as soon as we were done with our 40+ minute session out there. Yuck! 

We got our TCMC uniforms today too...they seem pretty decent. Will be sporting it at the next race on the 4th of July! This afternoon I had my second appointment with Dr. Dave - today's focus was the calf. The 'glove' came out and proceeded to anoint pain as he massaged/manipulated my muscle. Ouch! 

Afterwards, I was 'dressed' with some Kinesio Tape (remember the stuff that Misty May Treanor / Kerri Walsh had going at the Olympics?) I guess this is supposed to 'relax' my calf muscle and allow it to heal up faster. Then, I can focus my training more on my running...to see how that is affecting my glute/back. Baby steps... have to get the little stuff outta the way to fix the bigger stuff, I guess. So, I get to leave this stuff on for a few days and see how that goes.

Injury Update

Yesterday I went to see Dr. Dave and check out all my little nagging injuries that have been yelping at me, as of late. After assessing my standing, walking, running, and various other nerve tests - I got the answer(s).

 

My @ss is weak + I have a tight hip flexor. Ok...well, the explanation is more like this. I have a muscular repetitive strain injury to my glute and lower back. Since my glute is 'weak', when I'm running (repetitive motion), my body is over compensating for the weakness by my back tensing up and pulling tight. (Hence, lovely pains while running on inclines, stairs, etc). The calf...just an injury from the marathon that has yet to work itself out and heal.

{ Technical Explanation: The role of the gluteus medius during activities such as walking and running is to dynamically stabilize the pelvis in a neutral position during single leg stance. As you can see in the photo above, weakness of the right gluteus medius will cause the left hip to drop when standing on the right limb. }

So...I'm perscribed to go see Dr. Dave a few times a week to get the scar tissue in the muscle worked out and see if it can't get itself back to normal. Then I'll just have to work on strengthening that muscle and getting my run back on track. After that session with Dr. Dave, it was spinning - sans stairs (I am to avoid running inclines, stairs or track/interval training until I'm feeling better/stronger). Class was decent, but am still tired from the Half IM...it seems.

This morning was core at Jonny's house. In celebration of my lovely diagnosis from Dr. Dave - I believe Jonny structured class around Jenny's weaknesses (sorry Jim & Heidi...). Did lots of glute work, planks, abs and push ups. At least we weren't on the Bosu as much as last week. ha ha.

Half Ironman Race Report

What a perfect day for racing! Could not have asked for anymore. Sun was out, calm waters, and low wind (OK, there was some wind...but it seemed to be a blessing on the bike & run this year vs. hindrance like in 2008).

So, I met both of my previously stated goals: to PR and to finish in under 6 hrs. Yeah! So, all-in-all, the race was a success and I'm so very glad I have this one over with. One less thing to do prior to Ironman.

The swim (1.2 miles) went pretty well, fairly uneventful except for at one point I was gasping for air for about 15-20 strokes. Felt like I had some sort of phlegm ball in my throat and I couldn't breathe. Weird...but it passed as soon as it came on. Never had that happen to me before. Noelle and I finished in the same fashion, and time for that matter, as last year (back to back out of the water within about 30 seconds). Swim time: 36:58, (5th place in my age group).

My feet were numb from the water, so when I got on the bike (56 miles) I had to work that out. Took about a mile or so to get feeling back. Noelle passed me on the bike right away, but I hung close. (Same scenario as last year again - de ja vu!) This time, however, my bike just felt awesome, so I surged ahead.

My legs felt strong and I was pushing 21-23 mph easily on the course on the flats. The hills seemed almost non-existent too (which is weird...because they were there for my practice rides). But I decided not to question it. I just focused on getting in my supplements, food and water on a consistent basis and to make sure that my mind stayed alert and didn't start to go 'goofy'. I caught myself a few times going a little loopy, but then forced in some food - hoping to clear that up fast.

Before I knew it, the first loop was done, and in really good time. I was just hoping loop #2 stayed as strong. Michelle (one of our TCMC peeps) was out on the course and popped up about 4-5 times in various areas to cheer us on. Mom was at the corner by the start of the race too. Was nice to have great cheerleaders! Loop #2 and the small dog-leg flew by fast too...I felt a little bit of fatigue - but was still pushing some good mph. In the end I finished up the bike in 2:55, (averaging 19.2 mph, 7th place in my age group). Was SUPER happy about getting under 3 hrs on that guy!

Then, the run (13.1 miles).... What can I say about the run? Well, was worried about the calf and back (as I mentioned before) - but I was determined after having one hell of a bike ride to muscle through this sucker and try to get under that 6 hr mark for the finish. So, I attacked as best that I could. I ran on the flats pretty well, but when the rolling hills started...I had to 'power walk' them as my back started to scream at me. (I decided I wasn't going to lolly-gag these walks. If I had to walk - well it would be a fast walk, darn it!).

At about mile 6, Noelle caught up to me, as I had predicted in my head based on her position on the bike when I last saw her. She gave me a pep talk and was on her way (what a little speedster!). For the rest of the run I played leap frog with 3 other guys. We all just passed each other back and forth. Was kind of humorous that the pic of me on the bike (above) the guy in that pic is one of my leap-froggers and he finished the run just a few seconds ahead of me.

Finally, the last mile was upon me and I had about 17-18 minutes (according to my watch) to make this race in under 6 hrs. So, I kicked 'er into gear and motored her to the finish line. Had mom, Noelle, and the TCMC crew cheering loudly. (Run time: 2:19, 10:38 average pace)

Final time: 5:54:29. 11th place in my age group of 20.

Both Noelle and Cindy also had good races and PRs for them too! TCMC had a great showing and some super stellar times too! Is great to have so many friends on the course to help pump you up during the race. Post race, we went to Ironman Jim's and Heidi's for a BBQ with the TCMC peeps, then Noelle and I went up to St. Francis to see the hubby and some friends at Pioneer Days. Then bed was a callin!

Post race issues:

• Small blister on toe had a nice little blood bath to my foot once I got my shoe off post race. Can not believe that a mosquito bite of a blister could produce that much blood!
• I'm limping profusely with my calf (last night and this morning)
• Back is sore

Tuesday I go to see Dr. Dave and see what is going on with all this stuff in my lower extremities. I can't have this going on in about 3 months. Will keep you all posted.

Tomorrow...Liberty Half Ironman!

Well, yesterday I was getting Pink Lightning all revved up for Saturday's race. Put on her race wheels, her new aero water bottle, and rigged up my new 'pill dispenser' with velcro for administering all my supplements during the bike. Think I'm set! 

 As I was walking over to the tool bench, however, I accidentally kicked the lawn mower and my toenail (which was about 95% ready to fall off) got snagged. Ouch! Blood a flowing. So, I had to rip it off. Which is fine, now I don't have to worry during T1 (transition 1) in my race tomorrow about it when I'm putting on my socks/shoes. So now I'm down to 8 toenails! woo hoo! 

Tonight I met Noelle & Cindy for some carbs at Macaroni Grill. Yum! Those two yahoos got the 'singer' to sing some Italian song to me by telling him it was my birthday. What silly girls! Now, I'm home and packing up my crap for tomorrow and getting to bed early. Looks like the weather couldn't be any more perfect! Temps from 53 in the AM up to mid-to-upper 70s into the day with a very light wind (5-10 mph). If the wind can stay low like that....will be SOOOO nice! Last year's wind was HORRIBLE! And on a hilly 56 mile bike course....it sucked! 

 So, goals...I'd like to PR from last year's time - which was 6:22. Ideally, would be awesome to break the 6 hour mark. But we'll see. I had some issues running yesterday with my calf and my back was acting up at Buffalo with the hills - so those are my main concerns when I get to the run. So, am crossing my fingers and we'll see what happens. Is actually kind of funny that last year at this time I was pretty much hyperventilating with this race coming up with nerves and anxiety. This year... I'm like "eh... just another race to get through to practice for Ironman." Is amazing what a year can do to you! Stay tuned for a race report.

Fun With Bosu

Monday I had Mike come over for a massage to work out the kinks from Sunday's race. Got a few more bruises to add to the mix of ones that showed up per the U-turn episode during the race. Boy! Do I look tough! (Or at least I am telling myself this....)

Tuesday I had spin and my angry legs were speaking up to me. Was pretty tired, but then again - so is everybody these days. You can tell that people are in the throws of their training plans and its starting to take its toll physically on them (myself included). I've just been zonked lately!

Yesterday, Ironman Jim and his wife Heidi and I met at Jonny's for a small group "core" workout session. We are going to start these up (with Jen M. too), as the other core session with him is on Fridays - which is too close to race days during the summer (on some weekends).

We spent a HALF HOUR on the darn Bosu ball doing squats and miscellaneous variations of balance moves. Then we threw in some push-up sets, plank craziness, and abs to round out the session. Was a good workout and I'm not as sore today as I expected to be - which is good. Should be a good little mid-week workout for the rest of the summer. Definitely pushes you a tad more than attempting these moves solo at the gym or at home!

Ran out to Gear West yesterday and picked up a new front aero-water bottle system for the race on Saturday, which is a tad less bulky than my dual chamber one that I have. Should be a nice little addition to Pink Lightning's accessories. Got all my race nutrition as well, while I was out there.

Swam a bit last night and have a run planned for today. I am going to take Friday off (from training), since the Half IM is Saturday. Yeah! A day off! Woo hoo! Should be interesting to see how the race goes...last year I tapered for this race - of which I am not this year. Just another "training day" (a.k.a. "B" race).

Brrrr! Darn Cold "C" Race!

Today was the Buffalo Olympic tri that Cindy and I were going to do - to prep for our Half Ironman next weekend. Got to the race site bright and early (as usual) and got a great spot in transition. It was a chilly 48 degrees out with a nice and heafty wind a 'blowin....not to mention a bit of a drizzle. Lovely weather, huh?

So, the calf and hip were feeling pretty good this morning (no limping, at least) - so was crossing my fingers that I'd hold together. Made the decision that my bike gear was going to entail my jacket and gloves after my warm-up bike ride. Jen M. kindly even borrowed me a long sleeve tech shirt to add to the mix. Ironman Jim contributed bootie warmers for my bike shoes so my toes didn't freeze up. (What a great pit crew!)

Well, the race started and the water temp was great - much, much warmer than the air (74 degrees)! I took 'er out easy on the swim (.9 mi) and think I maybe went a little wide on my first leg of the triangle. Swim felt so-so, think I was singing some Lady Gaga songs to myself in my head for most of the swim. My third leg of the swim got a bit choppy in the water on the way back to the beach - which was fun (inhaled a bit of water there). Got out of the water and headed to transition. Had the best cheerleaders at the race too - Mom, Dad, Angie & Aurelia, Andrea, Heidi and Mags - in addition to the TCMC peeps that I workout with! What a crew! (Thanks for coming guys!!!)

Well, transition wasn't the snappiest, since I had to put on all that gear to battle the cold wind coming up, but got outta there and onto the road. I was a bit paranoid riding my Zipp 808 race wheels in this level of wind (so what else is new?). I didn't want to get whipped around. Thankfully, I kept them pretty under control and am glad I got that under my belt for a bit of confidence for upcoming races.

The only darn incident on the bike entailed a U-turn at the end of a dog-leg on the course where the girl in front of me was going in tight (so I went out wide) and she zigged out in front of me because she was going too tight, I guess. I couldn't clip out of my pedal fast enough and ended up tipping over...getting a nice little scrape on my knee. Luckily, I was basically standing still when I tipped and there was no damage. Just annoyance with the girl and my obviously lack of pedal un-clipping abilities for the day. Grrr....

The rest of the ride was just wet and cold...bike split was a tad slower than last year - but the conditions were much, worse too. I got into transition and was hoping my legs were gonna hold me through the 6.2 mile run. Crazily, they felt pretty good! I took it out pretty easy, just trying to hold a good and comfortable pace. I had 2 hills that started to aggravate my back (I thought that guy was GONE!), so ended taking a small walk break through those, but then got back at it. My run split ended up pretty good, averaging 9:15/mile. Happy with that! Finally, a better split than last year!!! 1 out of 3 isn't bad...right?

I finished up in 2:51:30, about 2.5 minutes slower than last year's race (9th place in my division of 24). Was a bit disappointing not to PR, but looking at results, it seems that that the weather affected a lot of people this year (again...the analyst in me). So, was happy to finish comparably and without too many problems. Got a great medal and gear from the race (T-shirt, visor and stainless steel water bottle). Now, I think I'm due for a recovery massage this week and then it's the Liberty Half IM next Saturday - boy is that sneaking up!

Double Digits to IM Wisc

Well, countdown to IM finally went to double digits today (99). Boy, time is really flying here. Faster than what I would hope. To mark the day - I added to my blog my official "IM Panic Attack" counter to track my anxiety as the day draws closer. So far...can only recall a couple minor nightmares regarding IM, putting my initial count to "2". Hopefully this counter will remain low.

And Then There Were Nine...Toenails

Well, again....sorry for the blog delay of a week. My life has been utterly hectic this past week and you all know how it is.

Today I lost my one toenail from my marathon...finally. Has been hanging on by a thread for the past few days and I've been paranoid I was going to rip it painfully off somehow by snagging it on something. I'm glad it got stripped, before my first tri race on Sunday - so I don't have to worry about being careful about that sucker during transitions and all.

Recap highlights (that I vaguely remember) from the past week:

• Friday went to core class with the crew...bright and early in the AM. Hurt to get up, hurt to do crab walks, hurt to do most of the 'animal' named moves that are inflicted during these sessions - but I was there.
• Saturday had a massage with Mike, worked the entire hour on my calfs and hamstrings. My one calf is still acting up since the marathon and I think he finally loosened it up pretty good. Walking was much better after that.
• Sunday had a good ride out in the windy weather - made a new route by my house that should be utilized in the next few months quite a few times for longer local routes. Not a darn hill, but good shoulders.
• Monday went running over lunch with Jim around Normandale Lake quickly - calf started seizing up a bit at the end and we spent some time on the foam rollers after that.
• Tuesday at spin class my shifter broke on my bike, but Jonny was able to rig 'er back up again in short order. Thank goodness for the mechanically inclined! And that it didn't happen in my race this weekend...
• Yesterday, went to Moore Lake to swim a bit (not sure if C.R.'s pool is open yet or not) and had a great set of 400's. Am holding them at about 1:00 faster than last year's splits - which I'm uberly surprised at. Am seriously questioning the length of these pools lately. Are they shorter?
• Today had another run and my calf is feeling OK, got my Yankz put into my new shoes and am getting those sorted out for this weekend's race.

Sunday I'm racing the Olympic distance at Buffalo. Am hoping to better my time from last year...however this is totally just a "C" race and basically a training brick with spectators (and a medal!). Am pretty confident that my swim is faster this year, as is my running - per my pacing lately in practices. I am a bit paranoid on the bike, however. I cannot tell in my practice rides where exactly I am at compared to last year - as each ride is different with weather conditions (darn wind!) and me getting comfortable on my new race wheels. I'm hoping I'm stronger - per all the extra spin training I've done this past off season...but I guess we'll see come Sunday. Wish me luck!