Preparation and Planning

This is my life - bags and bags and more bags, every single day I have to pack 1, 2, 3 or more bags of STUFF! Today, was my swim bag for this morning, my breakfast AND lunch, my run bag for tonight, my purse and then my bike! It's a miracle that I didn't forget anything in any one of those bags. So much STUFF has to be in each one. The swim bag has all my work clothes, shampoo and soap, makeup, blow dryer, etc etc etc. You get the picture, basically everything I need to get ready for work. The run bag isn't quite as busy, but if I forget just one thing (my shorts!), it doesn't make for a pleasant run. The breakfast and lunch are necessary to keep me from eating CRAP, which I will, so it's a preventative measure. I am my own worst enemy. I freakin' LOVE junk food. The other miracle is that I got all of this STUFF down to the car in ONE TRIP!

Triathletes are planners. I'm learning to be better at it, but it's definitely a work in progress. As I rode with my friend Denise on Saturday, she asked me what I was going to wear for the Ironman (which is still just a little over 8 weeks away!). I was stopped dead in my tracks (not literally, because again, we were riding) because I hadn't even thought about this yet...I can barely figure out what I'm going to wear TOMORROW, let alone 2 months from now lol She has all 3(!) of her "outfits" picked out already lol Apparently, Denise is a much better planner than I am. She also has her nutrition plan mostly honed in, I on the other hand have again, no idea lol and just figure I'll get to it sooner or later.

Hmmm...so maybe I should start planning my Ironman race lol but I think I'll start tomorrow, or next week? Whenever it is, I'll be ready!!

Time marches on...

Here I am at just under 9 weeks until race day (my coach likes to remind me how many weeks are left on my training schedule each week). I'm so ready for it to just be tomorrow! I can't keep up with my house cleaning, my grocery shopping, and even my social life! Last week alone, I worked out just under 17 hours (Swam 6400 yards, ran 24 miles and cycled 160 miles!) The hours will continue to go up and up and up until we get to the taper period. Ugh, I so can't wait for tapering!!!

The weather here in Texas has been really bad this week (hot, humid, extremely windy, thunder and lightening storms!) Not exactly ideal training conditions, but "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger", or so I'm told...The wind may be just what I need to get me ready for the hills of Idaho. I just about got blown off my bike on Sunday.

And yes, I'm tired! As a result, I have my first ever black toenail, and another one is mostly missing. After 12 years of running many, many miles, I finally have my badge of honor lol Yay? At least the other 3 toes look nice lol

So today I got a day off from training, to recooperate, and boy did I need it. My fridge is full again, the house is mostly clean, and my car is in the shop for some much needed maintenance. I feel so accomplished as I head to bed early for my first Triple Threat track workout in the morning for some speedwork. This granny wants to be faster!

I also had a great conversation with my coach this weekend...we had been really slacking in the communication department, so it was good to get some things ironed out. This is definitely a work in progress, and I want to get all the information and training that I can so that June 26, 2011 isn't the end of me or my triathlon career!

Last, but not least, my poor roomate MeeMaw bit it yesterday on her bike and broke her wrist! I feel so horrible for her, but it's a good reminder to BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! The good news

is, if they have to amputate, she can become a ParaOlympic athlete!

Lonestar Half Ironman - DONE

It was a tough one, but it's done. I drove to Galveston Friday afternoon, got up early Saturday morning to go watch the Sprint triathlon that was going on. I'm not sure I've ever spectated a triathlon, so this was a different experience for me. It was great to cheer my friends on and watch how the whole triathlon day plays out.

After the race, I explored the race site which included the expo and race store, and packet pickup. I spent way too much money on Ironman paraphanelia, but it's just so cool! I couldn't help it...

A few of us did a practice swim in the salt water, and it went really well. I was hoping between the wetsuit and the salt water, I'd have a better swim time.

Pro-Triathlete (and the ultimate winner of this 70.3 race) Chris Lieto was there signing autographs, so of course I had to snap a picture! He's such a bad-ass! Of course, I never saw him on the course because he started 1:15 before me and I'm sure was completely done before I even got out of the water.

It was a long day and even though it was mostly overcast, I came home with a pretty nice sunburn already. It was just the beginning though...

So Sunday morning, we got up at 4 a.m. and were at the race site at 5 a.m. when transition started. My Granny swim wave wasn't until 8:15, so after getting my number and age marked on my leg, I spent the next few hours setting up my bike and run gear and then chatting with my tri-buddies and watching the other waves get started. I ate my usual pre-race bagel with peanut butter and drank some water. Right before the swim, I sucked down a Gu pack.

Finally, our wave gets started. We jump in the water and tread for a bit until the gun goes off. The water was way choppier than I expected and there were a lot of brutal ladies in that wave! One woman grabbed me by my calve 3-4 times and I swear literally pulled me backwards! Another woman kept zig-zagging in front of me, so I had a tough time getting around her. I swallowed a lot of salt water and had a hard time staying in a straight line with the waves. I wanted to have a faster time, but ended up with 43:56. From what my GPS map shows, I swam way more than 1.2 miles with all the zig-zagging I did! Must work on sighting and swimming straight lol

I finally get out of the water and get down to the wetsuit strippers. They were great and had that thing off me in no time, and even did it without pulling my shorts off! They had fresh water showers to rinse off the salt water, so that was nice. I asked one of the spectators for some shampoo lol

After a little over 4 minutes in T1, I get going on the bike, which proved to be tougher than I expected as well. The winds were over 20 mph and the first 26 miles were all cross-wind and head-wind. My average was only 15.5 mph. I am not happy with that. Coming back, I was 13.5 minutes faster, and ended up with a 16.8 average for the 56 miles. Still not where I wanted/expected to be, but it is what it is. I had 3 Gu's and one Forze bar on the bike. I did stop briefly once to refill my water bottle and grab a quick bite of banana. The course was beautiful, along the seawall in Galveston. It was nice to be at a beach again. I had a slight scare around mile 9.5 when some crazy MeeMaw flew by me on her bike and slapped me on the ass! Paybacks, that's all I have to say...

So after a little over 3 minutes in Transition #2, I head out on the run. The first 3 miles were pretty good...but I may have gone out a little fast and it was really getting hot and humid. I spent the next 10 miles stopping at every rest stop to dump water over my head and ice down my shirt. Some of the rest stops had sponges, so I grabbed one where I could and constantly wiped my face down with it. I think that I actually may have had too much water, because for the first time ever in a triathlon, I had to stop and use the porta-potty. The crowd support was awesome - the course was a 4-lap route which was completely flat with the exception of one small bridge that took us down by where we had jumped in the water earlier to start the swim. Boy was I glad to not have to be swimming again, but on the other hand, the water looked really inviting at that point!

So I finally, reach the finish line and a couple of my friends were there to cheer me in. The finish line picture should be interesting - stay tuned for that. I may have posed. This beautiful medal was hung on my neck and I was handed an ice cold water bottle:

So I go sit down on a curb to rest up a bit, pull off my shoes and socks and find this on the bottom of my foot thanks to soaking wet shoes (from drenching my head at the water stops!):

I sat for a few minutes, stretched a bit and then got up to head over to transition to get my phone and then to the athletes lounge for pizza and beer. Unfortunately for me, the faster athletes at all the pizza before I got there :( so I was stuck with a choice of bananas, pretzels or lays potato chips. Not exactly anything filling, but they promised more pizza was on the way. Total run time was about where I expected, but I know I can do better with more regular runs: 2:30:58.

The highlight of the athletes lounge was meeting Lew Hollander, triathlete-extraordinare! I'm in total awe of this man. He has been featured in the Kona Ironman highlights video a couple of times now, and has participated in numerous Ironman championships as well as other Ironman and half Ironman races. He is 82 years old! Truly amazing. He won his age group yesterday, again. Next up for him? An endurance race including skiing, running, cycling, kayaking, and horseback riding. We could all learn a lesson or two from him about thwarting the aging process! The man is absolutely incredible and an inspiration to all of us. I look forward to following his life for many years to come since he plans on living to be 120! If you're interested in more information, here is his link:

http://lewhollander.com/

Me and THE MAN just before he claims his age-group award!

I was told by quite a few people that they didn't do as well as they expected, and one girl said this race was the hardest Half Iron she has ever done, so that made me feel better about my performance. I seriously was wondering how the hell I was going to get through a FULL Ironman after yesterday's performance. Now to heal the blisters and sunburn:

I now know the things I need to work on for the next race: Nutrition, open water swimming, sighting, more weight training and more runs. I'm sure there's more, but my mind is just a jumble right now.

That being said, I'm going to bed!

Here we go!

So excitement has set in (notice I didn't say nervousness, because I don't feel nervous, yet). I was up late last night and woke up early this morning, an hour before the alarm was set to go off. Why is it that when we can actually sleep in (if you consider 7 a.m. "sleeping in"), we can't? It's natures cruel joke.

The car is packed with all my triathlon paraphanelia and I'll be heading to Galveston sometime this afternoon to make the 300 mile drive. I'll be doing it alone, so hopefully XM radio will have some good entertainment on to make it tolerable. I'm thinking comedy stations! Maybe I'll count how many Walmarts I'll pass along the way, just for grins.

So in just 48 hours, I'll be standing on the beach in my wetsuit, waiting for my swim wave (I'm in the granny wave now - 45 and up lol). In Triathlon, you race at the age that you turn that year, so although I'm still 44, I turn 45 in September, I get to race with the old ladies lol Could be good for me, since I'm one of the youngest in the bracket and people tend to slow down with age! But irritating to have to say that I'm in the oldest bracket they have lol WTF? Then again, I am a GRANNY, so guess it's fitting!

I'm also hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the pros that are racing, like Chris Lieto and Mirinda Carfrae! It'll have to be as they start their swim wave (they are first) because I'm sure they'll be done with their race before I'm even out of the water!

So if you want to follow my progress on Sunday, go to this link:

http://ironmanlive.com/

I've followed people a few times with this and it's actually pretty fun!

Here's the link to the race as well, if you're curious as to what this is all about:

http://ironmanlonestar.com/

Signing off now - training is done, now the easy part - the race! Time to add another medal to my collection! Good luck to all my friends racing this weekend!!

Back at it!

Whew, still trying to balance everything. I can't even find time to blog about what I'm doing!

So I spent the weekend in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area, and got just one run in, and it was not a good one at that. My scheduled 12-miler got cut short to just a 6 miler. There's something about being out of your element that makes things seem harder. It was a good reminder for what will come at the Lonestar Half Ironman this weekend in Galveston and also at the Full Ironman in Coeur d'Alene. It's unchartered territory - unfamiliar roads to run and bike, and swimming in open water, which I haven't gotten to do any of since last October at the Longhorn Half Ironman. It should make things interesting, and even moreso that it's in salt water. This will be my first salt water race swim, and I have to say, I'm not looking forward to it. But I guess it can't be any worse than some of the nasty lakes down here in Texas! At least I won't have SNAKES to worry about!

So this week will be "taper" week....a bit of a respite before the big race on Sunday. I'm not sure I will know what to do with myself. I may actually have time to think about all the things I haven't gotten to lately.

With that being said, if you want to track me on Sunday during the race, there should be athlete tracking set up here:

http://ironmanlive.com/

I am racer #1511. I've tracked people before, it's kinda fun to see the progress and cheer them on virtually! I dare you to count how many times you refresh your page as you track lol

The next two months after this weekend will be crunch time. No more time for screwing off, no more missing workouts. The longest runs/bikes/swims of the season are about to commence. And hopefully I'll be slimming down a bit!

Ironman is just 12 short weeks away! Now, if I can just find time to make the $*%@ travel arrangements!!!