Wildflower 70.3 should really be named "Wild Mother F****er"

That was probably the hardest thing I've ever done!  That was an absolutely brutal course, and then add in heat, headwinds both ways on the bike, a run that was more like a hike up a mountain, and then a bad swim.  I'm just happy to have finished!  They ran out of water with 20 miles left on the bike for the slower people.  That was awesome.  My feet were also in excruciating pain during bike and run because of the rough gravel that we had to run up from swim.  I didn't mind an uphill run from swim but the fact that there were no rugs or anything made it very painful. 

Here's the breakdown:

The swim didn't even go well and that's usually where I can do decently.  10 minutes slower than my normal time.  I couldn't breathe right off the bat and my right shoulder seized up immediately and stayed that way (even as I type it hurts to move my neck).  I don't know if it was my wetsuit but it may have been.  I need to figure that out before Rev3 OOB August 25th!  It wasn't a panic attack or anything as I am very comfortable in the water.  So not a great start.

The bike, again, was brutal.  B-R-U-T-A-L.  There was a headwind the entire time and I really didn't think it was possible to go up that much without going down...but alas, it was.  The two big downhills were nice, but with the wind I had to brake a bit so I didn't get blown over.  I made it all the way up Big Nasty so that was a small accomplishment.  I think finding a 56 mile hill and riding it as much as possible would be good training for this course. I'm still a little baffled that they ran out of water with at least 20 miles to go for the slower people (A.K.A. ME!)sucked, but I had enough in my Speedfill to get me through, thank goodness I got water at each aid station just to top off before they ran out.  A triathlon that has been going for 31 years that has that difficult of a course absolutely needs to make sure that they have enough water, especially for those at the back of the pack who are struggling!

The run.  Oh the run.  I got to transition and was limping off the bike, happy to have made the cutoff but unsure how my feet and knees would handle a half marathon.  I was in pain with every step, but eventually that went away.  Honestly, I walked about 60% of it and ran when I could.  I just kept looking at my watch saying "I am going to finish this course if its the last thing I do!"  It was a race against the clock, a first for me, and hopefully a last as well, but considering it was an uphill hike the first few miles, my time isn't all that bad. LOL.  There was a girl named Ashley I met maybe near mile 7 or 8(?) who I ran with the rest of the way and she helped me finish in time. 

I don't know if I drank too much water but I felt sick almost the entire run.  I think I just got back to a "normal" color pee today (Monday) so I'm not sure too much water was the case.  The last 2 miles was sheer determination.  I wasn't even in that much pain I was so focused on finishing in time.  Thankfully that downhill helped my last mile to the finish, although I think if I hadn't of been so determined my quads would not have held up.

Never been happier to see a finish line!!!!! One perk to finishing at the back is that I got the finish line to myself:)  My friends were there to cheer me on and I got my medal and I got to stop moving forward with a time crunch....best part of the day.

There was a girl we were with this weekend who is a Mom and she said that the course was harder than childbirth.  I think that says something.  There were also a lot of seasoned Ironman athletes saying that with the course profile, and the conditions Saturday, that it was as physically challenging as doing a full Ironman.  At least I now know that I will finish IMNZ:)  HAHA.

I definitely had to remind myself how lucky I was to be able to feel pain and how many people would give anything to even be that miserable just to have feeling in their limbs and body again.  

I got to see some great friends this weekend and meet some awesome new ones.  Totally worth the 7.5 hour drive:)

Overall, I think a Mark Twain quote sums it up perfectly.   

"I'm glad that I did it.  Partly because it was well worth it and chiefly because I shall never have to do it again." 

I'll go cheer, but unless I get good at hills and start enjoying them, I don't think Wildflower will be in the cards for me again.

One and Done: Things I've Learned/Remembered About Endurance Training in the First Month

Well, the first month is done.  Amazing how fast a month goes when you are training and working and working and training.  It's like a day, maybe.

This will be short, but the things I have learned and/or remembered about endurance training are as follows:

1.  Always pre-map your routes, especially when you move to an unknown area, so you don't bike/run twice the distance.

2. Buy more food/Bring more food

3. Alarm clocks suck anytime before 9am.  This is 7 days a week when training

4. You chance of hitting/being attacked by wildlife greatly increases the earlier in the day or later in the evening you train

5. Always carry TP

6.  Buy more food/Bring more food

7. You will be tired/hungry/awake/crazy from now until after the race is over.  Then you will be even more tired/hungry/awake/crazy.

8. Race registrations cost a lot.

9. Handlebar tape will come undone when you are farthest from your car and/or a bike shop

10. Circle swimming=Thumbs down

11. Buy more food/Bring more food

12. People will wonder why you seem so awake and you will wonder how you are faking it so well

13.  Find good running tunes and change them up often....Van Halen's "Why Can't This Be Love" is an awesome one....for now.

14. Sunscreen.

15. Buy more food/Bring more food.

Happy Training!!!

T-minus 17 months!!!!!!!!

The Well-Intentioned 4 Day Weekend Away....

Intentions.  Good ones.  I had them.  I really did.  Intentions to get my running in while I went to Montreal and Vermont last weekend for a friend's wedding.  Guess how long that lasted?

Now I know I am not the only one who has done this....I hope, or I'm going to feel like a HUGE slacker.  I even made room in my tiny carry-on (cause let's face it, I'm not paying $25 for a checked bag) for my running gear including hat, GPS (very useful in foreign country!), some gu's and my hand held water bottle!  First morning there, even after drinking two bottles of wine the previous night (I'm on vacation and I shared so :P) I got my butt up and went running....Didn't set an alarm cause who cares when you're on vacation and the weather doesn't hit 100 by noon.  It was a beautiful run in my most favorite kind of weather and it reminded me why I love to run.  I love to run to burn off the drinking calories but I also actually love to run for that freedom in the cool weather....No, this feeling does not hit when it's 100 out and I actually despise anything in 100 degree weather besides sitting in a pool or the ocean.

Now we drove to the wedding site in Vermont 4 hours away and had a great mini road trip there.  Hit the store, the hot tub, and then the family and friends pre-wedding gathering at the bonfire with S'mores.  Oh, you must remember diet rules go out the window when on vacation.  Even with the best of intentions I succumbed.

Wedding morning was suppose to be a 10 miler.  Hurt my knee to the point where I couldn't actually bend it without pain and it wasn't form the IT band side.  That was all the excuse I needed to not run the next morning...That and the other bottle of wine and some beer we had.

Wedding reception was a blast and included lots of beer.

Mini-road trip back to Montreal was a blast and when we got to Montreal it included lots of wine.

Next day in Montreal was amazing and included lots of wine and vodka.  I did walk like 5-10 miles in the city so that has to count for something.

Now it's leaving day.  Getting on a plane across the country for a 6-7 hour ride into the jet stream so I thought maybe, just maybe I should get my ass out of bed and do a little run.  Managed to do two miles with sprint intervals.  Not bad for a slacker who's done nothing but eat and drink her way around the Northeast the last 3 days.

I love mini vacations.  Not only for the piece of mind and rejuvenation you get from being away from "the grind" but in seeing good friends, not being on any kind of schedule, and doing whatever you damn well please.

My travel bug came back full force and I almost cried when I had to get on the plane back to SoCal again.  I have two parts of me and I still don't know which one will make me happiest.  One wants to find a place to settle down and have a great house and the other, more likely the slightly louder one, wants to forget everything and just go travel and see that big bright world.  There is a lot in it and my spirit is called to see it more times than I'm prepared for.

Back to the grind....training, working, but keeping my wandering soul free to allow me to see any new opportunities that come my way....

How Do You Kill a Hard Earned Downhill? Let Me Count the Ways....

So about a week ago, George and I did a 25 mile Camp Pendleton loop in the middle of the day in 95+ degree weather.  Not so smart.  I am not a creature of the heat and I ran out of water about 8 miles from the car.  It also took us a ridiculous 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete.  Yes, that is a whopping 10mph.  I could feel my brain expanded as far as it could against my skull and was just waiting for it to self-combust.  Like this:

So Tuesday I got my ass out of bed at 445am and drove to Oceanside and was on my bike by 6am...5:55 if you will.  It was dark and I really couldn't see what was in front of me the first 3 miles or so until dawn so the fact that I was not, in fact, thrown from my bike into the abyss that is the sideline of the San Luis Rey River Trail, eaten by a pack of coyotes, sprayed by a skunk, or attacked by a hungry homeless person who sleeps out there (I wouldn't blame them since my new fav bike food, the Honey Stinger Waffles, are delicious, although I would put up a fight), I consider the first 3-5 miles a huge success.

Now I got off of the San Luis Rey Trail (Let's just call it SLRT from now on) about 6 miles in onto College Ave and then take a right on to Vandegrift that is the main road that loops through Camp Pendleton.  This being morning rush hour for those sexy men in uniform, there was a TON of traffic and I took my turn going up to the gate and showing my ID (no warrants out for my arrest yet!!).  Continued on that course in the cool, misty, overcast morning and was stoked to do that same 25 mile loop in an hour and 40 minutes!!!!  WAHOO!!!  That's like 15 mph so literally 150% faster than last time.  I told you my body doesn't like heat.

My gripe:  There are two decent uphills on this loop, which are, as to be expected, followed by some decent downhills made all the better because you EARNED them.  HOWEVER, nothing kills a hard earned downhill better than a red light either half way down or right at the bottom (especially when the bottom then dips right back up a hill that you were hoping to have some go-juice on)

(from http://cycleforlife-buildpeace-stopaids.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html)

OR a pedestrian in a freaking crosswalk.  Coming up to the road with that smug look on their face like "HAHA you have stop for me."  Fuckers. I'll go through you!!!

What I wish the signs said at every crossing at the bottom of a nice downhill...with bikes in place of the cars

(From http://www.fark.com/comments/5255599/NYC-drivers-crossing-citys-most-dangerous-intersections-will-soon-be-getting-help-from-countdown-clocks-to-determine-how-long-they-got-to-run-light-mow-down-pedestrians)

I finished the loop and did an extra 5 miles out again onto the SLRT and then back to get my 35 miles in prescribed by my coach.  It is an awesome feeling to have done a rockin' workout and look at your watch and it only be 830am.  

Mixed up my protein shake and drank that as I drove to my friend's house to shower before work.  I now know why people always carry those travel mugs with a beverage in them while driving.  There is something amazingly calming about holding a travel mug with a beverage in your hand while driving that calms you down and makes your little world seem right, to the point where you don't even care about traffic or red lights or idiot drivers.  Or maybe that's just the endorphins...

First week comes to a close....

Well, week one is done and not without a little soreness.  I decided 5 weeks ago that it would be a good idea to sign up for the Heart Break Ridge 13.1 on Camp Pendleton despite the fact that there were no finishers medals and I hadn't really been running.  At all.  The most I wound up running at any one point in time was about 4.5 miles.  Yep.  Awesome training plan right?

Anyways, race day arrives and its about 90 degrees, really humid, and there is no breeze OR shade on this course whatsoever.  The hill itself, one of the more family friendly named ridges on Camp P., wasn't really that bad.  Yeah, it was steep, but it wasn't that long and the rest of the course was fairly flat...just hot.  They had water stops at just about every mile or two which was perfect.  I doused myself every time just to stay cool.  This New England girl cannot heat regulate very well!

Now, to get to the good part of this race....Marines:)  Ok, Ok, most of them are probably married but they were all running the opposite direction on their way back while I was on my way out and they were shirtless and glistening.  I guess that beats a finishers medal even though I don't get to take them home with me.

No IT band issues during the race, surprisingly since I didn't train much at all, but just sore the last two days since.  Luckily working at a running store allows me to foam roll during my downtime:)

Other than that I got a few short runs in before the race, my first swim back which felt amazing seeing as swimming is my strength and just feels good, and even a recovery ride yesterday morning after the race of 20 miles with George.

It definitely feels awesome to be back on a workout schedule and working towards a huge bucket list check!

And so it begins....

Workout #1: Worst run I've had probably since January when I did the Carlsbad half marathon two days after having food poisoning.

I guess the plus side is that my Ironman is 18 months away.  The other plus is that my view was along the cliffs of southern California overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  Other than that, I felt like I was taking 2 miles of steps forwards while really actually not going anywhere training wise.  There are SO many people out on weekend mornings here in SoCal so there is no end of inspiration and "get your fat ass off the couch-ness."  Will most likely be needed during those days and weeks that I know are coming that will be just like today.  The days where workouts are terrible and the road seems too long and you start to question whether or not it's worth it.  Obviously it is, it's just a matter of finding that thought or feeling or thing that can get you back to your focus and make you keep on trucking.

Again, I know it's the VERY beginning, but it just stinks to start out with a workout that just BLOWS. Just reminds me how very far I have to go before crossing that finish line in New Zealand.

Coach? Check. Motivation? Check. Let the Ironman Training Begin!

Ok, Ok, so I have not been great about keeping up with this blog.  Ok fine, I suck at it.  But you'll be happy (and possibly slightly worried) to know that I honestly haven't done jack since my last last-minute race, the Safari Park Half Marathon, on May 6th.  I got a free bib 3 days before so I recruited my awesome friend George and we pulled it out of our butts and got it done.

I also found a coach for my Ironman training!!  I'm so excited!  We met up at a coffee shop and if it weren't for a job interview I would have sat all morning talking to him!  He's super nice, actually cares about non-podium finishers, is very affordable, offers free group runs and group rides if you live in the North County area, and he just fits with what I am looking for.  YAY!!!!  Tripower Multisport Coaching

So yeah, quick update, getting back into the game after a crazy shit-hitting-the-fan spring and summer.  Can't wait to get the 18-month train moving.

Stay tuned for more reliable and fun updates on the journey to Ironman New Zealand 2014.