4 Weeks Down, 20 to Go

Yesterday marked the end of week 4. Key workouts included an 8 mile run, a 2,300 yard swim, and a 33 mile bike ride. I got all my workouts in despite the holidays and crazy travel schedule, but I had way too many Christmas cookies. I also did not stay in my planned heartrate zones for my long run, which means I only accomplished one out of three goals for the week. Fail.

We had quite a bit of chilly, windy weather this week, so the run and the ride were both mentally challenging. The bike ride saw wind speeds of 20+mph, and gusts over 31mph. (Major warm fuzzies for Elizabeth for riding with me and never once complaining. Balls of steel and a heart of gold, that woman has.) At one point, I was heading straight into the wind on a flat stretch of road, pedaling as hard as I could, and going 9mph. Brutal.

I've begun to notice that workouts can be categorized as either "earning results" or "showing results." Most, if not all, workouts are for earning results (doing the work to be faster/stronger/fitter in the future). Every once in a while, you get a glimpse of your hard work paying off when a workout shows you results (with faster times, less effort, lower heartrate, etc). Friday's swim was one of those "showing results" workouts.  I posted my fastest 100 times since the Augusta Half Ironman. (I wore a new swimsuit that fit well, making me more hydrodynamic; I also found a better head position, and some techniques I've been working on are starting to stick.) However, Saturday's windy bike ride was all about earning results. It was tough, and my pace was slow. I look forward to the day when that one pays off.

I've been playing with the settings on C-3P0, and found a way to do my slow runs slowly enough: I programmed the screen to only show me heartrate data (current HR, average HR, and current HR zone). It doesn't display anything about pace or time. So for my Zone 1 run on Sunday, I didn't know my pace while I ran; I just stayed in the right zone. Taking the ego out of the equation made the run SPECTACULAR. I didn't have to feel mad or frustrated by my slow pace. It was so freeing to not care about pace!

Tomorrow is the first day of 2013. I have my resolutions ready, but that post will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now, I need to address these damn Christmas cards.

Fully Functional

I was good. I was very, very good. And just like Sophie said would happen, Santa brought me the Garmin 910XT. <cue angels singing>

I have always had a problem with people who wear Garmins. They say stupid stuff like, "They say the 5k course was certified, but my Garmin says it was only 3.07 miles." Ummm, yeah....

Or how about this one? "Hey, we're running at 10:15 pace." (5 seconds later) "Hey, now we're running at 8:30 pace." (5 seconds later) "Hey, now we're running at 11:45 pace." (5 seconds later) "Hey, now we're running at 7:30 pace." You get the picture.

I have resisted joining the Garmin Army for almost 5 years. But with the vast array of triathlon-training functions on the 910, and the deterioration and ultimate death of my Polar heartrate monitor, it was time to give in.

But I VOW to never become one of those people.

I've worn my new toy for swims, rides and runs over the past week. It's quite easy to use, even without reading any directions. (Of course, today I accidentally locked the keys before starting my run. A quick google search later, I was back in business.) It can tell me virtually anything I'd like to know, short of where the nearest bathroom is. Hell, there's probably a function for that too.

This new tool will serve me well during training. I'm a firm believer in the phrase, "That which gets measured, gets done." It will ALL get done. And logged. And graphed. And analyzed. MUWAHAHAHAHA

As we've gotten to know each other, my Garmin's personality has emerged. He's quite polite, loves to serve me, and translates my workout data into usable metrics.

He's C-3P0.

"Excuse me, Jen, but might I inquire as to what's going on?"

Three Weeks In

Today's 4 mile run marked the end of the third week of training. So far, all is going well. It seems so easy to only do one workout each day! I know the days of doubles are coming very soon.

Today was also the last day of Christmas Gig Hell. I'm glad to have that behind me! Now I can start addressing our Christmas cards. Yes, thank you, I do know it's December 23rd. Last year, we didn't mail any, so sending cards late is still an improvement.

I have asked Santa to bring me a Garmin 910XT for Christmas. Sophie said that if I'm really, really good, he'll bring me what I want.  I've been pretty good, I think: I've been doing my workouts before work most days, and I've kept my room clean for a couple of months now (including making the bed most days!). And there was that time I did the dishes. That's gotta count for something.

Speaking of mornings, getting up early to exercise hasn't been so bad. I wake up much more easily now (although it's still hard most days to actually get out of the bed, especially if JC is still in it. Too damn cuddly.). I've noticed that if I don't exercise first thing in the morning, I feel sluggish all day. And now that I'm in the habit, I go to bed early on the weekends too. WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME?!?!?!

My left knee continues to improve. There was only one instance of knee pain during a workout this week - about 6 miles into my long run - and it went away pretty quickly when I stretched. The adductors are much looser now; I can tell a big difference from 6 weeks ago when I first began seeing Dr Awesome.

This week's royal screw up learning experience: I didn't refuel properly after Wednesday night's long run. I ate chicken and some veggies, but not enough carbs. Then, Thursday morning, I didn't eat much breakfast before hopping on the trainer. The end result was an empty tank. That trainer ride was awful; slow, heavy legs and no energy. That's what I get for being lazy with nutrition.

Goals for this week:

• Complete all workouts. (This can be difficult during the holidays.)
• Stay in the right heartrate training zones.
• Limit Christmas goodies. Three is okay; three dozen is not.

PS to Santa: I also need the cadence/speed sensor for my bike. If I'm going to use the 910, I might as well do it up right.

Back to Reality

The first four days of Ironman training went so well, we skipped town and went to Disney World. Isn't that what the pros do?

Seven hours into our drive to Orlando, I was stiff and tired. It occured to me that I may be on my bike for 7 hours during the race. And then I have to run a marathon. I decided I'm going to make sure I train properly and rest well so I can finish the bike leg in well under 7 hours. (Say it with me: How hard could it be?)

Our first day at Disney World was my first "rest day" since November 18th. I don't know why I thought 10 hours of walking would feel like a rest day. I was exhausted by the end of the day. I did make sure to do my stretches every hour; no need to screw up my well-healing knee while on vacation.

I ate my way around the World Showcase at EPCOT. A brat with kraut and a soft pretzel in Germany, a cheese plate with a baguette in France, and dinner in Morocco. Somewhere in there, I had a chocolate-covered ice cream bar shaped like Mickey Mouse's head. How do you spell that sound Homer Simpson makes when he thinks of doughnuts?



I had a one-hour easy run scheduled for Saturday morning before we hit the parks for the second day, but with the amount of "Zone 1" walking I did Friday and would do for two more days, I cut that back to half an hour. I schlepped to the hotel's workout room bright and early to find a tiny, glass-enclosed, smelly sweatbox with five machines: two treadmills, two ellipticals and a crappy exercise bike, all already occupied. 

My first instinct was to say "Screw it" and go back to bed, but I decided to give it five minutes to see if any machines would open up. That old dude on treadmill #1 was looking pekid, so I thought I had a chance. Luckily, I only had to wait a couple of minutes; but it was another three minutes into my run when I realized I could've just gone for a run outside. Doh. (This is an example of when having a Garmin would come in handy. I needed to know the distance I covered during my half hour, which is why the treadmill was first choice.)

Another three days of terribly yummy yet exceedingly unhealthy food later, I was back home, stepping on the scale and cursing. I knew the vacation weight would come off quickly, but it still sucks seeing crappy numbers. I felt huge and yucky from all the salty, fatty food. Even my swim cap grew tighter.

So now, I'm into week two of my training plan, and I'm starting to get back in the groove. Biking and swimming are feeling natural again (running never left me; thanks, running!). I got up early and got my workouts done before work every day this week. (That's getting easier, thank goodness.) The vacation weight is gone. (Off-season weight, you're next!) I even had a small breakthrough during today's swim. I'm slightly less pathetically slow.

I hope I can keep the life balance going well through the holidays. This season is known as "Christmas Hell" to us gigging musicians. I didn't take as many gigs this year, but the schedule can still be tough. There is no day off until Christmas is over. Regular work (the real job) is particularly tense right now, with new employees, planning for 2013, and some role changes for me (for the better). I appreciate the help I get from my mom, my sister and JC this time of year. They're all pretty agreeable and supportive. They enable me to do everything I do.

Day 1

Today is the first official day of my training cycle for Ironman Texas. YAY!!!!

My plan called for a rest day today (don't you just love a training plan that starts with a rest day?!), but due to a trip planned for later this week, I've moved some workouts around. I swam 1,800 this morning. If I hadn't been wearing a watch, I would've said it was a GREAT swim. I felt good, and I think I made some progress on my form. But my watch says I'm still slow. Stupid watch.

Like lemonade, thanks for asking.

Today was my fourth and final attempt of the week to get up early and exercise before work. My workout was a swim, which is the discipline I take the least seriously, so I'm a bit less motivated to get up and get the whole thing done. Once again, I had a morning appointment scheduled, which meant this morning's timetable left little wiggle room.

I made two tactical errors last night that affected this morning's wake-up:

• I failed to build snooze-button time into my routine when I set my alarm last night. Why? I guess I was overly optimistic, but deep down, I know I didn't care too much if I slept in a few minutes and had to cut my swim short. Truth hurts, but it will set you free.
• I didn't go to bed early enough. Why? Because I was playing around with settings for metrics on Training Peaks. (Exciting news! I discovered that I can track the color of my urine. YES IT'S TRUE! Holla if you're as excited about this as I am!)




Training Peaks, you had me at "Urine Color."

 

Although I haven't conquered it yet, getting up early has gotten easier. I don't know if I'll ever be a morning person, but I'll take what I can get. Nevermind the fact that I accidentally put chocolate milk in my coffee, and for the first time this week, I am craving a nap. 8 points

Since I was slack and didn't get up right away, I only had time to complete 68% of my workout. So, both swims were too short this week. I see room for improvement. 68 points

I arrived at my appointment 10 minutes early. (Damn, I could've stayed in the pool 9 more minutes.) 10 points

Grade for today: B

Overall, this week went much, much better than I had anticipated. Having most of my evenings free to spend with JC and Beanhead has been wonderful. I even had dinner with my mom and attended my niece's dance recital last night - just like a normal person!

Now, off to check my urine color.



Attempt #3

Today was attempt #3 for getting up and working out early in the morning. (Yesterday was an evening long run, so I got to sleep in. And what a wonderful run it was! Six effortless, easy miles in the 50 degree darkness. Ahhhhh.....) I also had an appointment scheduled for 9am today, so I had to get up and start the trainer ride at a certain time if was to get the entire ride done; no dilly-dallying, lolligagging or otherwise screwing around.

I only hit the 5-minute snooze button one extra time. ("Extra" is defined as hitting it more times than I had planned; I build in a certain amount of time for snoozing when I'm calculating my wake-up time.) JC was a little surprised when I mumbled coherently to please turn on the lights - and I didn't use bad words. 10 points!

I completed 102% of my planned trainer ride. YES! I rode ONE EXTRA MINUTE! 102 points

I arrived to my appointment on time. (Used here, "on time" means within 7 minutes of the actual scheduled appointment time, and 10+ minutes before the other person arrived. Booyah!) 8 points

Today's grade: A-

I am quite pleased with today's performance. I have to admit, it was a little easier to get up today. I hope that's a sign of things to come. I'm a bit nervous, though, because starting next week, I will have to be at work much earlier than usual. I'm hiring a few people for a short-term project, and I'll have to be there early to train them. That means I'll have to get up SUPER early to get my workout done and get to work at an inhumane time. And I probably should not wear running shorts their first week, so I need to build in extra time to put on actual pants. And make-up. And hair product.

I can do this.

Attempt #2

Today was attempt #2 for getting up early and working out before work.

I got up "soon" after my alarm went off. (This is a relative term.) JC helped a lot - he talked to me, turned on the lights, and asked me if I want to be an Ironman. He is awesome. 9 points

I completed 100% of my run (it was only 2 miles; I'm being careful about adding an extra day of running to my week). I also completed 100% of my core workout (blech). 1,000,000 points

I arrived to work a few minutes later than usual, which is much later than I should arrive. -999,923 points

Things that helped:

• I got my clothes ready last night and laid them out.
• I went to bed early again.
• Beanhead slept in her bed all night for the second night in a row. (What a great kid - all we had to do was ask her, and she obliged.)

Grade for today: B.

Attempt #1

Attempt #1 to get up early and exercise before work: I give myself a C.

I did not get up as early as I had intended, but it was at least an hour earlier than normal. 10 points

I only completed 59% of my planned swim. However, had I left it until later in the day, 0% would have been completed today. 59 points

I arrived to work a few minutes before my usual time (still later than I should). 7 points

As JC (my dear hubby) said this morning, it would suck to have to say, "I would've done an Ironman, but the only thing holding me back was an inability to get out of bed."

Tomorrow is another day. I can do this.

This Week's Challenge

It was a pretty good week of pre-training (training to get ready for the real training to begin). I ran four times, including a long run which I was able to keep properly slow. I had two good trainer rides and am starting to feel comfortable on the bike again. I hit my goal for total hours of exercise. The best part is that almost all of the week was pain-free.

The bad news is, I neither swam nor did any strength workouts. It's easy to blame the weird holiday schedule and a short business trip, but I know if I had managed my time better, I could've gotten it all in. It's not detrimental to let some workouts slide while I'm not truly in training, but I still feel guilty.

My fear is that I will continue to be lax when the real training starts. I don't really think that'll happen, though. I plan to get as many workouts done before work as possible. This is THE HARDEST THING IN THE WORLD for me. But... If I want to be an Ironman, I have to get these things done, and to get them done, I have to fit them in around the rest of life: family, work, and music. I will find a way.

I plan to exercise before work 4 out of 5 days this week: two swims, one run and a trainer ride. It's going to be tough, but I have a plan: I'm going to go to bed earlier every night, and I asked my kid to please stay in her own bed all night so Mom and Dad can get good, quality sleep. I also told her of my plan to get up early. My hope is that the added pressure of setting an example for her will be enough to get my ass up.

The Bright Side

I went for a beautiful bike ride today with five guys (mmmm..... suddenly I could go for a cheeseburger), most of whom I've never ridden with before. It was 50 degrees when we started, and windy - gusts over 19mph. The leaves peaked this week, and the route was through gently rolling farmland.

This was my first outdoor ride in a month, and my longest ride in almost 2 months. I've been riding 30 t0 45 minutes at a time on the trainer, so I knew I would feel a little rusty today. Well, "a little rusty" doesn't begin to cover it. Not only were my legs weak and heavy, but my brain has apparently atrophied.

First of all, I left my aero bottle on the counter. A planned two-hour ride requires two water bottles. My bike only has one bottle cage on the frame, so my second bottle would be between my aero bars. You need a special aero-shaped bottle for this, so I couldn't just use a regular bottle instead. The solution would normally be to stick a regular bottle in my bike shirt pocket. However, this idiot didn't wear a cycling jersey today; she wore two running shirts and a running jacket. No pocket for a bottle.

Sigh.

Moving on.... I only knew of one other person I was meeting to ride with (Todd), and I've only met him once. At the time, he was sitting and wearing regular clothes. Stand him up, put some cycling garb and sunglasses on him, and he looks completely different. So, I go say hi to a small group of guys who are getting ready to ride, and don't recognize him. I keep looking around to see if Todd has shown up yet, and decide that if he doesn't show, I'll just join this other group (one of whom I knew). What a nice, embarassing moment it was when I finally asked, "Is one of you Todd?" - and one of them was.

Double sigh.

The ride itself was fun and invigorating. It was also maddening. I can't believe that less than two months ago, I could ride 56 miles averaging 19mph and run a 1:57 half afterward. Today, I struggled to average 16mph for a 30 mile ride. It really, really sucks to have lost so much fitness and endurance.

BUT:
(You know, I always have to find a bright side.)

Why did I lose so much fitness? Because I took time off. I rested. I let my brain and my body relax and heal. I refilled the well that had been emptied after 11 months of constant training and racing. As depressing as it is to have to start over, I know that it was the right thing to do. Ultimately, the break I took will pay dividends during IMTX training. And if it doesn't, well, May 18th is going to be a very long day.

Oh, and for those keeping track at home: 2 hours of riding with the first 90 minutes knee-pain free. T run of 1.25 miles with no knee pain at all. I am rejoicing.

Knock, knock.

A handful of exciting sports-related opportunities have presented themselves to me in the past couple of months. I can’t mention them outright at this point, because they’re not official “done deals” yet, but I’m pretty stoked to have these things on the horizon.

More to come!

Dr Awesome

I had an appointment with Dr Awesome this week (not his real name) to begin working on my knees. (To review, the right one never quite recovered from a fall I took while running in Augusta last August, and the left one has been a pissy little bitch off and on since the Augusta Half Ironman.) Dr Awesome does great A.R.T.

Dr Awesome watched me run so he could check my gait and immediately saw that my left knee was being pulled inward. This would account for the pain on the outside of my knee. (In retrospect, it makes perfect sense - I now remember my knees rubbing together when I ran last week.) He worked on that leg, un-gummed the right knee, and gave me a refresher on the stretches I need to do daily and during my runs. I left his office feeling very optimistic.

So optimistic, in fact, that I plunked down $200 for the 24-week David Glover training plan. The deed is done: I will officially begin training for Ironman Texas on December 2nd.

Let us pause to rejoice that The Plan Decision has been made.

Fast forward to that evening, when I hopped on the trainer for an easy 30 minute spin. I had more pain in my left knee than I've ever had during a ride. I was scared. Did I just waste my money on a training plan that I won't be able to do because my knee is screwed up for life?

Luckily, I have a level-headed husband and good friends who have experience with injury and recovery. They talked me down. They reminded me that my over-use injury didn't occur in one day, and it wouldn't be fixed in one day. That's why we go for a series of treatments, not just one-and-done.

The next day, I noticed a very strange feeling in my knees: upon rising from or sitting down in a chair, my knees didn't hurt. I hadn't even realized they were hurting so much until they weren't hurting any more. It's funny the things you get used to and accept as normal.

Today I ran about four and half miles and had no knee pain at all. My legs felt nice and loose. I stopped every 10 minutes during my run to stretch, as prescribed by Dr Awesome. Tomorrow I'll hop on the bike and see what happens.

And no matter what, I won't freak out.*

*I reserve the right to freak out.

Hey Lois: I did it.

I did it. I survived my annual two-week break. And I didn't slap anybody, have a nervous breakdown, or complain about it (much).

Every November, I take 10 to 14 days off from training. No running at all. This time, no biking either. I do it to let my body and mind rest and recover from the previous 11 months of training, and to prepare for the next training session.

After the Augusta Half Ironman, I had planned to take it easy for 10 days (done), kill it at the Ray Tanner Home Run 12k (done), then do a couple of long runs in preparation for the Governor's Cup Half Marathon on November 3rd. But after an 11 mile progression run, my knees, which had been talking to me for a month or two, started talking loudly and more often. I made the difficult decision to skip the half marathon and begin my November break early.

So, today was my first day back. I rode the trainer before work for 30 easy minutes. I knew my body would feel a bit rusty, but I wasn't expecting the left knee pain to come back so quickly and decisively. I am glad that I had already made an appointment with the best ART practitioner in the world for later this week. I plan to knock this crap out. I will also get re-fit on my bike to make sure my position isn't causing stress to the knee.

I've planned a very light week of easy workouts  - short run here, easy spin there - to start getting my body back into a routine and used to sweating again.

For those of you following along at home, NO I have NOT yet selected my training plan for Ironman Texas. I have, however, narrowed it down from 2 plans to 6 plans.

Yup.

What's the plan, Phil?

I need a plan.

My two-week break is almost over, and I have yet to choose a training plan for IMTX. I have narrowed it down to two plans: a free one from beginnertriathlete.com (we’ll call this one “Freebie from BT”), and a not-even-in-the same-zip-code-as-free one by David Glover on trainingpeaks.com (we’ll call this one “Expensivie from TP”).

I’ve made a list of pros and cons of each plan. It goes like this:

Freebie from BT:

·         Pro: It’s FREE.

·         Con: I can’t import it into my TP account; I can only print it out on paper. I’ll have to manually enter each workout into TP.

·         Pro: I used a BT plan to train for my first 70.3, and it got the job done. I stayed injury-free and finished my race in 6:10 – not bad for my first, I guess.

·         Con: While my free 70.3 plan from BT was sufficient, there were some vague workout descriptions, and I didn’t think its long bike segments were long enough (so I added to them, which ended up being a good call).

·         Pro: There is a huge support community on BT, so I can probably find others online doing the same plan at the same time for the same race.

·         Con: There is no coach to email if I have questions about the plan.

·         Pro/Con (I’m not sure): It’s a 20-week plan, so it starts Dec. 30^th.

Expensivie from TP:

·         Pro: It will automatically populate in my online TP account.

·         Con: It costs a good chunk of money.

·         Pro: I can email the coach with questions about the plan (this is not the same thing as having a coach).

·         Con: The support community on TP is nil.

·         Pro: It includes information on tri-specific strength training and has strength workouts included in the plan.

·         Pro: It has supplemental video clips. (I found this to be enjoyable and informative with the Dave Scott plan I did for Augusta 70.3.)

·         Pro/Con: There are two plans I could choose from: A 24-week plan (begins Dec. 2^nd) and an 18-week plan (begins mid-January; it costs a little less, but I’d have to make my own ramp-up plan for December.)

·         Pro: This plan is supposedly tailored for my particular race, with bike workouts that pertain to IMTX terrain (flat to gently rolling hills).

Of course, no matter which one I choose, I still have to make my own plan for November. I know what some of you are thinking: This is the off season. You don’t need a plan. Do other stuff. Do what you feel like. But I know myself, and if I don’t have a plan and a goal, I won’t do ANYTHING. And while two weeks off is good, six weeks off is not. So even if I’m hula-hooping five hours a week, I need to plan where and when to do it.

If you have trained for an Ironman without a coach, I would love your input: What plan did you use? How many hours were your average and peak weeks? Did your plan include recovery weeks, and how often? What was your longest ride? What was your longest run? Did you feel adequately prepared? Would you recommend your plan?

A First Time for Everything

It's time. I can't avoid it any more. I knew I had to do it, and I put it off as long as I could. No, I'm not talking about shaving my legs.

I'm starting a blog.

Why now? Well, there are many reasons, but the top ten five three reasons go something like this:

3) I'm halfway through my annual two-week break from training and exercise. No biking plus no running equals more time and energy. Why not start a blog?

2) Everyone else seems to be doing it, so it must be fun. And I haven't heard of anyone tweaking their knee or getting overheated doing it, so it must be safe. And it doesn't involve doing laundry or cleaning anything (except maybe cleaning up my language), which means I'm not allergic to it.

1) I've committed to doing something really big next year: I signed up to race Ironman Texas. This is not something I do every day, or every month, or even every year; as a matter of fact, this will be my first full Ironman. It will be my only Ironman for a long, long time - maybe EVER. So, it seems worthy of being chronicled.

Besides, how hard could it be?