Rest... Rest... Rest...

After it's all said and done, rest was the best thing for me.  After all the training and racing I put my body thru I took about 3 weeks off from training to relax and recoup and heal up. I thought it would be hard, but I actually found enjoyment in doing nothing unless I wanted to. I didn't run for 3 weeks, as I had a ligament strain in my foot. I then found out that the pain in my neck was due to my fall at ACC, which caused a trapezious muscle strain, and had to get a cortisone shot at the base of my skull. I only swam on Tuesday after MCM and biking, well I started taking spin class with Rich on Monday nights. I took a few yoga classes and loved it, realizing I really need to work on my stretching. I did what I wanted when I wanted. And when I did that first run with the group, this past Wednesday, it felt great. I kept a 11:20 pace for 3.5 miles. I just thought of my accomplishments this past year. All the obstacles I overcame. The fun time and the pains. And then realized that the fun will soon end as Boulder IM training will be starting soon.

And the fun now ends... Tomorrow I start my 36 week program towards Boulder IM.  I feel confident that I can do this race, as long as I improve on my bike.

Can I do it, I sure hope so.
Am I scared, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't
Will I do it, oh hell yes, or die trying.

BOULDER IM 2014... HERE I COME!!!

A Wall I Had to Get Over

How the hell do you get over a hill you were never meant to climb?

What do you do when you have obstacle after obstacle thrown at you and you get beaten down to the ground?

What do you do when you just don't think you can go any further, but you know you have to?

This is all that went thru my mind during the Marine Corp Marathon. This was my A race. This is what I was training for. I thought I had this. I thought I would definitely PR. But my body had another agenda. A week before the race I got severely ill, this was my second bout with some illness that knocked the shit out of me. The previous was 4 days before my fall half, Naperville Trails Half Marathon. I ended up in the ER due to dehydration and had tests run, all of them saying nothing. Although Coach advised me not to race it, I said I would just run it to finish and screw any time.  HAHA right... I managed to run the whole race without stopping or walk breaks, and I got a new PR... Where did that come from I have no clue. I think it was the excitement around me or it was that it was raining so much I just wanted to finish so I could get home in a nice warm bed.

This next time around it was just about as worse. I was puking my guts out for over 36hrs straight, causing me to lose over 6lbs. My runs up to this point were in pain as my leg/hip was killing me so I had to pull back on my long. I never reached my 20 miles, only hit 15, then my 15 turned out to be 12. My furthest run was 18 miles. I didn't think this was a factor as I had run a marathon before and knew what to expect. It may not have been a big issue, but I think in the end it did play a factor in hitting the wall.

As part of the MCM, they had a fun run on Saturday morning, which I of coarse signed up for. It was fun and easy, and I got to run along side to Bart Yasso. I didn't realize who he really was until they did the speeches at the brunch. He had some amazing stories to share with us and let us know that it's ok to go slow if we have to and that finishing is the most important part. That we should stick to our plan and not sway under the spotlight of the race.

As far as MCM, I decided to run with the 5:30 pace group. I thought, this would be best for me as I would PR if I finished, not with the 5:15 I was hoping for, but a PR still. Also it would help to keep me on track with my pace so I don't start too quickly and die out in the end.  Well my plan worked for me, I kept up with the group and had fun at it too.  It wasn't until mile 18 that I felt some pains in my hip/ankle. I pulled back a bit, changed my stride and that helped. Mile 20 came and went and I was doing great, a few pains, some pulls in my calfes but still moving along. Not sure what happened next, someone stepped on the back of my shoe I had to stop and I think that threw me off. By mile 22 I was starting to really feel it. I was losing it, trying to talk myself into finishing thinking I couldn't do it anymore. By mile 23 I was starting to cry. I texted the girls and Rich in hopes for words of encouragement. I had now started walking, and crying. I was pushing thru the pain, not sure I could finish. At mile 25 I thought, "suck it up and run" so i tried, and that lasted about 5 steps before I almost fell over in pain. I went back to walking. A soldier saw me and he yelled at me to pick my head up and push forward. To run for my soldier as he's not here to run himself. That did it for me. I went into a quick walk. Then I saw the 26 mile marker. I knew I had to run in the finish. I couldn't walk it. I had to do this. So I ran, I ran thru the pain, I cried and I ran, with every step knowing that this was for Capt Brandon Cyr. He was my angel that pushed me up that hill and down the stretch to the finish.  And I did it. My time didn't matter, all that mattered was that I finished.  When I saw the Marines with our medals at the end of the corral, I walked up, crying but smiling. He put my medal around my neck, saluted me and then hugged me... I broke down and he said I did an awesome job, and you know what.. I DID.

As our shirst say... Always Earned Never Given... This is true, I earned my medal!!

My first Century... DONE

It has been a while since my last post, but not much has been going on.  My training has tapered down and I was focusing on my biking in order to knock an item off my bucket list.  Coach wanted me to complete a century this year in hopes that it will work to my advantage for Boulder IM.  Well I DID IT, and then some.

In August, Stephanie I and I went up north to Fond du Lac, WI for Gather Race the Lake. It was definitely a challenge of a ride, as we were not allowed to drop into our areo bars.  The first half was great, nice flat and fast. With the exception of Oshkosh that the roads were a mess, we kept on track for that half. The second half was OMG a challenge. Talk about rolling hills. At the half way point, we refueled and tried to decide how to tackle it. We first had to tackle "king of the hill"... I didn't know what I was gonna do. Will I walk it, will i fall over will i make it.. no one knew until I started. Then of coarse at the top of the hill is the photographer so I had no choice but to push thru it and get it done or else there would be proof of me walking it. But in the end I did it and I was soo happy. Stephanie encouraged me the whole way and that helped me a bunch.  But with the rolling hills that came up I saw my pace starting to slow down, but we finished it and we were both happy. That was the furthest I'd riden to date.

Next on the agenda was a full Century. This one was for Rich and I to do together. I knew after Gather that this shouldn't be too difficult, especially since there isn't any rule about using your aerobars. I had that advantage. I also had my cassette updated on my bike in hopes to help me tackle those rolling hills. Although it felt like it helped, I still need to learn how to change my gears and really tackle those hills. This was such a great ride and it was awesome to be able experience it with Rich. I was so proud of him to get thru the ride on his mountain bike, which I'm sure was a challenge in itself.  

The ride itself was pretty uneventful, at least until mile 48. I was ahead of Rich but didn't think by much, and so as I was waiting for him and for traffic to clear, I managed to fall. Yup first fall on my bike, I leaded toward the right, where my foot was still clipped in and BOMB I went down. The riders there were so great helping me up and making sure I was ok. Then when traffic cleared we crossed and headed off.  Eventually Rich and I were together again, it seems that at that same intersection, Rich had a flat. So once he fixed that and I got an extra rest waiting at another intersection, we were on our way to the finish.  

We decided that this will be our yearly tradition and that we will keep tackling the 100 and hills as our thing :)

So quite lately

Since Racine, it seems like things are finally starting to quite down for me.  Not training as intense, even thou I have 3 more important events. 

Aug 18 - Race the Lake 90 mileer
Sept 29 - Apple Cider Century
Oct 27 - Marine Corp Marathon

The biking I'm not too concerned over, I know I can do the distance and my feel is just wanting to finish, so as long as I can keep a good steady pace I should be good.  Stephanie I is going with me to Race the Lake and I know I'll be able to pace well with her. She's a bit faster but I'm ok with that.  Rich is doing Apple Cider Century with me, along with Joe/Kathy, but I already know Joe/Kathy won't be riding the whole route, so I'm hoping Rich can keep me motivate.  That will be my longest ride EVER.

Marine Corp is now the big task.  With the fact that my running went to crap after my fall and during the last weeks of my training, I know I need to work on getting my pace back up there. Dave has me working on drills and pacing. Increasing my distance and hoping I snap back into it.  So far so good. I'm able to run more and have pretty much dumped my walk intervals.  For anything less than 6 miles, I'm doing 1 mile intervals at whatever pace Dave tells me (11-1130 or 1130-1145) with a 4 min easy run. I'm able to monitor and judge my pace and it seems to be working for me.  I think I need to setup alerts on my Garmin thou, so that I don't go too slow on my 4 min intervals. But in yesterday's run I was able to maintain an 1126 for 5.38 miles.  My goal for Marine Corp is to PR, just to be faster than a 5:31, but hoping to do a 5:15. It's flat coarse so I think I can do it, Baltimore was so hilly I walked more cuz of those hills than because I hit a wall or anything.

WOW... Did I really do that???

I think I'm still in shock that I actually got thru Racine 70.3.

I know I didn't post earlier, and it has been a week since I competed, but I still can't believe that it's done. I can't believe that I finished under my time as well. I thought for sure I would take the whole 8 hrs that I alloted myself, but the fact that I finished in a 7:19:39, I still can't believe it.  Had I not been so concerned with my ankle, which in the end held out but my knee was another story, I probably could've broke a 7:00.  Regardless, for a first 70.3, I am REALLY REALLY HAPPY!!!

Race weekend was tough, and I know I had some obstacles to overcome, but in the end it all came together. 

Friday night was the start of release weekend at work, so here I was having to work late. Thursday before I "worked" form home and tried to get my gear organized, plus the stress of trying to find a bike hitch that would work with my Jeep, it was just too much for me to deal with.  I was lucky that Rich, from the Bike Shop, was able to get me one, and thankfully Stephanie I switched cars with me so that it could get installed on Friday.  With her having my Jeep, they were able to load it up so that Saturday morning was just dropping off dogs, switching cars, getting my bike on the rack and then picking up Stephanie B.  It all worked out in the end, but stress I really really did not need.  Release went easy, granted we had some bumps in the beginning, Steve got online (even thou he wasn't scheduled) and covered for me so I could go to bed, until off-shore got online. He was like "you worked so hard for this, I don't want this release to mess it up for you".  We are finally in sync here in the office and everything eventually works out, so this was really nice.

Saturday went seemless, I did manage to get about 6 hrs sleep. Kids were off to boarding and now it was time to head up with the Stephanies :)  We found our hotel and were able to check in. Then it was off to expo and racking our bikes.  Expo was really dangerous. I kind of went overboard, but I figured, what if I become a one and done with IM's that I never go back. So I got my stuff now :)  We attended the pre-race talk and got the lowdown on stuff, then racked our bikes and went to the beach to just soak our toes.  Stephanie I, Wendy, Frank and myself decided to skip on the Italian team dinner and went to dinner on our own. After dinner we took a soak in the tub and were in bed by 630.  Around 9pm it hit me, that damn little brownie we had for dessert was killing me, TOO MUCH CHOCOLATE. My heart was pounding and I couldn't sleep.

Race morning was here...

OMG I'm so nervous. I couldn't eat anything. I managed to stomach a Stinger Waffle but nothing more.  I setup transition, walked around and was like... WHAT AM I DOING HERE??? A look at the beach and I was even more terrified. The wave were strong and hitting the shore. We were assured that the water was calm after the first turn when we hit the sand bar... Um yeah I don't think so. But we sucked it up and headed to the swim start.  Wendy was the first of the group to go, then me, then after a little time the rest of the group went, one wave after the other. I was glad to be in the water first but sucked I couldn't see everyone else or give hugs before I leap into the wavy water.  The swim was tough... REALLY TOUGH. The wave were really a chore to cut thru that I had to stop on the platform before the first turn so that I can catch my breath.  After the first turn I was just trying to find my pace. It was hard because so many were struggling and I didn't want to swim over people.  After trying to get some distance between me and my wave, I ran into Wendy. I could tell she was struggling, I tried to give her some words of encouragement but I had to keep going.  I felt so bad leaving her behind but I didn't know what else I could do. Luckily there were plenty of bouy's along the course, I was hoping she was using those to stop and get her bearings before moving on.

Once I got out of the swim, and thank you to the man who helped me get my wetsuit off, it was now to the bike. I screwed up with my Garmin, and wasn't sure what my real start time was. At least I was able to keep track of my pace and I was kicking butt. I was topping 17mph, and I was feeling good. Then I realized I wasn't even 20 miles in and I should slow down so I'm not dead by the end.  Overall, I kept a 16.2 mph pace so that was right on with my training. 

Then came the run... oh the run, how I hate you so. My legs felt shot from the ride, well more my quads. I transitioned and was on my way. I saw Lou on my run out as he was racking his bike, then I had Jorge pass me on the run followed later by Lou. While on the course I was then passed by Jose, I saw Dave, Dan, Stephanie B, Stephanie I and Wendy. I was so happy to see Wendy, because I knew then that she didn't give up during the swim.  We would cheer each other on as we passed by, giving high-fives and complaining but pushing thru it.  My calves here tight, my ankle was good, but my knee was not happy. I had to walk much more than I wanted to, but I knew I had a lead on my time since my bike was faster than the 15mph I was predicting. I knew that if I kept it up, I would do it and it wasn't too bad (at least this is what I kept telling myself). By mile 3, my knee was just done. But I wouldn't give up. I came too far to give up now.  Judy was there with the other girls cheering us on, and she ran with me a little, helping get past my mental block. I pushed and pushed and I finally saw the finish... PYSCH!!! I still had to turn and go back out for another loop. Such not a fun thing, so close but yet so far away. On the way back, about mile 12 I see Carla again, cheering me on. I said my legs were hurting and now she ran a bit with me to help me get past it.  Only 1+ mile left to go, I had this and I just had to push thru it. Save a little energy to finish strong and get a good finish picture :)  And that is just what I did... I got thru this and finished way strong.

In the end all my hard work payed off.  12 weeks of hard training, early mornings, aches and pain, and hours and hours of training.

156.30 miles logged running (32:05:58)
827.45 miles logged biking (57:21:05)
30.95 miles logged swimming (17:53:18)

This is on top of the several races and events that were slipped in before I realized my training would dominate my life.  I'm still surprised that I was able to do all of this and survive a release and still be under my 8hrs.

What a way to finish my Tri Season... Now off to start Marathon Season.

It's almost time

I'm feeling really on edge lately.  Could it be cuz of my race, or cuz of deployment this weekend... Whichever it is, it is really impacting my sleep.  Last night I just couldn't relax. I was tossing and turning all night. Then I had Payton tossing and turning and pushing me. I just couldn't sleep. And then of coarse she's up at 6am and wanting to snuggle and kiss... so much for sleeping in :(

At least I finally got my bike rack.  Thanks to Stephanie I, who switched cars with me, went out to the Bike Shop and got in installed. Then both Stephanie's were going to load up the Jeep with there stuff so that tomorrow all I have to do is drop off the pups at boarding and then switch back cars and get my bike loaded and we can hit the road.  I've packed, unpacked, checked my list, and packed again and finally have all my gear set.  It's already in the jeep so all I have left is to make sure I have PJ's and clothes packed and my nutrition, and then I'm really done.

Tomorrow morning is going to be an early morning. We want to be up in Racine by the 11:30 for the Athlete Race Briefing.  Stephanie I, Wendy and I decided to opt out on the group dinner and we're probably going to do an earlier dinner at AppleBees.  Although most like to carb up before a race, Italian food just doesn't settle well with me, plus my ulcer has been going crazy that I don't want to aggravate it more than it already is.  It's not that we're not being team players, it's more that we want to be careful with out stomachs and really really don't want to throw up at the finish line.  I'm nervous enough as it is, I don't need to be worried about my stomach.

I'm thinking I'm ready for this... My bike pace has gotten so much better, somehow in the last 2 ride i was keeping an 16-17mph pace. My run hasn't improved much but at least I know I need to keep a 13 min pace. My swim, well my swim is my swim, hasn't improved much but I'm happy with it.

Now I'm just hoping I survive this release and get home in time to get at least 6 hrs sleeps and then be up and ready to go.

Let the countdown begin!!!

We are down to the last week of workouts.

Last week to perfect our nutrition.

Last week to try to figure out...

WHY THE HELL DID I SIGN UP FOR THIS?????