I will be wearing this for Ironman WI! It is light and feels so good to run in. Plus, why not bring a little sexy back to the Ironman!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Running Skirt
I have a new favorite workout item! It is a running skirt from skirt sports ( www.skirtsports.com ). I wish I would have started using this in the beginning of the season. I went with the triathlon skirt because it has buttons for your race number right on the skirt. The triathlon one, unlike the running one, does not come with a liner so I had to buy that separately. On the website they have triathlon shorts that can be worn under it, but I bought the sporties (they look like the bundies you wear in track). I LOVE IT! The only thing that people may not like is that it is short. However it is no shorter than some of the running shorts out there.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Bib #1992
They posted the bib numbers today. I am number 1992. It's overwhelming that so many people are in this race. There are less than 9 days until the race and now the nerves are really setting in. I can't imagine for all those doing Louisville are feeling right now!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Race Wheels!
I just got the Zipp 303 race wheels put on today. They just make a bike look fast! I am so greatful that a friend I have been swimming with loaned them to me. Maybe someday I will get myself a pair of these, but there are so many things that are on my "triathlon want list". My trainer broke, or rather a part broke, this past weekend. I have been looking online for new parts, but have been unsuccessful. Maybe it is time for a new one!
Getting the wheels put on really means the race is near! I started getting a little nervous last Sunday, right at the beginning of taper of course! Instead of asking me why I am doing this Ironman (I have been asked this by just about everyone I know and don't know), I am getting asked, "what are you going to do when it is over". I honestly don't know. I may sign up for it again, I may concentrate on 1/2's next year, I may just do Olympic.
I cannot say I regret the time I spent working out this summer. I am lucky enough to be able to stay at home with my kids so I see them ALL THE TIME! I can say the last few long rides felt extra long. The swimming and the running never felt that bad to me.
Mike is not too keen on having more babies, so I need something to take up all this extra time!
Getting the wheels put on really means the race is near! I started getting a little nervous last Sunday, right at the beginning of taper of course! Instead of asking me why I am doing this Ironman (I have been asked this by just about everyone I know and don't know), I am getting asked, "what are you going to do when it is over". I honestly don't know. I may sign up for it again, I may concentrate on 1/2's next year, I may just do Olympic.
I cannot say I regret the time I spent working out this summer. I am lucky enough to be able to stay at home with my kids so I see them ALL THE TIME! I can say the last few long rides felt extra long. The swimming and the running never felt that bad to me.
Mike is not too keen on having more babies, so I need something to take up all this extra time!
Monday, August 25, 2008
TAPER!
We were up north this weekend and, while the workouts were longer than I thought they would be (4hr bike followed by a 30 min run, a 1.5 hour run and 1 hour swim), I still got to do this. I felt this is the only time I have been able to do this all summer! Lately, a lot of follow triathletes have been talking about motivation. It is the end of the season and I think, psychologically, the last race is a hard one to do. I have been using this taper the last few weeks as motivation.
More to come later! I am off to Masters! I was looking to having today off, because I usually do! Since there are only 2 weeks left, I know I should go even though it is pitch black outside. Again, also digging deep for that last extra umph!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The Near Perfect Bike Ride
Yesterday I woke up super early as usual to get ready for the long bike I had. I was supposed to ride with Kim and her boyfriend Joe, but as I pulled up at our meeting place at 7am I saw almost 10 other riders. I was a little timid as the only other time I rodeh a group was at IM WI camp. I did not know these people and they looked like good bikers. All of them were super nice. The pace was perfect for going the long haul and the route was great too. The first loop was did was of St Paul with 2 really big hills. I should go back to those hills and do them next weekend! After about 2 hours we came back, some of the bikers were finished and we also added more people for the last part of the ride. This time we did my loop out to Excelisor and Chanhassen. It was so nice riding with other people, especially for the drafting you could do sometimes.
Two other things also made the bike fabulous. The first is the new cassette I got from Julie. I felt like I was riding on air. It was cleaner than my old one, but I also think a little nicer. I am now riding with a 25/12 instead of a 23/11. I don't think I would have made it up the hills in St Paul without this. I am so glad I got it put on. People were also telling me that I may want a 27/12 at Madison. I will have to look into that since Madison is so hilly.
My nutrition was also on. This is the first long bike where I didn't feel like I was going to pass out near the end. I decided to go with gels and water only. It totally worked! The energy drink I was using must have been upsetting my stomach. I also had to add the electrolyte tabs since I wasn't using the drink anymore. I will try this again next weekend and see how it goes. I was so happy the rest of the day.
I just felt like it all came together yesterday. I hope the feeling stays a few more weeks!
Two other things also made the bike fabulous. The first is the new cassette I got from Julie. I felt like I was riding on air. It was cleaner than my old one, but I also think a little nicer. I am now riding with a 25/12 instead of a 23/11. I don't think I would have made it up the hills in St Paul without this. I am so glad I got it put on. People were also telling me that I may want a 27/12 at Madison. I will have to look into that since Madison is so hilly.
My nutrition was also on. This is the first long bike where I didn't feel like I was going to pass out near the end. I decided to go with gels and water only. It totally worked! The energy drink I was using must have been upsetting my stomach. I also had to add the electrolyte tabs since I wasn't using the drink anymore. I will try this again next weekend and see how it goes. I was so happy the rest of the day.
I just felt like it all came together yesterday. I hope the feeling stays a few more weeks!
Monday, August 11, 2008
The final stretch at Turtleman!
On Saturday I did the Turtleman Triathlon. It wasn't a sprint or olympic distance, more of somethihng in between. The day started off pretty nice. Ellie woke up with me at 5am and helped me get the car loaded. I think she fell asleep soon after I left. The weather was cool and the water calm. As soon as I got there I ran into tons of people I know. Since I got someone else's spot the race directors put me near the end to start. I started number 933 out of 1000 people. Normally it goes by age, so I started with a lot of kids nearly half my age! We went off every 3 seconds, so I started almost an hour after the elite wave!
The water was pretty mucky to start out with. There were a lot of weeds and it was pretty shallow. Since I was so far back I had to maneuver around a lot of slower swimmers. I was out of the water in just under 23 minutes or 1:24 per 100 yards. My swim felt really good and really relaxed. Right in the middle of the swim was a sand bar. The water was really shallow, probably not even up to my calves. Wetsuits were allowed, but I am sure they should not have been! They measured the water at 77.999999. Wetsuits are not allowed at above 78 degrees.
T1 was a little long since I was near the end of the transition area. As usual it took me a little too long to get my wetsuit off - I still need to cut the legs shorter. In this race you were able to get right on your bike in the transition area. This was probably because there was a hill going right out of transition. The bike was really flat, but again, really crowded for me. We were on the roads and only a portion of the road was coned off so it was hard to pass people. There was a 19 year old drafting off of me the whole time (someone told me this on the run). I am not sure if this person got a penalty. I think most of the USAT officials were off of the course by this point! I did the bike at 21.3 mph or just over an hour. I am told that race wheels will make this even faster! I felt good on the bike, but knew I did not go as fast as I could. My legs did not burn at all. I think it was somewhat due to the fact that the course was so crowded and there were so many people to pass. I guess a good part of being in the back is that you can start picking people off one by one!
T2 went well, better than I normally do. Again, we had to run up a hill to start. The run was my usual trot. It is fitting the race is called turtleman, because I was definitely a turtlewoman! I did 8:53 min miles or just over 45 minutes. I have come not to expect much from my running as far as speed goes. I can run forever now, just not fast. I have not trained speed work at all this summer, mostly because I have been training for Ironman and partly because I have only been working out for 5 and a half months. I wish I would have started running as soon as I signed up for the IM last September, but there is nothing I can do about it now besides work on it in the off season. I did the whole race in just over 2 hr 12 minutes. I placed 7 out of 57 in my age group and 36th out of 287 age group females. I placed a little better percentage wise at Waconia for my age group, but out of overall females I placed better percentage wise here at Turtleman.
I have 4 weeks left until Madison, 2 weeks left until taper. It is great the the Olympics are on, giving me that little extra inspiration in the home stretch.
The water was pretty mucky to start out with. There were a lot of weeds and it was pretty shallow. Since I was so far back I had to maneuver around a lot of slower swimmers. I was out of the water in just under 23 minutes or 1:24 per 100 yards. My swim felt really good and really relaxed. Right in the middle of the swim was a sand bar. The water was really shallow, probably not even up to my calves. Wetsuits were allowed, but I am sure they should not have been! They measured the water at 77.999999. Wetsuits are not allowed at above 78 degrees.
T1 was a little long since I was near the end of the transition area. As usual it took me a little too long to get my wetsuit off - I still need to cut the legs shorter. In this race you were able to get right on your bike in the transition area. This was probably because there was a hill going right out of transition. The bike was really flat, but again, really crowded for me. We were on the roads and only a portion of the road was coned off so it was hard to pass people. There was a 19 year old drafting off of me the whole time (someone told me this on the run). I am not sure if this person got a penalty. I think most of the USAT officials were off of the course by this point! I did the bike at 21.3 mph or just over an hour. I am told that race wheels will make this even faster! I felt good on the bike, but knew I did not go as fast as I could. My legs did not burn at all. I think it was somewhat due to the fact that the course was so crowded and there were so many people to pass. I guess a good part of being in the back is that you can start picking people off one by one!
T2 went well, better than I normally do. Again, we had to run up a hill to start. The run was my usual trot. It is fitting the race is called turtleman, because I was definitely a turtlewoman! I did 8:53 min miles or just over 45 minutes. I have come not to expect much from my running as far as speed goes. I can run forever now, just not fast. I have not trained speed work at all this summer, mostly because I have been training for Ironman and partly because I have only been working out for 5 and a half months. I wish I would have started running as soon as I signed up for the IM last September, but there is nothing I can do about it now besides work on it in the off season. I did the whole race in just over 2 hr 12 minutes. I placed 7 out of 57 in my age group and 36th out of 287 age group females. I placed a little better percentage wise at Waconia for my age group, but out of overall females I placed better percentage wise here at Turtleman.
I have 4 weeks left until Madison, 2 weeks left until taper. It is great the the Olympics are on, giving me that little extra inspiration in the home stretch.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Wiped Out
I have been totally wiped out since the IM Wisconsin camp. For those that know me well I often deal with insomnia. Not this past week! I have fallen asleep right away. Apparently I have not needed the sleep until now! The workouts have been doable and some really good, but by 8pm I am ready for bed.
I rode the computrainer for the very first time last week. It is so much better than my trainer. Maybe I'll get one someday. I rode the Escape from Alcatraz course, which may be more hilly than Madison!
I had some really good workouts this weekend. I rode with someone on Saturday and kept my pace reasonable! When I ride alone, I ride at the very top of the heart rate zone I should be in. Saturday I was totally relaxed and needed that. Plus, the ride was only 3 hours so we were done in no time!
I had my hardest workout of the week on Sunday. It started with an hour easy spin on the trainer. Let me tell you, there is nothing on at 6am on Sunday. It was followed by a 3 hour run. On July 6th I did a 2 hr 20 min run. I did the same loop on Sunday and did it in 2 hours (and I was even walking evey 10 minutes to simulate my IM race). My dog was happy to be done at the 2 hour mark! So, my running has improved or I had a really good day or maybe a combination of both. I almost felt yesterday that my threshold HR is getting higher. I also actually swam this weekend. I usually do not get in my weekend lake swim, but with the IM 5 WEEKS away, I figure I should. I swam with a few other people at this lake about 30 minutes from my house. It was worth the drive for the nice clean water, no motorized boats and no chance of getting ticketed if we get caught!
Monday is my usual day off so when I went to Masters this morning my body was like WTF?!?! I got through the workout. Today was the first time in a long time where I felt tired in the water. All I can think about is 3 more hard weeks until taper!
What am I going to do with myself after IM?!?!
I rode the computrainer for the very first time last week. It is so much better than my trainer. Maybe I'll get one someday. I rode the Escape from Alcatraz course, which may be more hilly than Madison!
I had some really good workouts this weekend. I rode with someone on Saturday and kept my pace reasonable! When I ride alone, I ride at the very top of the heart rate zone I should be in. Saturday I was totally relaxed and needed that. Plus, the ride was only 3 hours so we were done in no time!
I had my hardest workout of the week on Sunday. It started with an hour easy spin on the trainer. Let me tell you, there is nothing on at 6am on Sunday. It was followed by a 3 hour run. On July 6th I did a 2 hr 20 min run. I did the same loop on Sunday and did it in 2 hours (and I was even walking evey 10 minutes to simulate my IM race). My dog was happy to be done at the 2 hour mark! So, my running has improved or I had a really good day or maybe a combination of both. I almost felt yesterday that my threshold HR is getting higher. I also actually swam this weekend. I usually do not get in my weekend lake swim, but with the IM 5 WEEKS away, I figure I should. I swam with a few other people at this lake about 30 minutes from my house. It was worth the drive for the nice clean water, no motorized boats and no chance of getting ticketed if we get caught!
Monday is my usual day off so when I went to Masters this morning my body was like WTF?!?! I got through the workout. Today was the first time in a long time where I felt tired in the water. All I can think about is 3 more hard weeks until taper!
What am I going to do with myself after IM?!?!
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