Ironman Training: What’s different this time around?

Those of you who happen to know me know that I am training for my 2^nd Ironman.  The first one I did was back in 2008 and was an awesome, even if at times tiring experience.  It was so rewarding to have that sense of accomplishment and it made me certain that from that point on I could handle anything that life decided to hand me.  I also said to myself “been there done that!” thinking I’d never do another Ironman again.  I have to be honest I had a little bit of a burnout afterwards and in the two years after I only did a handful of triathlons and not with much thought or feeling behind them.  Don’t get me wrong I was still working out but I wasn’t as focused on triathlons.  Then I came back around and refueled my passion. 

When my dad came to me one day and said, “I’m doing an Ironman and you’re doing it with me!”  I didn’t even hesitate to answer ok but we need a plan and we need to build a base and get back into shape!  I went into instant planning mode.  Some time passed and I hadn’t heard much about it from him so I assumed the moment had passed.  Then I heard from him in November and he said we’re both volunteering as photographers for IM AZ.  Oh crap!  He was being serious!  So then we signed up the day after!  I thought how the heck did I get myself into this again?!?  

This time around as I’m training I’ve noticed a few things have been a little different with my training: 

1.  Recovery –  I’ve noticed the workouts themselves are still hard and still feel like work, but the time it takes me to recover from these workouts is a lot quicker than it was the 1^st time around.  My body is used to the stress of these distances.  I don’t necessarily fall asleep for 5 hours after a long run or ride on the weekends.

2. Mental Toughness – The 1^st time around I had to work on being able to run for hours on end by myself and be ok with who am and with the fact that I was slow etc. etc.  I remember I would even take phone calls on my cell to pass the time while running or took a camera to stop and take pictures along the way.  This time around I can more readily take myself out of my head and doubts and just concentrate on getting it done not on coming up with excuses.  I’ve come to terms with what kind of athlete I am and I’m proud of it! 

 

3. Doing this for someone else more than myself – I have found myself worrying about my dad and maybe harassing him from time to time.  :-)  Have you done your long run yet?  What are your miles up to?  What do you mean you aren’t following the training plan?  What do you mean you just do what you feel like doing?  I’m going to be real honest here he has almost given me a heart attack a few times.  I think I’m training more out of nervousness for his training.  He of course is relaxed and confident and that kills me even more! :-)  It’s an odd feeling thinking not only do I want to finish this thing but I want to be prepared enough that I can support him during this experience.  It is more important to me that he finishes than any of my goals.

4. I’m married –  Wow being married and having your husband come back from deployment right in the middle of your peak training is hard!  There is a lot of guilt associated with this.  I feel like I’m always in a hurry to get home.  My mom teases me and asks if he’s filed for divorce yet.  But I figure if I could handle being alone during his deployment he can handle being alone on some weeknights and weekends right?  It’s also harder when I’m so tired from work and my workouts but I feel obligated to still cook and clean and walk the dog.  Yes, these are all feelings I put on myself but they are still there.  Maybe my mental toughness training should be redirected huh?

5. Fears – I know this is crazy but I have had nightmares about this.  What if my finish the first time was just a fluke?  I mean I cut it pretty close 16:24 what if I don’t finish does it erase my first accomplishment?  Also I’ve always had issues with getting dizzy but lately I’ve noticed it’s getting worse.  Now I get dizzy from my long bike rides and if I come to a stop light towards the end of a ride I struggle to stand up without feeling like I’m going to fall.  I’m also worried about this for the swim.  During my last open water swim this season I got so dizzy I had to fight nausea!  Anyone have any suggestions on how to handle dizziness?

6. Spectators – There will be a lot more people there to spectate and cheer for us which should make me happy but it’s making me really nervous! I could write a whole post on this but won’t go into detail right now.

7. Goals –  Should I set goals?  My first time around I said I just want to finish.  Now I’m feeling should I set a time goal? Maybe to finish 1 hour faster?  I could accomplish that by just not taking 20 minutes during transitions!!!

8. Course –  I know the course YAY! I know the course Oh Oh! :-)

Happy Training!

Weekend Warrior Recap!

Happy Monday fellow warriors!  Wow am I exhausted, but I'm ok with that, it means I had a very full weekend!  Also I am still hurting in places I didn't know existed from this weekends workouts and I'm ok with that too, it reminds me I'm alive.  We finally got our one obligatory dirty dash pic as you can see! 















So this happened!!!  On Friday I participated in the Over the Edge Event which I had spent several months fundraising for.  The money raised went towards the Special Olympics of NM.  Thank you to all of you who donated!  This was so much fun!  It was a 16 story building in downtown Albuquerque and down here we don't have very many tall buildings so that's tall for these parts.  I wasn't scared at all it felt very secure and I was confident in the fact that we had THREE safetys.  I could have let go with both hands and not moved.  I let myself down at the pace I wanted.  I took my time and looked around and looked behind me to wave at those who came to support me.  The person that went down next to me was a little nervous that your feet could leave the side of the building but you just had to lower your butt a little below them and bend your knees and you'd come back to the wall!

This was towards the bottom.

Some of the great people that are part of the Special Olympics events!  I was recounting my story and challenging others to raise money for this next year!

My hubs didn't show up until I was done because he scheduled a PT appointment that ran late, but I forgive him, I mean I guess that's what happens when you are married right, learn to forgive the small blunders?!?!  Besides he helped me clean all weekend and got out of bed Sunday after midnight to go pick my brother up from the airport when the flight was delayed, so he's pretty awesome like that!!! My dad of course was there as one of the photographers and my mom is the other one behind the camera!  Also here are some coworkers that came to watch me!















So my workouts this weekend with a real fast recap:
70 miles.  45 of that was with a friend in the mountains lots of climbing and it was a chilly start which we were not prepared for so my muscles were soooo cramped the entire ride averaged 13.5 mph on the hills.  Then I went home and finished the last 25 on my own on the spinner flat averaged closer to 24 mph here.

14 mi run Sunday solo!  I was sore from the day before and I have this weird pain in my side that feels like a pulled muscle so to say I was dreading this was an understatement!  But I got out there and got it done!  Thankfully I found a port a potty at a construction sight cause I had my doubts about making it.  Some tough hills on this run too.  I was supposed to swim 3000 after but had to move that to today which is normally my day off.  What do you think do you move your training around like this or do you think it's a bad idea to stray from the plan?  I did it because I was hurting and because we had about 4 hours worth of shopping to do to get ready for next weekends shenanigans.

On Saturday I also had 2 outdoor photoshoots with 2 families so that was even more walking.  That also meant hubs had to spend a lot of time alone this weekend and I was feeling guilty.  :-(  What does your other half do to pass the time while you train?

Chips and Salsa Race Recap

Half Marathon

The Bling

The Good

• Weather - Perfect for running started around 55 ended somewhere in the 60s
• Race Course - I loved the fact that we didn't just run along the bosque trail that can get boring, this went in and out of neighborhoods and kept me distracted!
• Friends - Got to see a lot of great running buddies at this race
• Kind of a PR  - If you go by my Garmin time I PRd barely by like 15-25 seconds but I'll take it 2:04!  The last half I did was at sea level so running it in almost the same time at a mile high tells me my training is working and I feel good!  See point below about official times.

The Bad

• The cyclist and volunteers took people in the wrong direction.  The main problem with this was that not everyone went off track by the same distance.  For example, my friend who is way faster and started towards the front of the pack ran about .75 mi over, I who started near the middle of the pack ran about .50 mi over and so on.  For me not that big of a deal other than I had hit the wall at mile 11 and that half mile hurt :-)  But for those fast people there was reward money and it could have messed them up.
• Race director decided to just take a few minutes off every one's results.  I say leave the times alone and just apologize.
• The first 2 or 3 aid stations were not set up and that may not seem like a big deal but I did see some people trying to get water that early on.
• My stomach could not handle chips and salsa after this race because I was pukey from trying to drink straight Gatorade while on the course (must water it down) but I LOVE chips and salsa maybe just send us home with a bottle instead :-)

The After

Finished that days workout with 30 miles on the spinner and left my legs completely trashed!  Great weekend of workouts!  Getting excited for my Ironman!


I think I've decided what I want my next goal to be after I finish the IM in November.  I want to break the 2 hour mark on the half.....Maybe 2013 will be the year of the half marathon?  Unless I get carried away with triathlons again :-)

What's Up?

Hi! Did you miss me? No, not really? Well, too bad cause I'm back anyway! I have a lot of catching up to do but here is just a glimpse in photos of what I've been up to. I've been spending a lot of time catching up and making up for lost time with this guy:

 Hanging out around town:

 Scouting new sights:

Teaching this one how to play tether ball:

Practicing for my rappel on Friday:

 Oh yeah and still training for my Ironman!!!  Only 9 more weeks left!  I did a half marathon this Sunday as part of my training.  I'll do a race recap soon!  Are you loving this fall weather for training?  I am!

Personal Trainer jokes never get old!

A little video to hold you over til I'm back to regular posts...Haaa! I use to be accused of this when I was a personal trainer!?! Oh how I miss those days! :-) I'll be back soon I promise. What's your favorite gym move?