Adjusted Reality

What I conquered this summer:

-Swimming in general.  When I started considering the idea of a tri – about 500m of easy laps had me winded.  I haven’t gone much beyond the olympic tri distance of about a mile, but I’ve become very comfortable with it.  In the off season, I’m going to work on my stroke and getting faster.  I think if I could get myself down to about a 20 minute mile I could do 25-30 in races (adding the open water and not pushing off the side makes it go slower)

-Open water swimming.  I didn’t think it would be a big deal until I had to conquer barton springs and almost had a panic attack less than two weeks before the first tri.  Flash forward to the end of summer, diving off big boat into 100 ft deep water and the last tri I didn’t even think about the depth or the open water being scary at all.  While there was definitely some use in swimming that way to get used to not pushing off the side, I don’t think it will be a vital part of next year’s training (beyond a refresher trip or two just to make sure I don’t forget what it’s like).

-Biking for exercise – just started this summer.  Don’t know how to really push through the tough stuff (like uh 10 miles of continual ascent) yet, will just take practice.  I see this as absolutely my weak link in the tri – and it’s the one that matters the most because it’s the majority of your time.  I will be really pushing getting faster on the bike in the off season.  Anyone with suggestions for gym workouts or outside workouts lemme know, but I think I just need more experience overall.  And I’ll be a regular at spin class, fo sho.

-Brick workouts good.  Even though it was a requirement to learn how to switch my body from one mode to another in a 3-discipline race, I found I really really enjoyed these workouts most.  It helped me not skip a beat from the bike to the run, although I can certainly work on my transition time from swim to bike (mostly better planning and some new trick gear like easy close shoelaces).  While I doubt I’m going to keep doing 20+ mile rides followed by 10k runs each week, I like them too much to completely drop them.

-Coming in very close to last at something I’m very new at but doing it anyway and not really getting buggered about it, just motivated.  When I started running, I spent a full year on it before I entered any races, and besides half marathons, I’ve been INTIMATELY familiar with the distance (as in, can get through it in my sleep)  With tri training, I started a few months before the race and left key items until almost race day (open water swim training and a new bike much?).  When I ran my first 5k, I was definitely middle-of-the-pack and I’ve just improved – I can’t think of the last running race I’ve place in the lower half.  Sometimes even in the top third or close to age group medals for small ones.  However, at tris?  I SUCK.  I’ve not hit DFL for biking or swimming, but both races I’ve been close.  With another year of practice though?  Maybe I can make middle of the pack!  I’m just happy the fact that I am SO MUCH WORSE at it than the average bear has not discouraged me.

So, in the words of my favorite writer Aaron Sorkin on West Wing, What’s Next?

I took last week just about completely off.  Of everything.  I ate a lot, I didn’t try to do any sort of calorie restriction.  Just whatever my body needed to get through.  I worked out formally once (and it was a 1.2 mile swim which is :D), and generally spent the week living at work, traipsing around conventions when I could, cleaning my nasty ass grody house (yay for coming home only to eat, sleep, and unload crap from traveling/being out for the last 3 weeks or so), and RESTING when I could.

This week, it’s back to tracking and training for the half marathon which is in less than 5 weeks (eek).  I have the endurance, I just have to channel it into running instead of 3 disciplines and work on the “faster” part.

Workouts:

Monday – 5 miles 400m sprints
Tuesday – group power
Wednesday – yoga/swim
Thursday – 5 mile tempo
Friday – 45 min bike ride
Saturday – 10 mile run
Sunday – off

This is a *little* ambitious, and my goal is to complete the 3 main runs per week and see what else makes sense to do.  I’d like to add back weights once a week (power), and I’d like to keep with the yoga, and I want to bike and swim because I’ll miss it if I don’t.  However, this looks like a recipe for burnout to me right now, so I’ll play it by ear.

This week is going to kinda be a wash (have family in town from Thursday on so we’ll be eating out a lot), but starting next week I want to get back to tracking and staying in a calorie range which both keeps me fueled and also doesn’t make me gain gain gain.

That’s about it for now.  I may have more thoughts about the tri that I’d like to share, but I think that about wraps it up for this season.  Is anyone interested in a what to do/what not to do type post on tris?  Anyone have suggestions for becoming a faster swimmer or biker?  Wanna tell me my training is way too crazy?  Hit me up. 🙂

Totally busy/hectic/crazy/fun week up in this piece, so you get the short version for now….

Swim:

It was 1500m (just short of 1 mile) completed it in about 43 minutes.  Considering 6 weeks ago me going all out for 1/3 the distance was 19 minutes, I’m stoked.  I did the whole thing (minus a few times when I had to stop to catch my breath cuz I swallowed water or something) freestyle and I felt really, really good about it.

Bike:

Let’s just label this section: Purgatory.  This course was FUCKING brutal.  The first 10 miles was a gradual to steep ascent with very little respite.  The next 5 miles or so was pretty nice – fairly flat, with a few rolling hills.  Next came purgatory – after turning off this road, it was such a steep downhill I rode the breaks the entire time and I’m pretty sure I was pushing 30 mph.  One dude hit 40 going down and apparently just kept it up the entire way in (crazy cool).  I had to get off and walk the bike twice on the uphills – so did everyone around me.  When you’re riding uphill slower than walking, it’s a sign just to give in and get off.  I don’t remember much about the last 6 miles, other than just wanting to be done and back in my comfort zone (running) with just about all my being.  I took about 2 hours and 7 minutes for 26.2 miles.  At the last minute, they decided not to close the bike course, which is great, because I *never* would have made it.  I was about 30 mins off.

Run:

I started this ready to die, but I made sure I hobbled along and once I got started running, I was ok.  Sure, I was sore and tired and just desperately wanted to be not upright, but I can work with that better running than biking up crazy hills.  It was a 2 loop course and by the second loop, I was up to normal (10 min mile-ish) speeds but there was no way I was going to make up for going slooooow at first so I ended with 1:07 for the 10k run.

Total time, 4:04 and change.  It’s long than I hoped but seriously?  Don’t care.  I finished.  They didn’t close the course on me.  And since only 3 Athenas registered as such?  I got a SWEET third place medal!  I didn’t DNF or DFL (did not finish or came in dead fucking last), and considering the course difficulty (this was not playskool’s first olympic tri, people…the majority of the age group awards were between 2:45 and 3:20 and that is pretty slooooooow)

I’m going to take most of this week off serious business training to rest (I am BEAT), but starting next week it’s all out half marathon training time baby!  I’ll probably post something a little bit more introspective and thorough later, but the readers digest version – I loved the training, I loved the challenge of the distance, I will definitely do another one of these again.  I am totally and completely satisfied with this being the omg crazy big goal instead of a marathon.  I’ve now really hit the top of the distances I want to do right now.  No marathons or ironmans in my near future – I want to work on getting FASTER.

This week a video game developer convention is in town and I’m at that most of the week while trying to wrangle deadlines back here in the office (HORRIBLE TIMING!!!), so sleep and relax time will be at a major premium this week.  If I do not die from exhaustion, we’ll chat soon, lovelies!

*maybe.  Read to the bottom for the full story…

Here is what I wrote Tuesday night:

Apparently, between tri training where 1 hour is the absolute minimum workout and most are somewhere between 1.5 and 3, the second to last looming deadline at work hitting this week and the last (for a bit) hitting the end of this month, and just birthdays and being social and events and life… I have not succeeded in keeping a good training record for the last few weeks.

I’ll live.  I’m ready for this shit.  Bring it on, Sunday.

I have a lot of things looking back, I would do differently.  For example, here’s a list of all the horrible, dumb things I’ve done this first tri season:

-Very little swimming, when this is something that I absolutely needed the most help with.  I’ve been back in the water for the first time starting last Friday.  However, oddly enough, that time off did something to me when I finally got in and started doing laps again.  Some of you might be able to identify with this – y’know when you started running and for the first time, you hit your stride.  You found that pace that felt comfortable.  Like you could keep running forever?  I hit that with swimming freestyle for the first time yesterday.  I’m alternating about 150m breast stroke and 150m freestyle and finally got to the point where I felt like I could just keep freestyling.  Juuuuust in time.  I’m still going to fall back on breast stroke if need be, but my goal is to do at least half the 1500m freestyle if not the whole thing.

-I have not done ANY open water laps.  However, I think I’ll be ok.  I dove off the side of this into 100+ ft deep water fearlessly Friday multiple times and treaded water with no floaties continuously for 2 hours straight.  I’ll hang with some deepwater laps just fine, thanks.  Hopefully THIS lake won’t have rocks and branches and shit sticking up pokin’ me.  Yeah, please excuse the bbq-and-cake ingested pooch.  Normally I don’t like sharing the unflattering pics but this one is too perfect not to.  I’ll be taking care of that soon, thx-u-very-much but for now it’s just my extra big gas tank to get me up them hills.

-I bought a completely new bike less than 2 weeks before the tri and didn’t ride it until the weekend before.  My first ride, I did 26 miles.  Mrs. Fatass, if you’re reading this…. I have three words for you.  Owie hoo hah.  10 miles in, I came back home, Zliten put my old seat on it even though it was heavier, and I blissfully biked the rest.  I’ve ridden 3 days now and I’m way faster and doing it with less effort than I’ve ever expended before.  I can keep up with the old ladies with THEIR racing bikes on Shoal Creek and way less people pass me!

-I’m also trying to ramp up for a half (6 weeks to go from this weekend) so I have long run day mid-week since that’s a short sub-2 hour workout compared to my crazy 3+ hour run and bike adventures on Saturdays even though the runs are actually more tiring somehow.  Before Vegas, I rode 20 miles and ran 5 and showered, got on a plane, and proceeded to stay up about 24 hours straight.  After I got back the next weekend, I ran 5k, biked 25m, ran 10k, and then the next day raced (my worst ever but only by 2 seconds…) a 5k.  Last weekend, I did the 26 miles on the bike plus 10k run.  To add insult to injury, it was way too hot to do the full distance run outside, but I wasn’t going to let myself get off THAT easy with a treaddy run so I ran the mile back and forth to the gym in the 90+ degree weather and ran 4 miles of sprints in the AC in the middle.  Each week (minus after Vegas when I felt like I was going to get sick), I’ve also gotten myself up to 9 miles mid-week on a run.

What I’m doing right:

-Let me tell you, with this ridici-crazy amount of training, I am a SLEEP MONSTER.  If I get ANY less than 8 per night my body shuts me down for the deficit the next day.  I slept until 11am for the first time in months this weekend.  I also slept 10 hours the night before.  I was the person in college who slept 3 hours a night because I thought anything more was a waste.  But part of training is resting, and this week, I’m backing off the crazy and giving the ol’ bod what it needs.

-I have never been this tan.  And I don’t even intend to – with all the outside swimming, biking, and running this summer, I look finally as if I am, uh, outdoorsy.  And not even in the fake “I just got out of a tanning bed” way – I have the bike shorts, garmin, and sunglass tan lines to prove it!   Not to mention my vitamin D levels are soaring.  I feel very happy and well adjusted spending so much summer sunny happy fun time outside.

-I HAVE NOT GAINED WEIGHT!!! I was TERRIFIED I was pushing the high 160’s after Vegas and I finally worked up the courage to step on the scale today.  163.  Y’know, I’ll take it.  It’s about where I’ve been stuck for the last few months and I know it’s going to take some careful attention to my diet and toning down the crazy workouts to lose.  I’ll get there.   I’m happy to be starting from here and not higher.

-I feel very confident in my running.  I may be a little iffy on how the swim is going to go, I may be a little nervous about a new bike, but I *know* I can bust out a sub-1 hour 10k even if I’m tired as hell.  Ain’t no thing, chicken wing.

-Taking the plunge and getting a new bike.  Yeah, going to list it here too.  Even though it was risky, it actually just about split the difference of my pace on my old bike outside (12 mph) and my gym speed (18 mph).  I think I can do the ride at about 15 mph on Sunday which will put me at about 1h40 for the ride (I think).  If I can keep my swim time anywhere close to what I did in the lap pool this week, I’ll be about 40 mins for the swim, 1h 40 for the ride, and 60 for the run.  With transitions, I might even break 3h 30!!!  I could have NEVER done that on my old bike.

-Signing up.  When I set the goal to do an Olympic Tri instead of a Marathon, I was dedicated to it, but since I totally ad-hoc’d my training program, it was always a question if I’d really be ready.  A few weeks ago I was unsure if I’d even finish.  Now, I know (cross your fingers – as long as nothing weird and disastrous happens) I’m good.  It’s been a real life changing experience to set another crazy big goal and then find myself after a lot of sweat, toiling, craziness, fun, awesomeness, and sadism – standing right at the top of this mountain waiting to put up my flag saying “I am an (olympic distance) triathlete”.  It’s also fun to tell people what I’m going to do this weekend.  Apparently not many people swim a mile, bike 26, and then run 6 before lunch.

So that’s it peoples.  Bring it on.  I eat triathlons for breakfast.  I’ll rock this, and then there WILL be champagne.  And I will be able to check one of the big (revised) New Years Resolution goals off.

And here is what I found out yesterday:

“Due to Police contracts we have to close the bike course at 10:30 am. If you are still on the bike course at that time we will pick you up and you will be out of the race.”

My wave starts at 8:06.  That’s 2 hours and 24 minutes to swim a mile and then ride 26.  With the target of a 40 min swim time and 1 hour 40 bike time, plus transition…I’m cutting it cloooose.  The new strategy is to get highly caffeinated right before the race start (a soda today at lunch has kept me wired for 8 hours so it shouldn’t be hard), swim hard and positively WASTE myself on the bike course.  If I have to walk during the 10k, so be it.  At least I’ll finish.

While I was spitting venom when I first heard about the closure, I think it will motivate me to finish faster.  I tend to hold back at the beginning of long races to make sure I have enough… this will make me use my juice and dig deeper for more later.

Think good, fast, and happy thoughts for me on Sunday!

I’m having one of those (TOM induced) thinky evenings.

I could talk here about how I REALLY REALLY REALLY need to figure out how to deal with my ever-expanding waistline.  I’m getting frustrated with it again.  I now can’t seem to figure out how to get under about 162 and I haven’t even had the guts to get on the scale again after Vegas.

I could talk here about how work is definitely taking up much more of my mental space.   I used to walk out the door at night, and not think about it again (rarely) until I walked in the next morning.  Now I think it, dream it (no joke, I go to work at least three times some nights before I even get out of bed), and especially live it.  I’m happy – however, it’s definitely an adjustment.

I could talk about being nervous for the tri in 11 days.  I could talk about many things.

But instead, I’ll just say, “WHEEEEEE NEW BIKE!!!”

It’s this.  I can bicep curl it with one hand.  It cost almost a week of my salary after taxes, but it is my new precious…just riding it around the store (and they even made me wear a helmet, lol) felt awesome.

Tomorrow, I make up the 9 mile run I planned to do today, and this weekend (after it stops incessently raining), I am going to do the 26 miles/6 mile run outside and see how awesome it is.

And then, I will eat birthday cake (not mine).

And I’ll stick to my jeans that actually fit me and worry about the scale later.

Title in honor of MizFit 😉  Proof below…

27:51 finish time.  Worst 5k time yet. However, I got to run in costume! I can definitely tell I have endurance legs not speed legs – I finished, ran back a mile, met some friends, and ran them in, and I’m now thinking “what’s next” even though I wasted my legs yesterday. However, I did place 161/762 overall and 11/82 for my age group – and if I would have JUST PR’d (right around 25 mins), I would have won a 3rd place medal. Food for thought for next year when I have no crazy length races planned and can train speed…

Post race sweaty photobooth pics follow.  Excelsior!!!