How I Learned to Swim on a Bike

So, I just got back from a triathlon today.  I say this now while the weather is beautiful out.  If you remember, this morning it was pouring rain.  ALL MORNING.  And as soon as I completed the race, the sun began to shine, birds began to chirp, and the weather gods smiled.

Today's race was my "tune-up race" for the big one in September.  A tune-up race is a race that you run a few weeks before your goal race (five weeks out in my case) that is a shorter distance, but gives you the opportunity to evaluate if your training is on the right track and if there are any "tune-ups" you want to make to your nutrition strategy, hydration, transitions, etc.

I did the inaugural Super Olympic Road Tri in Grafton Lakes Park, which consisted of a 1 mile swim, 30 mile bike ride, and 7 mile run.  The poor weather conditions made me change my strategy from speed to safety.  I didn't worry about blasting the downhills, rushing my transitions, or other things that I focus on in dry conditions.  In a way, this took a lot of pressure off.  But it was still a miserable ride weather-wise and reminded me very much of my rainy marathon debut last year.

But, if I could do a marathon in the pouring rain, I could stick this out!  I'm reading a very interesting book by ultrarunner Scott Jurek called, "Eat and Run," in which he describes an interesting strategy he uses to overcome obstacles in a race.  I called on the strategy today and it really worked (power of the mind, after all)!  It goes something like this:

1. Ask yourself why you are mad/frustrated/emotional/etc. ("It's raining and cold and I feel like crap in this weather.")
2. Determine whether or not you have any control over fixing it.  ("No, the weather gods aren't listening to me today...")
3. If so, do what you can to fix it.  If not, separate your emotions from what is real and controllable.  ("Okay, I can't fix the weather.  I just have to do the best in this.  Plus, EVERYONE ELSE is wet and miserable too.")
4. Power onward! ("Suck it up and let's do this!")

At one point I felt like I was waiting for Noah to come by and give me a ride on his ark, but all in all I had a good day and beat my goal time of 4 hours by coming in at 3:40:26!  Plus I am pumped and ready to dial in my training for the next few weeks.  I've got 4 weeks of training, 1 week to taper, and then game day!  For the rest of today though, I'll be wringing out my training gear and taking it easy. 

The Option of Quitting

When I teach Boot Camp, I sometimes get on my fitness soapbox about various new trends, eating fads, and other relevant issues.  I'm lucky enough to have a captive audience, who is obligated to listen to my crazy rants because every minute I spend talking is one less minute they have to spend doing push-ups.  Or so I've been told...

A couple of weeks ago we were discussing marathons.  I was preaching that everyone should run a marathon at least once in their lives, just out of self-discovery.  You learn so much about yourself when trying to complete 26.2 miles, when your body just wants to stop and you're taxed beyond comprehension.  That's when a few of the Boot Campers brought up the excellent point that they have delivered children, and that is enough of an endurance battle for one lifetime.

They're right -- having no children of my own (except one little furry Yorkshire Terrier who is technically adopted), I cannot begin to imagine what a woman goes through during child labor.  However, when I was musing on this the other day, I realized there is a main difference between the two when it comes to perseverance:  the option of quitting.

When you are giving birth to a baby, there is no quitting.  The baby is coming whether you want it to or not.  In a marathon, there are LOTS of opportunities to quit.  At every other mile (or even every mile near the end), there are race volunteers willing to take care of you if you can't continue.  There are volunteers on bike patrolling the racers, making sure everyone is okay.  You can bail out at any time.  And yet, knowing you CAN quit, marathoners keep going.  From a mental standpoint, I think that's a bigger challenge -- being tempted with the option of stopping, yet pushing on and finishing anyway.

Hope this idea gets your gears going and inspires ideas of your own.  And to all the moms out there -- sorry if I offended you; in no way am I saying child birth is easy.  I'm just making comparisons and drawing conclusions that I seem to find interesting.  If you're thoroughly outraged, though, there's a comment section below.  I always like a good debate!

Confessions of a Running Shoe Junkie

If there is anything I am addicted to nearly as much as fitness, it's running shoes.  After reading the book, "Born to Run" (which I highly recommend, by the way), I was converted to minimalist thinking.  It influenced my purchase about a year ago of Vibram FiveFinger shoes.  If you've seen my recent race photos, you'll know I've been rocking the FiveFingers as much as possible, and I swear by them.  They feel great.

However, they do take some ramp-up time to get your body used to them and to toughen up your feet.  I've been gradually upping my mileage in them, hoping to transition entirely to FiveFingers, even on my long runs.  However, I've hit a wall at about an 8-mile run.  Any more than that, and my form starts to fall apart.

So I took a trip to Fleet Feet -- a.k.a. Running Mecca.  You know I am desperate when I go to Fleet Feet, because I CANNOT leave that store without spending $200.  It doesn't matter if I go there for socks.  I usually find enough stuff I "need" (a few gels, ooooh these shorts are nice, oh yeah I need a new set of speed laces) to make a few odds and ends drive up the total of my purchase.  Oh well.

I went there in search of a middle-ground running shoe.  A minimalist shoe that would let me run long without breaking form.  So I left with my new purchase -- some Newton running shoes!  Already did my first long run in them and I am in love.  They are designed to direct your foot plant onto your fore/mid-foot area so that you are running most efficiently.  Plus they are super light.  After doing 16 miles, my feet felt great.  Plus, they look cool.  And if you look cool, you'll run fast.  It's a known fact.

If you ever need to find me at a race, just look for the girl with the weird shoes.  That's probably me!

What I Learned from Peanut Butter and Crackers...

If nothing else, this whole Half-Ironman training is a learning experience.  Granted, I generally knew what to expect based on my marathon training.  However, what I didn't realize was how much I would have to be on top of the way my body feels on a DAILY basis.

I am meticulous about my training plans.  I am one of those anal people with a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet -- no, correction, entire workbook -- full of weekly mileage goals, statistics, races, charts, graphs, lines, colors, etc.  My nutrition plan, calorie goals, training days, and milestones are all captured.  It gives me a sense of confidence, knowing that if I follow the plan, I will ultimately be in the best position possible to succeed on race day.  Plus, I love planning this stuff out.  I don't know why.  Yes, I'm weird.

I usually plan my training in mesocycles, where I have about a 4-week training period, a 1-week rest, and then another training period, etc.  Training for this Half-Ironman, however, has made me realize I need to think about microcycles -- my training week to week, if not day to day.

For example:  On Thursday, I was wiped.  I didn't quite know why.  I was following my training plan, my nutrition plan, getting sleep, etc.  I'd had a couple really long days beforehand, but nothing too strenuous.  Needless to say, my swim workout that day was a struggle to start, let alone finish (but I did!) and my easy, normally leisurely bike rides during my lunch hour were tough.  Thankfully I had a rest day on Friday.

By Friday afternoon, after taking it relatively easy (just some yoga and foam rolling in the morning), I realized I did not know how I was going to make it through my training day the next day.  I have one training day a week I like to refer to as "Hell Day," and yes, it usually falls on a Saturday.  I use that day to do a "race simulation," meaning, on that day, I do a short swim in the morning and a long bike ride and run whenever I can wedge it in later in the day.  Yesterday, it consisted of a 40-mile bike ride and a 6.2-mile (10K) run.  So, feeling like total crap on Friday night, I was frustrated and wondering if I should hold off.

Then I had a realization.  Even though I was only upping my mileage a little bit each week, I had to account for several workouts each week, which would account for an exponential increase in my calorie needs (rookie mistake, I know, but hey, I am human).  So I did what any normal person would do.  I dove into a box of crackers and jar of peanut butter.  Before I knew it, the box was gone and the peanut butter was running low.  With my belly sufficiently full, I went off to bed.

And like a miracle had occurred overnight, I woke up Saturday morning like a new person.  Full of energy, although a little bloated from the excess of calories.  I powered through my training day, even impressing myself on the 10K run after my bike ride.  I figured I could even do better without all the heat, but it's better to train in heat and expect cool weather on race day than vice-versa.

So, the lesson for the week?  Pig out on crackers and peanut butter?  No.  Be more in tune with my body and listen to it when it's telling me it needs something.  I've retooled my nutrition plan to not only account for my increased calorie needs NOW, but also adding a sliding scale of calories to my future training weeks.  (I know, such a rough problem, right?  To have to eat more...)

But I am going about it in a more responsible and healthy way than just binging on junk foods from time to time.  I'm adding a small amount of calories to each meal (i.e. a bowl of fruit, an extra serving of brown rice) to keep my energy levels consistent throughout the day.  I'll keep you posted with my progress.

As I said, this is a learning experience if nothing else.  But each day feels like a new challenge and I can't wait to see where this summer takes me.