Bridge of the Gods Ride 4/28/7

Saturday Zan, Colleen and I rode the Bridge of the Gods ride. It was a beautiful day. It started out kind of chilly but then cleared up and was clear, sunny and WARM.

So we took off meeting Colleen at the 205 bridge and rode to the WA side and through Camus. There you hook up with HWY 14 and start your climb to Cape Horn and Beacon Rock. It is a veautiful ride. Waterfalls, trees, astounding views, you can't beat it.

I felt pretty good climbing. I rode steady and it was easier than I recall in the past. On the flats Colleen helped to push my pace up higher than i would have otherwise.

Crossing the BOG is always a thrilling event. It's grated so a fall sends fear into your heart. And when you look down you see the river below you. it's scary.

From there you hit the bike trail and it's travels in and out of coveered woods and then alongside 84 and back again. Right before Warrendale you hop the guardrail and ride 84 for about a mile. There you head to Multnomah falls the last climb up to Crown Point.

The descent from there was awesome, as always. It's like a drop from heaven. Colleen and I then work together into the headwind along Marine drive making it easier going on both of us.

Overall I had a 112 miles for the day. It was beautiful and tiring.

I tried to ride the next day but couldn't really get comfortable on the saddle so only rode for about 90 minutes.

Today I was comfortably running. I ran for over 2.5 hours today. Almost 2 hours this morning and then 45 minutes in the evening.

Thursday Swimming

So after my day of just taking care of myself and not working out I feel MUCH better. The soreness seems to be gone and my energy is higher.

Today during swimming we had our dreaded "test set". This is a set that we used to do with Andrew periodically.

4 X 100 1:45
2 X 100 1:35
4 X 100 1:40
2 X 100 1:30

I made all of them until the last 100 on 1:40. I sat out a 50 and then did the last one on 1:30.

On the 1:45 I was holding 1:35. On the 1:35 I was on 1:35. On the 1:40 I was holding 1:38.

So not too bad. I know I could do the set if I started at 1:50. SO this is a good stretch for me.

I'm planning on doing the Bridge of the Gods loop this weekend so I need to keep that in mind these next couple days.

Treat Myself Kindly Day

Today I decided that it is a treat myself kindly day. My back is spasming even after my massage this morning. For whatever reason my hip flexors are really sore right now. The only thing I can think of re: is that maybe I over stretched them on Monday.

So massage this morning and my swim lesson was rescheduled to Friday and then a haircut this evening. And tonight Cate and I are going to have dinner together.

Hopefully tomorrow I will feel better. maybe I need to go see Dr. J for an adjustment too.

Swimming

This morning was my regular swim workout with "The Crew". Tuesday are usually stroke days so that's always fun in my book.

However my back is a bit tweaky since lifting yesterday. So I avoided Breast like the plague today but was still able to throw down some fly.

The thing I realized this morning is that I have been working on reintegrating my kick back into my stroke but now it's reversed. I have the right kick but I'm not long anymore.

So tomorrow during my lesson that will be my focus. Keep the kick and keep the DPS. Once that happens I know I will feel that effortless power.

Base 2 Week 2 Long Run

Yesterday, Sunday, was a recovery day for me. I didn't do anything but run errands with Cate and try on clothes. :) I actually bought a couple small sized tops! Believe it or not.

So today is long run day. I run basically 3 times today. To work. A warm up before weights and then a run home from the Max. It ends up being about 15 miles total.

I slept like crap last night. I woke at 1 and couldn't settle back down. I took a shower and took some Tylenol PM and finally fell back asleep around 3:30. But when you wake at 5 that's not's a whole lot of sleep. Oh well I had 10 hours the night before and will likely sleep fine tonight.

So I ran into work today and it no longer feels like a long run. Its becoming a tempo run instead. I felt good all the way through and felt like my speed was actually getting faster, not slower.

Let's see here.... I guess I can look can't I?

1: 11:23
2: 11:01
3: 11:16
4: 11:18
5: 10:42
6: 10:10
7: 10:18
8: 10:42

Not too shabby for me.

Overall feeling good and strong these days. It feels good.

Catching up Part 2

I'm really going to make a concerted effort to keep this blog up to date. (Here's my whine... it's my blog I get to whine, right) It's just that between work, family, training and logging just the basics of workouts and food that one more thing feels like too much. Some nights I just want to go to bed and close my eyes and not worry about "logging" everything. I mean who cares anyway right?

So here's what I've done the past couple days:

Link to Friday ride

Friday was sunny so I asked for the afternoon off. I had planned on riding the RACC metric century route starting from work and ending up at home. However I got out of work late and knew that route would likely take me 6 hours and I didn't really want to get home at 7. So I decided to head up to Corbett and Crown Point. It was a beautiful day for it.

I felt really strong. It's amazing there are some days when I just feel like I could take on almost anything. And yesterday was one of those days. I never felt fatigued. I did feel hungry a couple time but over all I felt really good.

I really feel like since losing some weight my climbing has really improved. I don't feel that gravity pulling me down so much. And the other part of that is that I don't feel like I've lost strength on the flats either. It probably actually helps because if I'm not pulling so much weight up hill then I have more to spend on the flats right? Or does it all become even? Who knows....

So total for the day with my commute in 5:30 hours and 85 miles. Not too shabby. Oh yeah and I also saw a sealion feasting on salmon in the Columbia river. I even called my sister and let her know my seal count for the day. :)

Today I had planned on not riding but yesterday felt so good I thought I'd go out for a little jaunt. The forecast was also for rain and I have to tell you I AM SOOOOOOO READY FOR SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This extended winter is killing me! Anyway.....

Link to Saturday's ride

I meet at the Bakery to ride with Sorella Forte. Who shows up but Maureen and Uma. Both strong cyclists and Maureen just spins right up the hills. And guess what they want to ride? Hills, of course. So being the good sport that I am I saddle up and head out with trepidation of getting left in the dust as we head up Cornell, to Thompson (argh that's a long steep hill) then out along Skyline to Cornelius pass road.

They had plan to head up Logie Trail as well and I just didn't think I had that in me after yesterday. But plans changed and we decided to head back Skyline to add more mileage as desired when we hit Thompson. When we got to Thompson they both decided to head back to flatter land while I (the anti climber) continue along Skyline.

Now, I have only done this route once and I did it in the other direction. So I didn't really know where I was going but knew that I would probably figure it out. I wanted to go on Skyline then to Council Crest and then drop to downtown so I could go to work.

Wellllllll, I kind of got lost at Skyline and Scholls Ferry. SURPRISE! Not me! HAH!

So I look over and I'm like Humphrey sounds familiar but I don't go with that gut instinct and instead travel down Scholls Ferry Road. Not a big deal as it is all downhill there but no shoulder, lots of traffic, rough road and I'm lost. And I'm also tired and getting low on Perpetuem.

Fortunately I figure out how to get back to downtown but probably added another 5 miles to my trip. It just feels like more when you're not really sure where you're going. Fortunately I got onto roads that if I had to I could get more fuel for the tank.

So I made it. I felt pretty good throughout the ride. I still feel like my climbing has improved. There seems to be a steepness that just makes me fall off the back but as long as it isn't probably more than 4% I do pretty well keeping up. Especially if it's rolling because I'll catch ya on the descent and can use that to help power up the next hill.

So tomorrow I plan on swimming. So hopefully I'll keep my resolution and log in again tomorrow.

Catching Up

I have been busily training and not doing much updating so I'm going to try to get as many things as I can into this one post:

First Day of Spring
March 21 was the first day of spring here in the Northern hemisphere and I decided to celebrate it by having the PERFECT day. I started my day off with a nice massage with my fabulous massage therapist, then I met Zan for a bike ride around Sauvie's Island and then I headed up to Council Crest and then out to SWCC for a swim lesson. After all that Cate and I had dinner together. It was a perfect day. The weather was beautiful. I got lots of mileage in. It was great.

Heart Rate Monitor
Well I have my new monitor and I'm struggling with the power output. I apparently installed it incorrectly and damaged the wiring so I have to send it back in. I need to just get it in so I can start using it. I love the running speed though and it is so much easier to download the data. I love it.

Swimming Lesson Update
I think I have determined that my biggest swimming strength is also my biggest weakness. It is my kick. I think that is what is interfering with my overall rhythm and therefore my speed. I think my upper body is going one way and my steady kick is not letting my core set the rhythm. So I am working on tearing down the kick and then putting it back in one piece at a time. It kind of makes sense actually. So I am hopeful that I'm still going to have some kind of a break through. I just need to keep sticking with it. Gotta find my rhythm.

Weight
I have slowly been losing weight. Its been relatively easy. I feel like I am finally developing a healthy relationship with food. More on this later.

Nutrition
I am using Hammer products right now. I am using Recoverite after working out and long rides I'm using Perpetuem. I am working on trying to be able to do a liquid diet only for the Ironman. I'm still working it out but I'm hopeful.

Gettin' my Geek on!! Oh Yeah!!!

Yesterday I got my new heartrate monitor. It is the polar 625 with the foot pod and I have the power output accessory on order and should have it in a couple weeks.

So I'm totally "geeking" out. I have hardly been wearing my HR monitor lately because I have been "bored" with it. I wanted more. NOW I HAVE IT!!!!

I get running speed. Cycling speed, cadence and SOON POWER!!!!

Woo hoo! What more could a geeky triathlete want!

Swimming Lesson

OK. So now that I've done the philosophical part of the lesson how about for the physical aspects of my swimming lesson.

• Keep hips high and press chest.
• Take time to roll for breath. I won't lose momentum if I glide there. Pushing down to get my breath interupts the flow and take alot more effort.
• Drill: Swim with best technique of high hips and core power. When entering my hand reach my hand toward the 15 or 25 (the angle on the pace clock).
• Watch my right arm. Pop the elbow on the recovery. When I straight arm it I get more of that need to press down to breath.

So for now I am going to set aside my ego and really try this new stuff. What do I have to lose. If it doesn't work then I will go back to my usual style. What do I have to lose at this point? I will be able to go back to my old style. I just need to trust in the process.

Birthday Lessons

Today I think was a day of lessons for me. I determined this after my lesson with Laurie so here is my wisdom of the first day of my 38th year.

• To truly move more freely through the world (my intention for this year) I need to change more than just my weight.
• To move more freely through the world I need to not be so afraid of "revealing" myself. Today I took some chance I normally wouldn't. I let myself feel the emotion of my mom calling and singing happy birthday to me. I started crying because I am afraid it is the last time I will hear my mom do this. Whether that is true or not it did make me realize how much I love my mom and how important she is to me. I know this but don't let myself feel how scared I am about all this heart stuff she is having right now.
• To move more free through the water I need to let go of my old ways. I need to let go of my ego and do things differently. To change I've got to try to do something differently. So now my goal during swimming is to swim effortlessly instead of trying to make the interval and that if that means sitting some 50s out every now and then it is the right thing to do. I felt it again today. I felt the right balance the ease of moving through the water. All that stuff. My stroke count was also only 15 and my effort was minimal.
• To move more freely through the world I don't need to "protect" myself. I like it when people share things about themselves with me. I don't know why I "protect" myself by being removed from people. So my lesson is to relax and not worry about "protecting" myself. I don't know anyone in my life who would "hurt" me. As Audrey would say it's not serving me any longer so why continue to do it. Feeling and having vulnerabilities doesn't make me weak. As a matter of fact those things that have been the most difficult have given me strength to be who I am today.

Here we go!!!!

Today was the first day of official training for Ironman Canada. I am in the first week of my Prep phase. My goals for the next 4 weeks are to:

• Finalize my training plan
• Identify 1 goal per 4 week block
• Do a fitness test at the end of the 4 weeks in swimming, biking and running
• Identify any obstacles that I may encounter in the next 34 weeks and minimize their impact upon training
• Figure out my weekly regular schedule

I am excited. Today was pretty much a recovery day for me because of the 1/2 marathon yesterday. But i am feeling much better today. My calf still has a knot in it and so does my quad as I discovered but other than my toe that has a weird blister type thing on it it's not too bad.

So my schedule for this week is:

Monday: Bike 120 min, Stretch 15, Core 30

Tuesday: Bike 90 min, Swim 90 min, TKD 60 min (Optional: Stretch 15, Run 30)

Wednesday: Swim 60 minutes (Optional: Ride 60 minutes)

Thursday: Bike 90 min, Swim 90 min, TKD 60 min (Optional: Stretch 15, Run 30)

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Bike 90 minutes

Sunday: Run 60 min

Vancouver Half Marathon

1/21/07
Vancouver Lake Half Marathon 13.1 miles

Total Time: 2:24 Unofficial (by my watch)

Splits:

Mile 1: 10:08
Mile 2: 10:50
Mile 3: 10:54
Mile 4: 10:56
Mile 5: 10:22
Mile 6: 10:52
Mile 7: 11:01
Mile 8: 11:05
Mile 9: 10:53
Mile 10: 11:12
Mile 11: 11:30
Mile 12: 11:38
Mile 13: 11:32
Mile 13.1: 1:11


Personal Best 1/2 Marathon: 2:17:36

Rest and Detraining

I just read this article on when does rest become detraining. I think it has some really good information especially for those of us who are concerned about losing fitness when we aren't actively training for something but continue to workout regularly.

I think the main point I got out of it is that yes you will lose fitness if you stop altogether but I knew relatively few Ironman athletes out there who stop doing any type of exercise. It is just in our blood and so integrated into our lifestyle that we don't know what we would do if we stopped. What would I do with all that free time? However there are times when I want to take it easy for awhile and focus on something other than getting all my workouts in. I need it mentally more than physically I think.

Here's the link to the article. Enjoy!

Yoga Rocks!

So last night I was supposed to take my first Pilates class. Cate has wanted me to do some sort of activity with her so this class came up and fit into my schedule. So we show up and the instructor doesn't so we are offered as an option to attend the yoga class. So we did and I LOVED IT!

This was my very first yoga class so I don't know if it is a typical yoga class, good, bad... whatever. All I know is it ROCKED!

My body felt so much longer and leaner after the class. My calves felt stretched out for the first time in YEARS!!

The focus and the drawing of an intention at the beginning of class was something I really liked. Reminded me that I need to do that with every workout. What is the point of this workout.

I hope to try it again and see how it goes. Maybe I'll take the yoga class instead of Pilates. I feel like it was fate because I was ready to take off on my bike and meet Cate at home.

Workout week of 1/8 - 1/14

So here is my plan for this week. Monday I'm going to try out a Pilates class and I'm not sure what I'll be doing this weekend. I'm sure I'll get a long run in over the weekend. I just don't know when. We are going up North to my Mom's and may go to Leavenworth and go Cross Country skiing. We'll see. It will be fun if we are able to swing it. We'll just have to see how it goes and whether Dean is willing to let the kids miss some stuff. i guess I also need to talk to Dyanna. Monday is MLK day so it may be a busy weekend considering we haven't made reservations already.

	Monday			Tuesday			Wednesday			Thursday			Friday			Saturday	Sunday
	AM	Lunch	PM	AM	Lunch	PM	AM	Lunch	PM	AM	Lunch	PM	AM	Lunch	PM	All Day	All Day
Swim				90					60	90
Bike	45		45	45		45	45		45	45		45	45		45
Run		45						45						45
Strength			45		45						45
Other						60						60

Running Routes

I am a bit scared for the 1/2 marathon I have coming up in 2 weeks. WOW! It is getting close. So I'm trying to up my mileage just to see if I can. SO today I was supposed to do a training ride with Zan but she called and said she wasn't feeling well so since it wasn't raining what a perfect time for a long run. So I took off. no watch. Just me and my iPod out to do a route I have never done before.

Unfortunately I wasn't really thinking because the route I chose had all the water fountains off since it's been pretty cold lately so I ran without water or nutrition the whole time. I ran for 1:45. Not too bad. Another 3.5 or so miles I'm done with a marathon. So that was good. It was a good run. My legs weren't giving out on me. My endurance was good. I'd have to way the weak link was my back. It was getting tired. So I guess I really need to look at doing some back strengthening exercises. I think I'll call Kris and see if I can get her list.

I'm really focusing on using my abdominal muscles now when I run and swim. I have never really thought of them before. I just kind of let them hang out but now I'm trying to engage them and that makes a big difference.

When I got back I mapped my run using www.mapmyrun.com. It's basically google earth but it's nice because you can also mark different points with like bathroom, water, etc. Nice to know on long runs and rides. You can also subscribe to someone's RSS feed for a route. I think I like it so I signed up. (IT's free) If you want to see my public routes go to: http://www.mapmyrun.com/user_routes.php?username=debs.imcrazy

Swimming Lessons

Wednesday I had another swimming lesson with Laurie. It was a really good lesson. I finally feel like my balance in the water is much better. I don't feel like I am pushing down in the water when I breathe and that my stroke is projecting me forwards instead of upwards.

Laurie had me work on switching my hand position. She wants me to think about taking my hand out of my pocket at my hip and then thrusting it forward into the water as if I'm going to shake hands. Once my hand is entered and the other hand is getting ready to enter tilt my hand inwards, pop the elbow and then anchor in the water pulling my body over my hand.

We did some drills I have never done before. Most of these were swimming without breathing to really work on body position. First we had fins on and we literally swam free underwater. This really makes you aware of your body position. Eventually we gradually brought more and more of the recovery out of the water. So one drill was with the whole recovery submerged and then the entire hand.

I'm not sure why it made such a difference but it did. So who am I to question.

Yesterday during swim practice I really concentrated on keeping this same feeling and I think I did a pretty good job. I could feel when I would break my flow but for the most part I felt kind of like I was flying because my hips were high and I felt like I was on top of the water instead of pushing through the water.

I want to keep working on this. I don't know that I am any faster yet but I certainly see the potential once I get it.

Why I do the Ironman...

I was probably just trying to keep myself amused while running today because I am pretty bored with my route although it is a BEAUTIFUL day here in Portland. Cool and dry, not something we get very often in these winter months.

My thoughts meandered to Why do I do Ironman triathlons? Surely there are other things to do that are challenging so why this?

Well that's a good question. First, I am someone who likes to be challenged and I love being able to throw mind, body and soul into something. That is probably the definition of training for an Ironman, it does take mind, body and soul to keep your focus and motivation for that long of a time, not just the long workouts but the day after day grind of training.

Secondly, I do Ironman triathlons because there is nothing like that feeling of finishing knowing that I just finished something I thought I never would be able to do. It is an incredible feeling.

Thirdly, I do Ironmans because it fits me. The psychological make up of an Ironman fits me, the devotion/passion for at least 2 of the 3 sports fits me and it fits my life. I am not able, nor willing, to take several months off from my family and work and do something like hike the Pacific Crest Trail or hike the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainer. They are both things I have always thought about but the reality is I'm not willing to make that sacrifice to do those things. So Ironman it is. It is repetitive, habit forming and addictive. I can fit it into my life around family and work. (Not to say that those don't suffer at times but it is reciprocal. My training suffers because of family and work as well so it's all a give and take.)

Lastly, I do Ironmans because I can. I have overcome my fears and my self-doubt. It is my declaration to myself that I am strong and proud of who I am.

Training 12/12/06

Swim: 1:30 Set of 200's pace of 1:35
Bike: 1:30 Commute
Run: :45
TKD: 1:00

Training 12/1

Today I'm leaving work early to head up to my mom's for our annual Christmas Baking Extravaganza.

Bike: 1:30