Neoprene Luvr

Xmas 2009/Garmin Forerunner 305

2009-12-31T09:01:00.001-08:00

After several southern-style breakfasts, complete with cheese scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits, muffins (and fruit and yogurt - I promise), as well as beef and cheese fondue and Chateaubriande, I made it a priority to stick to my running schedule this holiday. Fortunately, one of my Christmas gifts was an old-school Garmin Forerunner 305. I say old-school because this thing is rather large. Its appearance to our ever-texting and "tweeting" Generation Y is probably analagous to the way we'd now feel watching that Saved by the Bell episode with Zach and the giant cell phone. Nonetheless, the 305 has a multitude of great features and is resilient enough to handle multiple sports (though it is not waterproof).

Th. and I set out on a 1:15 run the day after Christmas. We went down to one of the Chattahoochee River trails (can't recall the name of this one - there are 60+ in the Atlanta vicinity) and began our run. All of the food I'd consumed over the past few days certainly made me feel well-fueled and fresh. I am also starting to think that perhaps I perform better with a few pounds more weight on me (at or around 144-145 vs. 140-142). I'll have to start documenting this better. Anyway, the Garmin worked very well, even without the heart rate monitor strap - which I forgot to bring. There is a bit of lag time starting out; I'd start out at a 9:00 or so warm-up pace, but it would take 'ol Garmin about 30 seconds to warm up himself (the display reads 18:00 min/mi, for example, and gradually decreases). It seemed about right on pace after that, and as I've bemoaned in many a prior run, Th. was constantly pushing the pace. I kept on bringing him back, thanks to Garmin, to our 8:40-8:45 easy run pace. This was supposed to be a Zone 1-3 run, after all. It became clear to me how easy it is to move between Zones and pace brackets without realizing it. I'm sure it will be even more clear to me when I actually remember to wear my HR monitor.

I wore the Garmin again for our hill run the next day. Again, we were pretty much on par. Definitely a bit slower than the day prior, and the hills were unlike any I've run before (hey, I didn't grow up in Boulder, Colorado or Park City, Utah). It was interesting to see how much slower one is with that kind of substantial hill resistance (we were in the 9:20-9:30 range). We were also able to measure our mileage very accurately. Not sure how well this will work in Chicago with all of the big buildings, but I shouldn't have a problem in Evanston.

Today is an easy day - 45 minute swim and New Year's Eve celebration! Looking forward to it.

Happy New Year, everyone!

-Krysten

Ironman Florida 2009 Race Report

2009-11-10T19:33:00.000-08:00

I woke up at 3:30 or 4 and tossed and turned a bit, but managed to fall back asleep. I then awoke to my alarm at 4:45, got dressed and ate my bagel with cream cheese, a Go-gurt (I am a kid in an adult's body) and half a banana. My sister accompanied me down to transition and body marking, which didn't take much time at all since I had dropped off my bike the day prior (Good story there - the boyfriend and I misread the schedule and thought the cut off for bike drop-off and bag turn-in was 5 pm, but it was 3 pm. We ended up with a mere 10 minutes to get all of our things put together and situated in transition. Not pretty.).

After making sure everything was ready to go, I headed back to the hotel room (we were at the race site hotel, which was very convenient) to put on my wetsuit. With about 30 minutes until race start, we walked out to the boardwalk area to meet Th. (the boyfriend) and to head down to the water.

The Swim: 1:13:31.

Th. and I were suited up, so we bid our familes adieu after taking a few photos, headed over the timing mat and packed in with the rest of the sardines. We decided to head to the right side of the beach, thinking this way we could pick our line in to the buoys and avoid some of the mass melee. As it turned out, we did not go over far enough and ended up getting sandwiched, but more on that later. I practiced the breathing techniques I learned at VQ earlier in the season and felt surprisingly calm. A few butterflies were lingering in my belly, but they were all flying in the same direction, so that was good. :) I expected the cannon to go off randomly, as Erin H. had warned me, and sure enough, it did (it would've been nice if they had given us a 2 minute warning or something). They played one of my favorite "get fired up" songs ever - Van Halen's "Panama" - as we were walking into the water across the sandbar, and that put a big smile on my face. I figured it was a positive omen for the day.

For that entire first stretch of the swim, which was oh, probably 800 meters, I got totally clobbered, swam on top of, hit in the face, pushed; you name it, it happened. This was the most brutal swim I've had yet - and the thing that confirmed it was when some guy literally ran into my right shoulder head first and knocked it right out of socket. I yelled a certain four-letter profanity, looked around for kayaks, and when I saw none, I decided to just sit there for a moment (while in excruciating pain) and let it work it's way back into the correct position. Fortunately, it did just that, but not without some tears and additional profanity. Fortunately, the pain lessened a bit as the swim continued, and I pulled through the first half of the swim in 33 minutes, much faster than I had expected. I got a quick sip of fresh water and tried to wade through all the people that were cutting off the first buoy on the second lap. I was amazed that so many people felt it was okay to cheat. I dolphin-dived my way into the second lap and slowed my pace a touch (perhaps a bit more than I had to).

On the edge of the rectangle - cutting across to head back in to the beach - there was some major chop, but other than that, the waves weren't nearly as bad as I had expected them to be, though most of the pro male and female times were about 3 to 6 minutes slower. Considering that, and the fact that I dislocated my shoulder on this swim, a 1:13 is pretty damn impressive (for me at least)! I took 10 minutes off my IM CDA 2008 swim time.

The Bike: 5:40:18

Starting out on the bike after a pretty crazy transition, my legs did not feel as they had felt on my training ride two days prior. I pushed my pace and sailed past a lot of folks, aiming to keep my power between 170 and 180 as Cortino and I had discussed. The terrain was very flat and this course is completely lacking on the technical side, so I had that to my advantage. However, once I got to mile 40 or so, I was not feeling so great. My stomach felt fine, but in general I just did not have the endurance I'd felt on a lot of those long rides with VQ. By about mile 70 or 80 when I caught up with Th., my power average had fallen below 160, which was not good. In retrospect, I did not fuel particularly well. I dropped my salt tabs, drank mostly water out of my aero bottle (I had Gatorade in my other bottles but did not use them very frequently), and had mush in place of broken-up Chewy and Nutri Grain bars (I will never use the "breaking up bars into halves" strategy again). I did eat three bananas and 5 gus, which helped considerably, but overall I was not particularly thrilled with my bike split. By mile 100, I could not ride in my aero bars anymore as my neck muscles could no longer hold my head up. Something was just not right. I was really, really glad to get off my bike in T2.

That said, I took an hour and forty-four minutes off my IM CDA bike time last year. CDA has a much more challenging bike course, but even so, 1:44 is nothing to sneeze at.

The Run: 4:50:18

By the time I got to T2, I was feeling pretty cooked. I kept telling myself that I could start slow and find my legs, get some nutrition and everything would be okay. But the thoughts were definitely there - "Why am I doing this?" "Why don't I just call it a day and tell people I felt awful (which I did)?" I guess being persistent (STUBBORN) has its advantages, because as soon as I got to about mile 3, I thought, well, I've come this far, so I might as well keep going. And somewhere in the back of my mind (and trust me, it was in the back of my mind because at this point I was hurting) I knew that I would really hate myself if I wound up with a DNF.

So I toughed it out and ran 5, walked 1 (or walked 2 when necessary). Occasionally if I was feeling really bad I would run 3 and walk 1 or 2 (minutes). This strategy ended up working pretty well; I must have been running at an 8:50/9 minute pace when I was running because in the end I averaged an 11:04 pace. I didn't fuel very well again, mainly because my stomach was sloshing around. I did throw up twice as well, which hasn't happened to me before. Not once throughout the entire race did I have to pee, which is a good confirmation I did not take in enough nutrition; to boot I think I may have had 1 gu throughout the entire run, plus a few grapes, then I drank mostly water because I could not stomach the Gatorade.

The only really challenging aspect on the run otherwise was that it got dark early due to daylight savings and the state park was REALLY dark. It was very difficult to see the orange cones that were out there.

On the last few miles, I knew that I could finish in 12 hours if I jogged the last mile or so, so I did. The home stretch wasn't quite as fun as Coeur D'Alene's, with the 400 meters or so downhill into the finish line, but there was definitely some fantastic crowd support. A lot of people bemoaned the "spring break" atmosphere with the dinky clubs and silly head shops, but I thought it was kinda fun. I'll take palm trees and the ocean any day. ANY DAY.

In the end, it was a fantastic day, and it always is crossing that finish line. I'm so excited to do it all over again, hopefully with an 11:00 or 11:10 finish (at Ironman Louisville in August 2010). In the meantime, I will take some R&R time, and then start up with some marathon training for the Rock 'n Roll Mardi Gras Marathon at the end of February.

Peace!

Krysten

Goals for IM FL

2009-09-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

So I've been away for awhile (mostly due to 15-20 hour training weeks + crazy job), but thought I'd check in with some updates and plotting out my goals for Ironman Florida, which is 6 weeks away (11/7/09).

I am sick for the first time (excluding that awful food poisoning prior to what was supposed to be my longest bike ride of the training season) this season but am keeping my wits about me and trying to stay focused. Hopefully I can shake whatever it is in a few days. Boyfriend is sick as well so that doesn’t help much.

So, anyway – we’re down to the last grind, the toughest part. I have a hard weekend ahead – 5 hour ride Sunday and 5:45 brick (3:30 ride plus 2:15 run, including 15 x 800’s at 8:00 pace or faster. Given that I just made the transition back to land running 3 weeks ago, a 2:15 run at that pace ain't bad - guess that mindless aquajogging paid off). I must stay focused now because this is my last opportunity to let my body adapt to heavy endurance work. More importantly these three weeks prior to my three week taper allow me to gauge how my body has developed over the course of the summer.

The following are my goals (at least now) for IM FL:

Swim: My swim has progressed a bit this season, but I have had some bad luck with spotting at smaller races due to weather issues and/or infinitesimal buoys. Fortunately at Ironman the buoys are ginormous. Unfortunately, I will be getting clubbed in the head. Point is, if I could swim 1:23 last year without even trying (and with very little training), I can swim 1:10-1:15 this year (and my 2 mile open water swim back in June indicates that I was well-prepared even then). X-factors: weather, surf, tide, jellyfish and number of athletes. Could very well be a more challenging swim than IM CDA’s was.

Bike: There is no reason I should hold back on the bike (well, perhaps a little bit since I have to run a tad afterwards). I have come so far with my cycling and there is no reason I shouldn’t be able to finish in 5:25-5:30 given all the hard work I’ve put in – even if there is wind/heat. This course is flat, flat, flat and I am now pushing 215 (3.33 W/Kg) for my LT power. I have no excuses (except for laziness ;) ).

Run: The run is a big X-factor. I’ve been pulling through and am getting there despite the injuries, but I have no idea how my body is going to respond to that distance. My longest run this season will probably be about 16 miles. That’s it. But I can reasonably hold on to an 8:45 pace for that distance, so there is no reason, if I am trying my hardest, that I cannot run this marathon in 4:20-4:25.

T1 + T2: The thing many people don’t understand is how tough it is to perfect a transition. I need to work on mine for sure. Especially in Ironman, it is so tempting to just “take a break.” Not happening this year. Will be sure to bring Visine this time around, as well as extra contacts and gum. Shooting for 11 minutes max total.

TOTAL TIME: 11:05-: 25

Of course, if I can go faster, I will! I’m not going to pressure myself – just going in with an idea of how I should be performing. I can only do my best, and I will keep asking myself that – am I doing my best? Am I pacing myself well? Am I fueling myself appropriately and being kind to my body? Because that is all I can do.

Last crunch!

VQ 40 min Supermax Test

2009-08-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

At today's workout we did a Supermax test to assess how I've been improving in terms of my power output. When I first came to VQ with the interest in trying it out to see if it was a good fit, we did a real Lactate Threshold test, finger pricker and all. This was back at the end of January. I never would have guessed how out of shape I was then, but when I think back on it, I was really only getting 6 hours of training in a week. That's what "normal" people do. ;) Anyway, Robbie and Max both worked with me and my LT was a measly 153, as you will see in one of my earlier posts. I did have good core strength and flexibility, I guess!

Today we did the VQ Morgal Bismark II TT course (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgul-Bismarck) on the Computrainer for 40 minutes. There were 3 major inclines, the third *quite* major. Coach Cortino advised me to take the first two at an 8.5 RPE and the third at a 9.5. The part that was actually the trickiest was maintaining my power output on the downhills - this means there are NO breaks. Darn. I had to upshift on each to maintain. I managed to maintain 204 at first, then I cranked it up slowly over the third hill and pushed hard during the last 4 minutes (which felt like forever) to where I was pushing out 230-250 W. Overall I averaged 207 (~19 mph on a tough course), which comes down to 3.2 W/kg for a 65.5 kg-er like me. Coach has advised me to watch my diet just a pinch more and try to be more consistent in an effort to get down 3-5 lbs. This will help me toward my goal of 3.4 W/kg, which is in the 90th percentile for the VQ chicks.

So yeah, I blew that 153 right out of the water. Awesome! Now I have to contend with some of the awesome Vision Quest cyclists... ;)

Here's another good article on LT: http://www.velonews.com/article/8217

Photos from Racine

2009-07-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

Since they won't let you save or copy the damn photos anymore... 40 bucks for a "HD" digital image??? Yeah freakin' right.

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=51639&BIB=110&LNSEARCH=1

Spirit of Racine Race Report

2009-07-28T22:58:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little late on this post, but I figured I should definitely write a race report for Racine this year so that I can remember it later.

I arrived with K.S. from VQ on Saturday afternoon around 3 - fortunately my favorite little Honda didn't die on us, nor did our bikes fall off my Saris bike hitch, which is missing two bolts. ;)We rode about 12 miles of the course, just to get a feel for what things would be like Sunday. The Racine course is pretty flat and easy, but there are a few bumpy patches (literally - the roads suck) and a few minor hills. After our ride, we registered (I bought a few things per usual at the expo), checked our bikes in transition, changed and met some friends for dinner at Salute, pretty much the only Italian restaurant in town, and had some pasta. M.A. tried to order a vegan meal but the waitress pretty much didn't know what that was. It was amusing. After dinner I drove to my hotel all by my lonesome and laid out all my stuff for race day while watching Mission: Impossible. Next time I will definitely plan ahead and stay with some friends. It was lonely out in Sturtevant (BFE, Wisconsin).

On race day I awoke before my alarm, per usual, and ate my PB & J bagel, a Chewy bar, and an apple. I had all of my transition stuff in bags so I was prepared for set-up. By 6 am I had everything ready to go, and walked toward the swim start with some VQ friends at 6:30. My wave went off on time at 7:13 and I started to feel anxious about my race. The Racine swim is fast, but what I don't like about it is that it is shallow - so eveybody stands up and dolphin dives. It is hard to establish a good cadence when you have people landing on top of you. I also got pulled out by the current a few times and didn't spot very well. Nonetheless, I finished my swim a good 3 or 4 minutes faster than last year in 29:45.

I ran a good .25 miles up the beach to transition and awkwardly pulled my wetsuit off. The water was 63 or so this year, so my feet and hands were a lot more mobile. Fortunately I'd remembered to down shift my bike for the climb out of transition. I felt fantastic on my bike after the swim and was moving along out of downtown Racine at 21-23 mph. The Racine course is pretty uneventful, save for the few hills and bumpiness I described earlier, so in other words, it is fast. My goal was to maintain a 7/10 RPE throughout the whole race, and this worked very well. My bike split was 2:42, a good 15 minutes faster than my previous bike PR (and 8th in my AG).

I came into transition ready to run and fortunately the temp wasn't too hot. I threw on my shoes, fuel belt and hat and headed out. Several VQ-ers were there to support and take pictures, so that was awesome. What isn't awesome is the two hills on the run course (well, I guess they're not that bad). I made myself run both of them, though I was slow. The Aquaphor-sponsored girl I passed on the bike steadily passed me back on the run. Alas, I am not a strong runner, but I suppose I am getting there. On the first loop I did pretty well, but my pace slowed on the second. Perhaps my aid station walks were a little bit longer than they needed to be. ;) The one thing that kept me moving along pretty steadily though, was "Oh shit, I can hit 5:20," "Oh wow, I'm going even faster than that, I can do 5:18..." and then I'd close my eyes, let my legs do the work, and pretend I was in Hawaii, relaxing on my back in the ocean (the next day I went on vacation to Oahu!) Overall run split was 1:58.

I ran toward the finish with a big smile because I'd blown away my goal time and surpassed my previous PR (my first tri ever, the Gulf Coast Half IM) by 43 minutes. I finished in 5:16:02, and 11th in my age group. IM Florida, you better watch out.

18 Weeks Until IM FL!

2009-07-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

So... 18 weeks isn't actually that far away. November will be here before we know it.

This month I decided to go ahead and hire a coach through VQ. His name is Cortino, and he is to be feared. Having a coach is good for me (or anyone) because there is accountability and I am afraid of the consequences if I slack on my workouts. ;) Anyway, he really knows his stuff and was on the elite ITU circuit for awhile.

The fantastic news is that I am already in better shape than I was just prior to IM Coeur D'Alene last year (it is sad that I was that out of shape then!). My run is progressing a lot, though according to Cortino I am still pretty behind on my mileage. I have new orthotics, which have been helping out a lot (they should at $500 a pair), but I am worried they will not hold up for as long as my podiatrist claims (2 years). We will see.

My swim has also improved a bit and my bike is, er, getting there. I get so bored on the long rides by myself, and thus get lazy. This weekend I drove out to Algonquin, IL for a 4 hour ride. Some of the hills and scenery were nice but there were some dodgy areas - I almost got run over twice due to the crappy cue sheet I found online. Cyclists beware - do not ride on Algonquin Ave. or N Quentin unless you want to die. Overall it was a good ride but I was tired from my Saturday run and the hills. Excuses, excuses.

We'll see what this week has in store for me. I feel good!

Bike Shop Frustration

2009-06-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

So I had an interesting (read: shitty) weekend and had hoped to race at my first TT on Sunday morning, the Bong 30K out in Kenosha, WI. It would have been just for fun, but I wanted to put a new computer on my bike since Th. ripped my other one off as we taking apart my headset. I am cheap and usually buy the computers with a wire because the wireless ones get interference anyway. I took my bike in on Friday afternoon and asked the mechanic if they could put on my new computer and put a little cappy-thing on the cable that was sticking out of my rear derailleur so that I wouldn't keep scratching my right leg. He also suggested I get a tune-up or at least have my headset adjusted as it was somewhat loose. I told him I didn't have time for the tune-up as I needed the bike by Saturday evening, but if they could fit in the headset adjustments, then that was okay.

Saturday was a busy day as I swam with K. and met with my first client! (I am writing her monthly training plans for an October marathon and am working with her twice monthly on strength training. P.S. - I am working on getting certified as a PT by NASM and hope to be certified in August.) Anyway, I lost track of time a little and strolled into Benefit Boutique and decided to play with makeup and have my eyebrows waxed. In the middle of the yanking and tweezing I realized it was 4:58 and that I thought the bike shop (which will remain nameless but it rhymes with Stony Cop and it is in Evanston) closed at 5. I raced over there and my eyebrow waxer lady even called them to wait up for me - to no avail. I called and called as well, and pounded on the door at 5:04 and there was NOBODY there. I left a rather mean voicemail and figured I would be out of the running for the race the next morning. The other bad news was that I had a 102 fever later that night so I probably shouldn't have raced anyway.

Well, I waited until today (Thursday) to see if the folks from Stony Cop would call me but they didn't. I called and asked to speak with the floor manager who proceeded to argue with me (though in a reasonably calm tone of voice). When I asked that he comp part of the cost of services since they slacked a little in terms of their customer service, he insisted that I was "beating them up a little." Whatev. Stay at the freakin' store until 15 past the hour to cash out, clean up and take care of shit. I know you have families and all, but give me a freakin' break. At least call me and tell me bike is done.

I am now 100% convinced that bike shops attract angsty, sexually-repressed people (mostly guys, but also gals) to work there. Unfortunately I also worked at a bike shop last year. But I am not sexually-repressed or angst-ridden. I only lasted 2 months.

A pox upon you, Stony Cop!

Soldier Field 10 Mile Race and Weekend Report

2009-05-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

So it is 11:30 pm on Memorial Day and I am still awake after a long weekend of pretty heavy training, given this is only the end of the first week of IM training. On Saturday I was a guide for my friend K. at the Soldier Field 10 miler here in Chicago. K. has achromatopsia and has been visually-impaired since birth but you sure wouldn't know it if you met her. She has a better sense of direction than me, doesn't run into walls and parked cars, and is waaaay smarter (she's a lawyer). We've only run together on three or four occasions, but she's already run a marathon and several other long-distances road races, so she didn't have much of a problem! Anyway, she set her best time yet and ran a 1:45 race, despite all of the slow people we had to push out of our way. Talk about bottlenecks. There were 9000 people running on a freakin' bike path. But hey, it was fun.

On Sunday Th. and I rode out to Lake Bluff or one of those little towns up north. We were both pretty tired after Saturday's run but we still managed to put in about 45 miles. Yeehaw!

Today I took it a bit easier and ran about 4.5 miles. The gym closed early so I didn't get to swim but the run felt good. My feet feel better and it is not because of the crap orthotics the podiatrist gave me. It is because of my magical Newtons. They are slowly dying, however, so I bought a new pair this weekend, this time in lime green. Can't wait to wear 'em when they arrive in the mail.

Week 2 of Ironman training, here I come!

Panama City shark

2009-05-21T07:33:00.001-07:00

OMG, check out this video. This is where I will be swimming on November 7th. Fortunately on race day there will be 2000 other swimmers thrashing around, so chances are good that the sharkies will leave us alone. The part that bothers me is the training swims where I am all by myself cloaked in a wetsuit that makes me look like a delicious seal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI6VIkf3ilI

On Pretend Tonsillitis and the Joys of Riding a Tandem

2009-05-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

Dear readers,

I am finally recovered from some dreadful illness that made me hack up blood and check my temperature every 2 hours (yes, yes, I am a bit OCD) after it went up to 101 last Wednesday. Nonetheless I got stir crazy after taking 2 days off and hopped back in the pool Thursday and Friday for some easy swims. On Friday I was convinced I should visit the doctor as my left tonsil was the size of a small grape. My mother was worried I had the swine flu. Alas, it was neither according to the nonchalant Dr. Bhojwani who might as well have been a robot considering the lack of information he gave me. I returned home and kept doing the same things I'd been doing - taking ibuprofen, drinking fluids, and "resting," the only change being I had 20 bucks less in my pocket.

Anyway, I went out Saturday for a short run and an easy tandem ride with my friend, Kim, who I am guiding at the Chicago tri (she is visually impaired but you'd never know it from her attitude!). Only it wasn't easy because I was still sick, it was 35 degrees with the wind chill and I was wearing shorts. And riding a tandem is like driving a truck - especially if the person behind you is heavier! Before I rode with Kim, I practiced with another guide, Jane, who is about 6 feet tall and probably 175. Needless to say, we almost bit it on the first attempt to turn (we later discovered the second set of handlebars were loose, so that didn't help either). With Kim, who is a measly buck 10, the ride was a lot easier. Fortunately, Jane's husband came to pick us up 'cuz there weren't no way no how I was runnin' back to Jane's house. I couldn't feel my fingers.

I can't wait for the bike leg of the Chicago tri when everybody on the course comments on how "cute" Kim and I look. Apparently there are a lot of idiots out there who assume we're just riding the tandem to be sassy and sisterly.

2009-04-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

Dear readers,

Please excuse the brief blog entry hiatus as I was experimenting with creating my own tri-webpage. Alas, my technological skills (and patience) were lacking with regard to this project. I checked out weebly.com and set up a great initial framework, but then couldn't figure out how to archive entries and do some other fun techy stuff I'd had in mind. The webpage ended up looking more like a fancy blog, so I figured I should just go back to my initial calling. I am sorry I was led astray.

In other news, I have been busy with training, fundraising and coaching/guiding. With regard to the latter - I am now a guide with C-Different (www.cdifferent.org) and am working out with my friend Kim every weekend. We are running in the Soldier Field 10 mile race on May 23rd and in the Chicago Tri (which Accenture has sadly abandoned) on 30 August (I think). Th. and I are gearing up on the base-training for IM FL and officially start training on May 18. Our buddy S.C. is starting to freak out since he has never completed more than an Olympic-distance tri, as it was easy to convince him to sign up last December when our athletic endeavors involved eating cookies and drinking egg nog. Th. and I are trying to motivate him as best we can. Fundraising for Fisher House is also going well - I hosted an event with some students at the business school (Kellogg) a few weeks ago and raised some solid cash. I have a few other ideas in the works and hope to get moving on those soon.

I am excited to get started with Vision Quest again (I took a break since it is so dang expensive) and am especially looking forward to farmer's tans, massive calf muscles, and green hair. No, really, I am. I am back at it on May first and am really hoping that I can beat Th. but that will probably only happen if I don't get any injuries and he does virtually nothing over the summer. ;)

56-Year-Old Becomes First Woman to Swim Atlantic

2009-02-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=275763

Astaxanthin & Astavita

2009-02-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

So in my quest to set a PR at Ironman Florida this year, I've been evaluating lots of strategies. One of them is nutrition and supplementation. I have a tendency to get sick a lot while I'm training hard, even when I eat relatively well (or so I think) and get decent sleep (7 hours on average). One of the products that peaked my interest last year was Astavita, a relatively new antioxidant on the market. Chris Lieto, a 3x Ironman winner, is the triathlon world's spokesperson for the product. He's pretty hot, so that also helped to spark my interest in their marketing campaign. :) But anyway, apparently Astavita is a really great product, and it's derived from astaxanthin, a powerful antioxidant. This is what Lieto had to say about it:

"Astavita has been helping me fight off free radicals for years. By taking it on a daily basis it speeds up my recovery and reduces the free radicals in my system caused by physical and mental stress. What's even better is that it is all natural. It is from a safe source of algae that is grown in bio-Domes in Maui where it is monitored and protected from the outside environment. When it is at its optimal stage it is harvested. You know you are getting the best and safest Astaxanthin on the market. I don't go a day without it.”

Essentially, astaxanthin is a carotenoid (like beta carotene, lycopene and lutein). Carotenoids are derived from photosynthetic plants and organisms like algae. The significant research that has been conducted supporting astaxanthin's benefits suggests that it is up to 300x more powerful an antioxidant than many other common supplements, like Co-Enzyme q10. Research shows that it may be beneficial in cardiovascular, immune, inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. It also supports the assumption that it protects body tissues from oxidative damage, which is why it is a great supplement for endurance athletes. Astaxanthin also crosses the blood-brain barrier, which makes it available to the eye, brain and central nervous system to alleviate oxidative stress that contributes to ocular, and neurodegenerative diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and even Alzheimer's.

I'm hoping that it will help me to recover faster, and in turn, help me fight off illness. I'll keep you posted on how it goes since I just ordered three bottles.

Take it from Chris (*bonus - he makes a Speedo cameo*):

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6963071327143631776&ei=3Z2MScu7G4P6-QGi4ITiCQ&q=chris+lieto+astavita&hl=en

So sue me, I didn't watch the Inaug, I caught up on Drudge.

2009-01-20T20:02:00.000-08:00

Today was such an awesome day. This morning, I treated myself to a performance test with Robbie Ventura and Dr. Max Testa. Dave, the Head of Operations over at VQ's Chicago location, told me to act surprised when Dr. Testa walked in. So I did. Dr. Testa is a cute little Italian man who can basically talk your ear off about anything sports-medicine related. I'm really into this stuff, so I could listen to him talk for hours. And I pretty much did. Though I phased out some of the talking during the last few minutes of the LT test (the really hard part).

Anyway, we went through some of my background (race PR's, health history, perceived strengths and weaknesses) and talked a fair amount about the injuries I had going into IM CDA last June. I mentioned that my longest training ride was 70 miles and that my run training was virtually non-existent. Robbie winced at this. We looked at my bike fit and both Robbie and Dr. Testa concurred that it looked pretty good in terms of the fore/aft seat position; not too aggressive and not too boring, either. We tilted my seat down a little to allow me to roll my pelvis forward a bit more, and decided we would bring my handlebars down as my cycling skills improve. Apparently, I have a pretty inconsistent pedalstroke and need to work a lot more on the pull part where I engage my hamstrings and hip flexors. The upside to this is that I have beastly quads. I also need to work on my handling skills since: 1) I am not very good at grabbing waterbottles from volunteers at races; this has almost resulted in disaster on a few occasions. 2) I have trouble on tight turnarounds and usually end up unclipping one foot.

We started the LT test after the bike fit. Robbie pricked my finger with a magical pricking gun every 2 minutes or so (that's what she said), and then put the blood into a reader that measured the lactate volume. Lactate is a byproduct of cell degeneration, so it correlates strongly with fatigue. Lactate Threshold (LT) is measured on a scale with different points - the "breaking point" is the first upswing in the graph curve, and LT is the intensity level of exercise where there is an abrupt and significant increase in blood lactate levels. It's kind of confusing, but this graph I found helped me understand (thanks, Google!):

(FYI, the green dot with the arrow pointing down to '45' is the "breaking point.") I have yet to receive the formal results, but I think I did pretty well. I probably went to about 90% of my max and hit about a 172 HR (started at 54 at rest but nervous). They said something about a 13 lactate volume level, but I don't know what that means. Apparently, LT is a more consistent measure of aerobic capacity than VO2 max, so I'm definitely glad I did this, bruised pointer finger and all.

I won't bore you with the rest of the details on the test, but they did some other functional analysis stuff like flexibility, range of motion and muscular/core strength. Robbie and Dr. Testa also told me that they were going to be pushing me to put in a lot of cycling volume to improve my muscle memory, improve Z2-Z3 efficiency on the bike, and reduce risk of injury (vs. pumping out lots of run volume which is high-impact).

After all that, I felt compelled to go back to the gym, so I did a quick yoga class (I did work today, believe it or not - I just woke up early), grabbed some chow with a friend at an awesome restaurant called Duchamps, and then went to a clinic featuring guess who, Dr. Testa. Yeah. Best day ever.

Vision Quest Indoor TT

2009-01-18T12:10:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I drove out to Vision Quest's Highland Park facility for a 30 minute indoor time trial. VQ does several indoor TT series "races" throughout the winter to keep everybody motivated when it's negative 30 degrees outside with a foot of snow on the ground. Fortunately, this weekend has been warmer (in Chicago that means 15 degrees F). I had an awesome time and was really impressed with the facility, which was set up with about 50 computrainers, HD screens, a professional, friendly staff, locker rooms with showers... the whole shebang. It was a pretty intense workout, but I was probably a bit more conservative than I needed to be; I'm also a bit out of shape as my bike hasn't seen the light of day since August (not joking). I guess I came in 2nd or 3rd among the women, because somebody told me I won some prize money (only 30 bucks, but still awesome!). I think I averaged just shy of a 19 mph pace on the mock Bong 40K TT course (great name, right?), which I could actually take part in this summer if I so desire since it is in Wisconsin. Overall, not bad for my first try.

I talked with Robbie Ventura, the freakin' president of VQ and former pro-cyclist (http://www.visionquestcoaching.com/robbie.php) about getting involved at VQ and working with a coach. I went ahead and signed up for a "performance evaluation" this Tuesday, which involves a lactate threshold (LT) test, bike fit, and a functional performance test (evaluates flexibility, balance, muscular weaknesses). Best of all, I get to work with both Robbie and Dr. Max Testa. Robbie is very well-renowned in the cycling world, as I've pointed out, but Dr. Testa is an orthopedist AND a coach (http://www.cycleto.com/videopopups/maxlance.html). He's worked as team physician for Teams 7-11, Motorola and Maipei. Oh, and he's also trained cyclists like Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong. You know, no big deal. So, to say the least, I am really freaking excited. And out 300 bucks.

Ironman Florida Soundtrack

2009-01-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

Workin' on it... subject to change. I want upbeat rock with a bit of pop flavor.

-The Polyphonic Spree: "Light and Day"

-Cake: "Going the Distance"

-Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"

-Rob Zombie: "Never Gonna Stop"

-U2: "Desire"

-The Verve: "Bittersweet Symphony"

-Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: "Weapon of Choice"

-Cars: "My Best Friend's Girl"

-The Hives: "Hate to Say I Told You So"

-AC/DC: "Highway to Hell"

-Nine Inch Nails: "The Hand that Feeds"

-The Killers: "Read My Mind"

-Billy Squier: "Stroke Me"

-Depeche Mode: "Personal Jesus"

-KISS: "Shout it Out Loud"

Off-Season updates

2008-12-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

As is common with endurance athletes, I have a love/hate relationship with the off-season. It is great to relax, unbuckle that top button for Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts, and have a little more wine than is probably appropriate. Nonetheless, I find myself clamoring for more time in the pool, on my bike and on the treadmill (since I can't bring myself to run outside in this nasty Chicago weather). I've also been forced to take it easy for awhile as a result of a ruptured appendix two months ago. Fortunately, I've been getting back up to speed with my running and am faring much better than I was this past summer, but still have a lot to work on endurance-wise. I am up to about 12 miles a week, just working on easy base mileage.

Th. and I signed up for a late February half-marathon in the foothills of north Georgia's Blue Ridge mountains. My guess is that it will be as challenging, if not harder than the 10-miler we ran at Hemlock Overlook (VA) in December 2006, which forced even the speedsters to walk up some of the hills. I'm definitely ready to race again (and get the hell out of the Windy City for a weekend).

We also signed up for Ironman Florida, which is set for November 7th, 2009. We've got a ways to go, but I am already preparing for my basework and training. I'd like to work with a coach to see if I can attain my initial goal of sub-12 hours, plus not get injured along the way like last year. Several friends of ours signed up as well, including a friend who committed while drinking at a Death Cab for Cutie concert. He'll be fine.

Anyway, not much more to share in terms of athletic endeavors, besides a bit of skiing in Steamboat Springs, CO last week. Unless you count eating an entire pizza and half a bag of chocolate chips (fortunately not at the same time) an athletic endeavor...

Merry/happy whatever you celebrate,

Krysten

Race Report: Big Shoulders 2.5K Swim

2008-09-10T23:41:00.000-07:00

Alas, I wimped out and opted for the 2.5 instead of the 5K (two dreadful laps around Lake Michigan). As it was, my lats were tired after one lap because my "training" has involved shorter, more frequent swims (i.e., 2000 m 3 or 4 days a week). This technique seems to work quite well for me when I am trying to get back into the swing of swimming. My balance, rhythm and lung capacity all usually feel a bit off when I haven't been in the water for awhile. Anyway, it seemed to work quite well in preparation for this open water swim as well.

Prior to signing up, I checked out some of the results from last year's race... pretty impressive. This race attracts Olympic caliber athletes like Erica Rose and some guy whose name I can't remember who did butterfly for the entire 5K course. Insane. Erica Rose has been the top female finisher for several years, finishing just short of an hour typically.

In the past, race conditions have been tricky - i.e., cold, choppy and poor visibility. Fortunately, I have dealt with all three of these issues previously, so I wasn't particularly worried. On Saturday, the 6th, however, the water was a balmy 69, not a cloud in the sky, no fog. It was quite difficult to see the buoys, however, as there were only three of them stretched out across the lake. Spotting was probably one of the more difficult aspects of this race.

Overall, it was a great swim. I specifically focused on extending my pull through and keeping a nice cadence. My right shoulder did the thing where it tries to pop out of socket, which means I was getting tired and need to spend more time in the pool/gym. Anyway, I pulled off 47 minutes and change, and beat the girl behind me because she decided to walk out of the water and I booked it past her. I'm a triathlete, beeatch. Ready for T1! (Not.)

We also got these weird Che Guevara Andy Warhol-esque t-shirts with a be-goggled Obama on the front and the word "SWIM" beneath. For the remainder of the day, people complimented me, asked questions, or flat out mocked me (Th.) for my t-shirt. Does Barack even swim?

2008-08-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

This photo exemplifies how I feel about swimming 5 kilometers on September 6th. I think this has to be my favorite Ironman photo. This one and the one of me contorting my face in an effort to get sunblock out of my eye...

Racine Day's Inn... BOOOO!

2008-08-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention... if you ever happen to be in the armpit of Wisconsin, I mean, Racine, do not EVER stay at the Riverside Day's Inn. They charged us $180 plus my unborn baby and the place is a total dump. I didn't bother to look at the sheets because I was too afraid, and it looked like somebody had vomited on the floor previously. There was no water in the "pool" either. Too bad I didn't take any photos.

Race Report: Spirit of Racine Half-Ironman

2008-07-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

We are back from Spirit of Racine after a long and satisfying day. Th. and I vegged out per usual on Arby's snacks on the drive home and then had pizza for dinner. This is one of the best aspects of being a triathlete. Hey, when you burn 6,000 calories in a day, you can eat pretty much whatever you want!

The race was successful overall. Pretty well-run, good partcipation (1700), and reasonably good weather. The swim proved fairly challenging due to a dense fog and 55 degree temps. The start time was delayed by an hour in the hopes the fog would lift (it didn't). This was a very tough swim in many respects, though it did seem a bit shorter than usual. My wave consisted of 200 women, more or less, swimming in a 30 ft wide area. I had my sleeveless wetsuit and no neoprene cap (lost at IM CDA), so I was essentially hyperventilating again by the time my face hit the water. Within 100 yards or so, I had grown more accustomed to the temperature and made more of an effort to spot for the buoys, which were quite difficult to see in the fog. I noticed frosty condensation on other swimmers' wetsuits due to the contrast in temperatures between their bodies and the frigid water. I did get clobbered several times , and swallowed a ton of water due to a fairly strong current. As it turns out, I had my fastest ever half-IM swim: 33 minutes (*as it turns out, race officials added a minute to my time due to my slow 200 m run to transition. They did the same to Th., only he is a freakin' dolphin and still finished in 3o minutes.*) I exited the water and made an attempt to run on feet that felt like ice blocks. It was quite difficult to peel my wetsuit over my ankles and I was disoriented.

I jogged out of transition at 8:56 ( my swim wave went off at 8:17) and was glad to have shifted into my smaller chain ring as there was a giant hill coming right out of transition. The ride was flat and fast, for the most part, though there were some awful roads (very bumpy, lots of potholes) and 6 or 7 hills. My aero bottle was lost in the carnage of other water bottles, tubes and gels due to an aero mount malfunction - the velcro piece in front fell out. Not a particularly exciting bike ride, but again, it was fast and easy.

T2: 12:00. The sun was out and the day was getting warm, completely contrary to the initial weather forecast that morning. I peeled off my tri top and donned my cap, race belt, and running shoes. As usual, I forgot an item - this time it was my sunglasses. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good at the start of the run, and clipped along at a 9:40ish pace for the first mile or so. My hamstrings were feeling pretty sore and my run fitness is very poor, but I pulled through the run with a "run 4 minutes, walk 2 minutes" strategy. Somehow, I still pulled off a 6:23 time, but only because I pushed hard on the swim and the bike to balance out my slow (yet effortful!) run. Th. managed a PR of 5:39. Jerk. ;-)

I really would like to get back to my original fitness level, but am really going to have to be patient with my running. My injuries are slowly healing, but this requires diligence with regard to my PT. I have been icing and stretching, and doing my weird balance ball exercises. This has helped significantly, but I am not anywhere near able to run a consistent 6 miles yet. Slowly but surely.

Splits: SWIM - 34:08 T1 - 5:41 BIKE - 3:04:50 T2 - 4:15 RUN - 2:34:54 (might as well have been speed-walking!)

2008-07-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

This photo taken courtesy of Brian's now FIANCEE, Nellie... OW W OWWWW!

This was taken after our first swim in Lake Coeur D'Alene, June 20th. I really didn't feel that tough, I just had the "Macho, Macho Man" song playing in my head. In fact, I was feeling pretty annoyed at this point, because the water was 54 degrees and I had never swam in anything that cold. Brian was already swimming when we met up, so I just jumped in and started hyperventilating when I hit the water. It hurt to submerge my face, but I made myself do it and ultimately my breathing returned to semi-normal. My hands felt tingly, like I was pushing away little swells of icy slush as I swam. Not fun. Fortunately, the water warmed up to 59 on Ironman day - woohoo. I know people that won't swim in 70 degree water. Anyway, the advantage was, cloaked in all that neoprene, one can swim like a boat right on top of the water. Awesome. Next time I will seed myself a bit closer to the front. IM #2 swim goal: 1 hour, 13 minutes. None of this lollygagging along, ladies.

Oh, the choices

2008-07-13T10:27:00.001-07:00

One of the most interesting phenomena within the Ironman community is the arduous selection process for the ensuing year's race. All of your friends, acquaintances and family members discuss the options over email, facebook, blog and telephone as though it is a life-altering decision. Perhaps it wouldn't be so life-altering if it didn't cost thousands of dollars, thousands of training hours and thousands of neoprene-bootied feet potentially kicking you in the head and making you drown to your untimely death.

Anyway, several of my extended friends via Th. (my Iron-boyfriend) are considering Australia, France and South Africa, but I doubt I will have the finances/time to support such an endeavor. Maybe in 2010. Canada, Florida, Wisconsin or Louisville are more up my alley. Florida sounds fun because I like palm trees, heat, and sharks. Louisville sounds interesting because my Dad's family is from Kentucky and I might fundraise with C-Different as a part of their "IronTeam" (http://www.cdifferent.org/). I'd like to do Florida with Th., but am also keen on meeting some new people, throwing fundraisers, and getting a sweet C-Different jersey. I do have some friends participating in Canada as well, and Wisconsin is only a 2 hour drive from Chicago. Will give it some thought!

One down, Louisville/Florida to go?

2008-07-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys! I'm back to the blogosphere after a long hiatus. I recently moved to Chicago, and am hanging out a month after Ironman Coeur D'Alene, tapering for my half-Ironman next weekend (tee-hee).

Coeur D'Alene was a blast - beautiful scenery, friendly people and half an hour from the Spokane, WA airport (thus reasonably convenient, though it is in BFE).

Hope you all are enjoying your summers, preparing for races, and/or just taking it easy. Sunday's weather was pretty much ideal - 75 degrees, slightly cloudy, not hot in the least. There were some forceful winds on the bike course, which I hadn't expected, but overall a nice day. The water warmed up to a balmy 59 degrees, which felt a million times better than the 54 degrees Brian and I swam in on Thursday (without a long sleeve wetsuit or neoprene cap). I was a bundle of nerves on race morning, mostly due to the intimidation factor Ironman swim inevitably brings to the table. Fortunately, the swim was the easiest part of the day. I waited about 30 seconds for the majority of the swimmers to enter the water, and alas, was unable to avoid the clusterfuck. By the time I reached the second buoy, the swimmers had thinned out and my breathing was normal. I did get kicked and climbed on a few times, but considering the number of swimmers in Lake Coeur D'Alene (2200), this was inescapable. By the end of the swim, my first impression was, "That's it?" I heard the announcer call my name, saw Th. and my family, and ran toward transition. The women's changing tent was full of crazy naked people, bustling about in an effort to collect everything needed for 112 miles of cycling on a new, more challenging course. I popped a gel and ate a piece of Power Bar on my way out of transition: 8:33 am. The first part of the bike course felt just as Theron and other Ironman experts said it would - easy and smooth. I hit the first 10 miles in 30 minutes (which for me is too fast). I tried to slow my pace in preparation for the hills. On the corner coming up around Sherman Ave., I heard my family cheer again and climbed toward Government Way. As I approached Hayden Lake (where the hills begin), I contemplated peeing in the bushes/ finding a portapotty/ peeing myself. I opted for the portapotty in the end, which was a smart decision considering I didn't have to hover and thus tire my quads, or experience the discomfort a new friend relayed to me upon having "taken care of business" on the bike. Around mile 30, I started to feel a cramping sensation in my stomach that worsened when climbing. I threw up a little bit once but continued on. Eating was difficult, so I tried a banana and kept pushing the fluids. By mile 61 I felt a bit better and stopped to eat a PB&J Uncrustable. This first part of the second loop was the most challenging part of the course mentally, but I convinced myself that I would just try to finish the bike course and see what happened from there. Ultimately, my stomach began to feel better, though my pace slowed on the second loop due to a nice wind hitting us on the flats. I made my way into transition around 4 pm to prepare for the run. I didn't bother to change into running clothing as many of the other women did, as it was just too difficult. Eau de homeless man is my preferred fragrance, anyway. I walked the first half mile of the run course, ate some Clif Shot blocks and downed some Gatorade (though I was already beginning to tire of the stuff). My strategy was to walk 2 minutes, run 3 minutes, and adjust as necessary depending on how my legs felt. My hamstring tendonitis was certainly making its presence known at this point, but fortunately everything else hurt as well, so it wasn't as noticeable. Brian and I caught up to each other around mile 10, and ran/walked together for much of the run leg. The second lap of the course was difficult. Brian and I noticed that everything hurt, even our faces. In particular, my lungs and core felt tired. By 10 pm, I had reached mile 25 of the run course and could hear the announcer at the finish line. The last 1/2 mile of the course is downhill on Sherman Ave., with a cheerful, smiling crowd to boot. I ran through the arch, slapping hands and smiling the whole way. It was exhilirating.

Best of luck to all of you competing at Ironman events this year, and have a great summer everyone!

Krysten