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!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
VQ 40 min Supermax Test
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
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
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Photos from Racine
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
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=51639&BIB=110&LNSEARCH=1
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Spirit of Racine Race Report
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.
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.
Monday, July 13, 2009
18 Weeks Until IM FL!
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!
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!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Bike Shop Frustration
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!
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!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Soldier Field 10 Mile Race and Weekend Report
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!
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!
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