Two weekends of racing in a row. My body and I have never visited that place before, and I'm trying very hard to curb my apprehension. I think my mind finally let the up-coming half-iron distance race on Sunday become real for me. Up until now, it's been out there, it's penned in on my calender, all the preparations have been made, and yet I didn't really feel it. I do now. I'm excited, nervous, and VERY curious to see how my body will respond. I can't even begin to guess how it will go.
My birthday "Pardee" was really fun! The race itself went pretty well overall, and I somehow managed to come away with a 3rd place finish in my NEW age group, just 10 seconds behind second place! Again, I was so surprised, especially given my time in the swim. I thought I was capable of getting into the top 5, but a long shot for top 3. So my goal for the race was to just better my swim from last year. I was SLOWER! UGH!!!! The conditions for the race almost mirrored last year except that it was a bit breezier. I've never worn a wet suit for this race, and again the water was perfect!
These are my times:
Swim 2010: 10:39 / 2011: 10:57 (grrrrr....!!!)
T1 2:55 / 2:00 (NO SOCKS!! ;-))
Bike 45:28 / 46:26 (Did not start to feel good until mile 10)
T2 2:02 / 2:19 (It would help if I knew where my spot was...GRRRR!)
Run: 23:58 / 23:40 (I LOVE how good the run feels, during races anyway!)
Finishing time 1:25:00 / 1:25:22
There are so many variables to consider when comparing yourself from one similar event to another. We are never the same in any given moment. So again, how do you measure success? My goal for this race was to better my swim time from last year. I did not meet that goal. Was it a successful race for me? YES! I got to the starting line, and I finished the race. Success! Was I disappointed in certain aspects of the race? You bet. There are always improvements to be made. Indeed, that's one of the things I love the most about this sport. The challenge to improve and adapt. These improvements and changes are not always physical, and not always apparent when you look at things too closely. Take a step back...and look again. I was tired coming into this race as it was at the end of a tough block of training. I am training for Ironman this year, I was not last year. There are a few health issues I'm dealing with and my body is responding differently to the training this year. I AM one year older!! So from that perspective, I am VERY happy about my day in Pardeeville!! :-)
Yes, there was cake and celebration after the race. Team BBMC did very well and took home more AG awards! :-) I saw many friends and familiar faces as I get to know more and more people involved in the local triathlon scene. How is it possible that I get to live this amazing life?
I was telling myself, "I get to...I get to" quite a bit during that afternoon's four hour ride. Again, it was crazy how hard it felt. I was windy and hot, and I was depleted from the race. I just tried to take it easy and drink, drink, drink! One bright spot during that ride was when I was passed by a fellow rider. I noticed his body was marked with his race number on his left arm, and his wave number on his left calf. I yelled, "Hey, did you just do Pardeeville?" He slowed down to meet me and said, "Yes. Did you?"
"Yes! How did it go for you? Did you ride here from there?"
"Yep! It went ok. Are you riding long too?"
"Yes, but I drove back home first. Where are you riding to?"
"I live on the west side of Madison, but I may ride a bit farther"
"Wow! Are you training for Ironman?"
"Yes, this will be my 10th IM Wisconsin. How about you?"
I didn't say anything for a few moments. 10??????? He hinted that he's done a few others. I think he said he was 50 something. Wow! I said, "Yes, but it's only my second." He said good luck and that it was nice meeting me. He then turned left and rode off.
That random meeting gave me the energy I needed to finish my ride.
Later I thought about the fact that I said, "only my second". I reminded myself how lucky I was that there was even a "First". I reminded myself that there are no guarantees that there will be a second. But on this day, I had a great race, finished a tough ride...and lived to see another birthday. And there it was again, that feeling of gratitude.
Next up....Door County with Team BBMC!!! Bring it!!
Enjoy this day!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Flame out
Happy 4th of July! It's the middle of summer already...unbelievable. The weather for about the past 9 days has been hot, humid and breezy. I'm loving it!! Well, mostly.
Monday was my first day off of training for over a week, and I really needed it. I was recovering not only from the recent two plus week push and it's ensuing flame out, but from a rare night of celebration and indulgence. More on that in a bit!
My workouts last week were going pretty well. I really tried to push the swim volume. Thursday night's fun team sprint was, indeed, FUN! We did a 300 meter swim in the weed jungle known as Lake Wingra...YUCK! Then on the bike for a 10k ride through the Arb, then a 2k run. That silly little swim was HARD!! UGH...will I ever get better? Swimming through those thick weeds did not help. I felt pretty good on the bike and run. I felt even better after while eating Debby's fabulous cake!!! ;-)
Friday, which is my usual day off, called for a long set in the pool. All felt fine, and I tried to mentally prepare for Saturdays long ride of 4 1/2 hours and 30 minute transition run. I wanted to ride at least 70 miles. Sunday would be another 2 hour run.
The ride started out great! I felt good, and the weather was cloudy and low 70's. It was pretty breezy from the north, so I did my usual loops which head north first before I turn around a ride south. I was looking forward to a nice tailwind!
Of course, the winds died down a bit during the last 2 hours, so I lost the benefit of the tailwind. The clouds disappeared and it got pretty warm. I was loving it...or so I thought? I really tried SO hard to keep up with my nutrition and fluids, taking in more than I ever have. But by the last hour, my stomach was starting to go south. I was annoyed. Why does this keep happening? I even peed twice on the ride, so I felt like I was staying hydrated. When I got off the bike and began to run, I realized it would be a long 30 minutes. The nausea and pain in my stomach were pretty bad, and I felt hot. I didn't have a headache or dizziness, so I just went with it. I took walk breaks and sipped gatoraid. When I was done, I was pretty close to throwing up. I just wish I could have! The pain in my stomach was horrible.
I got in the house and headed for the shower to cool off. While standing in the shower, I started to feel light-headed and dizzy, then the blackness on the edges of my peripheral vision. I thought, "Oh boy, I am going DOWN!". I got out of the shower and immediately lied down on the floor. After a few minutes, I got up to get my cell phone, and the walls started closing in again. Back down on the floor. I was alone since Mike was up at the cabin. I started thinking about what I was going to do if I didn't turn this around. I was assessing my symptoms, trying to determine if what I was experiencing had anything to do with the funky vessels in my head. I've only ever felt this way one other time, when I had my aneurysm. I was pretty confident that this was just a case of heat exhaustion. There was NO pain in my head at all, just my damned stomach!
Mike called at that very moment. I told him what was happening. He stayed with me on the phone until I could at least manage to get up and get some water. It took about 1/2 hour until I started to feel better. I just kept sipping water, then gatoraid. Thankfully, I managed to climb down off the ledge. WHEW!!
The rest of the day was a battle between my head and my stomach. I knew I needed to keep eating and drinking, but my stomach wasn't too happy. I just kept at it. In a few hours I was able to drive to Montello to get my Mom for our girly overnighter. She was pretty worried and a bit irritated with me. She worries that I do too much...and I just proved her right! I took her to Culvers...I even got TWO scoops of Chocolate Heath custard...and felt MUCH better! :-)
The next morning I felt fine! I headed out to the Arb with Susan, and I intended to at least try one loop with her to see how I felt. It was warm and muggy already at 8:30 am! We took it easy and even walked a bit. (The pit stops to Victor Allen's were also quite helpful! ;-))After the first loop, we met up with another friend and decided to go for round two. We continues to take it easy, and I was tired but feeling fine. After loop two, I felt good enough to run for another 15 minutes so I could make it to mile 15. When I finished, I was so relieved. That episode the day before really shook my confidence. I have been over-thinking it ever since. At our group run on Tuesday, Blake talked to all of us about nutrition and bonking. It's such an individual thing, and it can be so challenging to try and figure out not only WHAT your body needs, but HOW you get it to accept what you are putting into it during training. I'll keep working on it...we'll get it figured out! I'll just chalk this one up as one of those VERY bad days.
What my body did NOT need was the form of liquid I choose to put in it later on Sunday night! We celebrated Rachel's 22nd birthday by watching her perform two songs as, "Lady RaRa" at a variety show. It was a fund raiser for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. There were many, shall we say..."interesting" performances! ;-) But she was AMAZING!! She did one ballad by herself, then sang, "Bad Romance" with Robyn and another guy as her back-up dancers. We had so much fun! While my body may not have needed it, my "party girl" spirit....which is still in there and comes out occasionally, really needed it! :-)
Now I look forward to Saturday. It's my birthday, something at this point in my life I approach with mixed feelings. I am so grateful to be here to celebrate another one...really I am. I just wish the number would be a bit lower!! We will be celebrating at the Pardeeville Triathlon and I am so excited for this race! Not only will I be celebrating doing something I absolutely love, I will be doing it with many of my incredible teammates. AND my Mom will be there! AND there will be CAKE!! (I am bringing the cake...and I will be PURCHASING the cake. I do not cook, and there is no way I can compete with Debby! :-)) So on to the next age group I go...where the women are amazingly strong and bad-assed...and I'm very happy to do so.
Enjoy these gorgeous summer days!
Monday was my first day off of training for over a week, and I really needed it. I was recovering not only from the recent two plus week push and it's ensuing flame out, but from a rare night of celebration and indulgence. More on that in a bit!
My workouts last week were going pretty well. I really tried to push the swim volume. Thursday night's fun team sprint was, indeed, FUN! We did a 300 meter swim in the weed jungle known as Lake Wingra...YUCK! Then on the bike for a 10k ride through the Arb, then a 2k run. That silly little swim was HARD!! UGH...will I ever get better? Swimming through those thick weeds did not help. I felt pretty good on the bike and run. I felt even better after while eating Debby's fabulous cake!!! ;-)
Friday, which is my usual day off, called for a long set in the pool. All felt fine, and I tried to mentally prepare for Saturdays long ride of 4 1/2 hours and 30 minute transition run. I wanted to ride at least 70 miles. Sunday would be another 2 hour run.
The ride started out great! I felt good, and the weather was cloudy and low 70's. It was pretty breezy from the north, so I did my usual loops which head north first before I turn around a ride south. I was looking forward to a nice tailwind!
Of course, the winds died down a bit during the last 2 hours, so I lost the benefit of the tailwind. The clouds disappeared and it got pretty warm. I was loving it...or so I thought? I really tried SO hard to keep up with my nutrition and fluids, taking in more than I ever have. But by the last hour, my stomach was starting to go south. I was annoyed. Why does this keep happening? I even peed twice on the ride, so I felt like I was staying hydrated. When I got off the bike and began to run, I realized it would be a long 30 minutes. The nausea and pain in my stomach were pretty bad, and I felt hot. I didn't have a headache or dizziness, so I just went with it. I took walk breaks and sipped gatoraid. When I was done, I was pretty close to throwing up. I just wish I could have! The pain in my stomach was horrible.
I got in the house and headed for the shower to cool off. While standing in the shower, I started to feel light-headed and dizzy, then the blackness on the edges of my peripheral vision. I thought, "Oh boy, I am going DOWN!". I got out of the shower and immediately lied down on the floor. After a few minutes, I got up to get my cell phone, and the walls started closing in again. Back down on the floor. I was alone since Mike was up at the cabin. I started thinking about what I was going to do if I didn't turn this around. I was assessing my symptoms, trying to determine if what I was experiencing had anything to do with the funky vessels in my head. I've only ever felt this way one other time, when I had my aneurysm. I was pretty confident that this was just a case of heat exhaustion. There was NO pain in my head at all, just my damned stomach!
Mike called at that very moment. I told him what was happening. He stayed with me on the phone until I could at least manage to get up and get some water. It took about 1/2 hour until I started to feel better. I just kept sipping water, then gatoraid. Thankfully, I managed to climb down off the ledge. WHEW!!
The rest of the day was a battle between my head and my stomach. I knew I needed to keep eating and drinking, but my stomach wasn't too happy. I just kept at it. In a few hours I was able to drive to Montello to get my Mom for our girly overnighter. She was pretty worried and a bit irritated with me. She worries that I do too much...and I just proved her right! I took her to Culvers...I even got TWO scoops of Chocolate Heath custard...and felt MUCH better! :-)
The next morning I felt fine! I headed out to the Arb with Susan, and I intended to at least try one loop with her to see how I felt. It was warm and muggy already at 8:30 am! We took it easy and even walked a bit. (The pit stops to Victor Allen's were also quite helpful! ;-))After the first loop, we met up with another friend and decided to go for round two. We continues to take it easy, and I was tired but feeling fine. After loop two, I felt good enough to run for another 15 minutes so I could make it to mile 15. When I finished, I was so relieved. That episode the day before really shook my confidence. I have been over-thinking it ever since. At our group run on Tuesday, Blake talked to all of us about nutrition and bonking. It's such an individual thing, and it can be so challenging to try and figure out not only WHAT your body needs, but HOW you get it to accept what you are putting into it during training. I'll keep working on it...we'll get it figured out! I'll just chalk this one up as one of those VERY bad days.
What my body did NOT need was the form of liquid I choose to put in it later on Sunday night! We celebrated Rachel's 22nd birthday by watching her perform two songs as, "Lady RaRa" at a variety show. It was a fund raiser for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. There were many, shall we say..."interesting" performances! ;-) But she was AMAZING!! She did one ballad by herself, then sang, "Bad Romance" with Robyn and another guy as her back-up dancers. We had so much fun! While my body may not have needed it, my "party girl" spirit....which is still in there and comes out occasionally, really needed it! :-)
Now I look forward to Saturday. It's my birthday, something at this point in my life I approach with mixed feelings. I am so grateful to be here to celebrate another one...really I am. I just wish the number would be a bit lower!! We will be celebrating at the Pardeeville Triathlon and I am so excited for this race! Not only will I be celebrating doing something I absolutely love, I will be doing it with many of my incredible teammates. AND my Mom will be there! AND there will be CAKE!! (I am bringing the cake...and I will be PURCHASING the cake. I do not cook, and there is no way I can compete with Debby! :-)) So on to the next age group I go...where the women are amazingly strong and bad-assed...and I'm very happy to do so.
Enjoy these gorgeous summer days!
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