4 days....

I'm starting to get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think about the race. It's a good thing. I'm nervous, but it's a good nervous.

GREAT NEWS! The weather forecast has changed from 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms on race day to mosty sunny skies, 82 degrees and only 20% chance of rain. That's a major stress relief for me.

I swam this morning. I wasn't really into it. It was mostly just to loosen up and get a short workout in. I'm toying with doing one last brick tonight. The problem is I have a meeting at 7 and don't know if I have time to squeeze one in. I'll be fine without it but will feel better if I do it.

Tomorrow's blog... my time goals!

5 days- Oh my!

I've reached the end of my training and tomorrow starts the taper. What a day it was!

5:40 AM- swim 50 lengths
1:30 take girls to pool for 2 1/2 hours
5:00 make something up for dinner- it turned out to be salsa chicken, quinoa and green beans.
5:20 Barbara arrives to watch the girls while hubby and I bike with some friends. Thank you Barbara!
5:40 leave for 18-20 mile ride
7:30 return from 26 mile bike ride (yes, that is correct!), throw on shoes and go for a 1 mile run (think brick).
8:00 put little girls down and sit in front of computer in a daze.

What a great way to end my training! I'm exhausted, but happy.

9 days and counting....

Today is an off day- a very much needed off day. Yesterday I swam and biked. The bike was good, the swim was not. I was so tired when I got up at 5 that I was fighting to keep my eyes open on the way to the pool. I got in 40+ laps (lost count), but couldn't shake the tiredness. I ended up taking a nap around 11:30 AM. It helped tremendously! Later on, I went for a 10 mile bike ride (6:30 PM), and it was great! My legs felt strong and my time was great. I think that 18 mile bike ride on Monday really helped.

I woke up at 7:30 today- didn't feel refreshed, but I know it was good for me. I'm going to try to drink a lot of water today, stretch a little, and just chill. I may even sneak a little nap in there too :)

11 days to go...

I should title this my training plan. I have 11 days left until my tri. I'm going to focus on two things- more biking and putting some "bricks" together. (That's when you go from one event to the next without stopping.) Today's workout was a wash, which is okay because I've had some hard workouts the past few days.

Saturday was a 15 mile run. I'm putting my splits here just so I can remember them. My long run pace should be around a 10:15-10:30. I was supposed to do 25 minutes of marathon pace (9:40) thrown in. I was able to do that. The first 13 miles were great, but the last 2 were really hard. I took an ice bath for the first time and it was extremely painful, but I think it really helped me recover.
My splits:
Mile 1-10:29
Mile 2-10:11
Mile 3-9:52
Mile 4 10:01
Mile 5-10:12
Mile 6-9:57
Mile 7-10:15
Mile 8-10:08
Mile 9-9:53
Mile 10-9:36
Mile 11-9:22
Mile 12-10:11
Mile 13-10:19
Miles 14-15 I don't actually know how far I went there. I had to add on mileage and it wasn't marked. My time as 18:55 for both.

Sunday I went for a short bike ride with a good friend. It was a good way to loosen my legs.

Yesterday I swam in the morning and biked 18 miles in the evening. I have a reason to be tired!

Here's my plan until the tri:
8/12- swim in the morning, bike 10 miles in the pm (hard)
8/13- off
8/14- swim in the morning, bike 10 miles in the pm
8/15- 16 mile long run
8/16- long bike (18+ miles)
8/17- swim in the morning, bike 10 miles in the pm
8/18- off (possibly do 8 mile run that is scheduled)
8/19 short brick- bike and run (last workout before tri)

My hope is that I don't tire myself out too much. I'm walking that fine line between being really ready and overtraining.

Should have stayed in bed!

I was scheduled for an 8 mile run this morning. The plan was to go to the gym and use the treadmill as it's been very hot and humid here. The temp was supposed to be 74 at 5 AM. I figured it would be better for me to stay inside. I was also supposed to do some tempo work so I thought a treadmill would be good for that too. I woke up at 5 and felt very tired. It took me until 5:30 to get myself together and head out the door. On the way to the gym I decided to turn around because I was running so late it would be a stretch for me to finish my workout before hubby had to leave for work. It was getting light out anyway.

As soon as I started to run I knew it was going to be ugly. I felt like I was barely moving. I was soaked from sweat almost immediately. I struggled for almost 2 miles and decided it wasn't worth it. I knew if I kept runing I'd end up hurting myself.... so I walked. I ended up meeting a woman from my neighborhood who is also training to run the Richmond Marathon. It was so nice to talk to her and I ended up being so glad I walked. I ran/walked 4 miles. Not what I intended, but I'm glad I didn't stay in bed afterall!

Culpeper Sprint

Once again, I've been bad about posting. My runs have been going great- my longest is 13. The leg feels awesome! I've been swimming 3x a week and feel pretty good about that too. The problem is the bike. I haven't been out on the road in over 6 weeks. I've been on my trainer 2x a week for 45-50 minutes but it's not the same.

My goal for this tri was to use it as a training run for the Columbia. I wanted to get some open water swim practice in and also get on my bike. I knew I'd get killed on the bike but at least I'd be getting an actual bike ride in. I wasn't worried about the run.

I drove up to Culpeper Saturday afternoon to pick up my packet and look at the race course. It's a 16 mile bike course and it was very pretty. It starts out on a big hill and is rolling from there. There are some sharp turns along the way, but it didn't seem too bad. The run was hilly, but again, I wasn't worried about the run.

Sunday morning we left the house at 5:50 and the sky was very overcast. I was stressing about the weather all week because I didn't want to ride my bike on wet roads. We got all settled with about 15 minutes to spare and hung out by the water. My goal for the swim was to do more freestyle. I wss the 4th wave and I started on the outside because I didn't want to get kicked. The swim actually went pretty well. Except for a few wayward swimmers running into me, I didn't get stuck. I swam way more freestyle which was good, I think. My dilema here is that I swim breast stroke about as fast as I swim freestyle. Not a good thing. I figure with both being equal, I'd pick breast every time because I can see. I'll have to work more on that. I was encouraged because when I did do free, I swam really straight.

I took my time in transition because I wasn't "racing" and I didn't care. Also, apparently my oldest daughter has been using my bike helmet. Because I haven't actually been riding my bike, the first time I put it on was as I was about to start the bike leg. It was way tighter than I usually wear it. There was no time to fix it so I wore a super tight helmet. It was lightly raining as I started the bike. This turned into pouring and I got to the point when I just wanted it to be over. I got passed so many times it started making me mad. I knew I wasn't going to do well, but I still hate to get passed. I don't mean just someone getting in front of me. These people were flying by me like I was standing still. Not fun. There is a very sharp turn at the end of the bike that I was praying about as I was riding. I didn't care how slow I went, I just didn't want to fall off my bike. I made it and off to the run I went.

My transition was good- except for getting the helmet off. I couldn't. It was tight and I actually contemplated what I would do if I had to run in it. Luckily, I managed to get it off. When I started, my legs were dead. I seriously couldn't feel my toes. My socks were soaking and I felt like I was shuffling. I haven't practiced any "bricks" and I can tell I need to. It took about a mile to get feeling back in my legs, but then I felt pretty good. I passed tons of people which felt good. I finished strong and as usual had way too much energy when I finished.

I was completely exhausted after I was done. I was just so happy to have it over with. I need to seriously work on my bike in the next three weeks. I also need to work on some bricks to get my legs used to going from one event to the next. On a good note, I'm not sore today. I was going to swim this morning but decided my body would appreciate the rest.

Hanover Liberty 10K Race Report

I was in PA this weekend and planned on running a 10K to replace my tradition of running a local 5K. (I tried really hard to find a 5K, but had no success. In fact, we had to drive over 30 minutes just to run this one. I am spoiled living in such a running community.) The plan was for DH and I to run the 10K and my SIL was going to run the 2 miler with my two oldest. Well, DH got sick a few days before the race and bailed on me. (I actually really encouraged him to only run the 2 miler because he has a nasty head cold and I don't want him to get sicker.)

Anyway... back to the 10K. I wasn't feeling great. I was super tired and my legs were a bit jittery. I don't know what that was all about- it has never happened to me before. My plan was to not really race it but not jog it either. I was going to go out slow the first mile and then see how it went.

I was intimidated at the start when I saw only super fit people line up. I'd say there were probably about 70 people lined up. These are the two conversations I overheard:

Conversation #1
Man to lady who was sweaty: How far you running today?
Sweaty lady: 17- I just finished 10 and I'll use the race for my other 7.
me (in my head)- Are you crazy?

Conversation #2 as I was lining up toward the back of the starting blog
Man #1: What's your pace today?
Man #2: Oh, I'm running an 8 minute mile so you better get in front of me
Me (in my head, again- 2 thoughts): #1 I'm ahead of you both- What are you doing starting so far back? #2 I hope all those people ahead of me aren't running way faster than the two of you!

So, my first mile I tried to be slow. The problem was.. I have no idea where the first mile ended. There were no mile markers or timers on the whole course. I was a little frustrated with that. So, I just kept on running. The course was rolling. Parts of it were really pretty. It was warm but there was a good breeze at times. I passed some people the first few miles but was feeling pretty good. I walked the first water stop. Mostly because my throat was really dry and I wanted to make sure I got a good drink.

I'd say around half-way through we hit this really long hill. I mean REALLY long. It wasn't super steep, but it just kept on going. I really thought it wouldn't ever end. I'd say I was running up that hill for 7-8 minutes. Oh, and that wind that was cooling me off earlier? It was now in my face. I know I slowed down significantly.

After the hill we must have repeated the first part of the route because the rolling hills were back. I was looking for the next water stop, but it never came. I was really disappointed in that. Had I know that beforehand, I would have worn my bat belt. The only other thing that frustrated me was that I had no idea when the finish was coming. Volunteers on the course kept saying "You're almost there." when we really weren't. I walked a little bit more on a rolling section (again, my throat was super dry) and then just put one foot in front of the other. By the last mile there wasn't anyone running with me. I could see the person in front of me, but they weren't close, and there wasn't anyone close behind me either.

I could tell I was close when I saw our car and picked it up the last maybe quarter mile. I didn't think I'd be able to do that, but I always surprise myself. My time: 54:38. I didn't remember the time of my last 10K but now I know that's a PR (personal record). 8:48 minutes per mile.

Some reflections:
- I learned it's good not to always rely on time to gauge how you're doing. I had no idea where each mile started or ended and just ran to how I felt. I think it was a good thing.

- The 11 mile long run helped me with endurance, but I'm lacking speed. I knew that already but this race confirmed why you need to do long slow runs and speed work too. My quads are sore today and I know it's from lack of speed.

- I need to always bring my own water.