Good Afternoon

I had to do another tempo run today and by the time I got settled into work, check weather dot com, it was time to head out. There was a nice green cloud cover (rain) was coming straight toward downtown. So I head out, and it was STILL muggy. Big surprise, I know. But I am cruising along, trying to not go out to hard again.

I hit my turn around point and feel a little sprinkle. Yup, more rain. Not as bad as the Half (captured by EDIT KristEn - Sorry! I know it's EN, but I think I might have screwed up on some mail coming your way too. SORRY!) but a nice light drizzle to cool me off just a bit. It was so light that my shirt was soaked through due to my sweat, not rain. Yes, nice picture huh... I mean sweat dripping off my nose muggy!!

Anyway, I am off topic. The run was good and I treated my self to a much need massage. Roxanne (by the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROX) recommended Therapeutics, District Wellness Group - which is a DC Tri Club sponsor. SOOOO GOOD!!! A bit painful, but in the good way. I learned that my right shoulder has a lot of knots, but the left side is just overall tight. My left quad is way more tight than the right. My right arm is stronger and can handle the pressure better than the left. Amazing what you can learn from a sports massage!!

MUG-GY!!!

You know that feeling in the morning when you walk out side and it is nice, crisp, cool air?? Well, that did not happen this morning. I was up and out before sunrise and it was disgusting!! Blah! But I did my ride and it was pretty good. 30 min easy, 3*10 minutes hard with 2 minutes easy, rest easy. I was feeling pretty good but every once and awhile I caught a whiff of a b.o. type moldy something... I couldn't tell if it was me, or just the grossness I was biking around.

I hope it was Hains Point...

So I finish up, put Blain on the car rack, stretch and head home. I look in my rear view mirror and see my saddle bag open, and my tool hanging out. Before I could pull over, it fell out :-( So now I have to go get another one. Oops.

Oops

Sometimes I need to do a better job organizing my schedule. I really don't have that much to do, other than swim, bike, and run - however I tend to schedule things with a time line that isn't possible. So when I thought I could bike, make it to an appointment, go to work, and make it to Bethesda for restaurant week - something had to give.

The only thing in that list that is flexible, the bike. Dang it!! Yes I could have missed the appointment (but would have had to pay anyway), skipped work (not a good idea, I like money), missed dinner (but I like to eat) so the biking had to go. That just means I will have to bike harder tomorrow, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

And was dinner worth it... I say yes.

Sacrifice

Today I did an interval/tempo run and it is getting tougher with 6*5 minutes hard with 2 minutes easy (instead of 5*4 or 4*3). This cuts down my warm up and leaves no time for cool down – as part of the workout. So by the time I get to The Mall, I am already on my second set with a higher HR and I am feeling pretty good. Part of the reason for pushing hard, my choice in music.

Yes, it's really cheesy, but if you have been reading this blog, there should be no surprise. I cry, I exaggerate, and I LOVE the cheesiness factor in almost everything.

Anyway, with the Olympics quickly approaching, one night I found that Sacrifice song on iTunes that was being played on the NBC commercials. It made it to the number one spot on my workout play list, for easy playability. There is one verse I really like, especially the last line.

Everybody expects me to break
But I'll never break down again
Everybody expects me to give up
But you'll never see me givin in
Everybody wants me to lose
But I'll never lose who I am

Luckily, I don't have people expecting me to break, give in, or lose – at least not that I know of. But, there is something about listening to that and remembering that I won't break down, I don't give up, and I don't want to lose who I am. So I am running hard (for me) choking up with emotion and fighting back tears.

And what do I do, play it again, and again and run harder and harder. Until the heat got to me and I could barely make my last 2 intervals. But it felt good.

Running IS Cheaper (or at least better) than Therapy

Yesterday was one of those days where something happens and it completely changes you. It was something that I had very little control over, and I hate that feeling. This was getting to me all morning and I decided that I would make today my long run day to try and get some perspective.

About 45 minutes into the run, a little bit of perspective came to me about the choices I do have.
I can not control other people's feelings, actions, and reactions.
But I can chose how they make me feel. It's not as easy as waving a wand and magically feeling better, but knowing that it can only bother me if I let it.

I can't control the fact that I ran into the wind on my way down the mall and there was zero breeze on the way back.
But I can keep moving, one foot slowly in front of the other.

I can not control the US mail, or the speed of a shipment
But I can control where I order from and who to not order from again (One Triathlon Gear dot com)

I can't control what is going to happen on September 7
But I can choose to do my workouts for the next 40 days. And I can trust in Coach that he knows what he is doing (and have been doing the past year). And believe in my self that I have put in all I can do, and be happy with the result no matter what happens.

Better

Well, I didn't back from Coach about what to do today, so I just went out for a ride on Beach drive. It still wasn't super fast, but it was better.

This morning I tried to sleep in, but the body clock went off around 7 and I was convinced I was late for something. I putzed around a bit, waiting for the heat and humidity to raise. Okay, not really the reason but that is what happened because I took too long getting out of the apartment.

So the ride was fine, nothing too exciting. My legs felt okay, that isn't what hurt the most, it was sitting on the saddle again. Ouch!!

Anyway, that's all I got for today. Just woke up from a nap and now I am off to do my sink full of dishes.

5 Hour Ride in Columbia, Take 2

Because last weeks long ride in Columbia didn't go so well, I decided to try again. 30 minutes earlier, 5-10 degrees cooler and way less humidity. I thought these were all signs toward a good ride. Not so much.

But here are the positives.

• Practicing on a rolling/hilly/little to no flat is good training for IM Moo
  
• 14 times I hit 30+mph
• At least a dozen decent snot rockets
• I did make the amount of time Coach wanted me to go - 5 hours
  
• No falling
  
• I didn't litter or "litter"
• I met a very nice woman who is doing IM Louisville and IM AZ - this year
• Nothing leaked in Marcus (and the Bag Balm smell is gone)
  

So I am going to leave it there. I am not going to focus on the fact that I was the same speed, actually a tad SLOWER, than last week in the heat/humidity/and almost passing out.

And watching Pierce Brosnan sing SOS was exactly the funniest thing I needed to hear/see.

There are FAST People in the Morning!

Yes, I slowly crawled out of bed at 5:30 and made it to the Y for my swim. Now I know I haven’t been to the pool early in quite awhile but, WOW – the dynamic has completely changed. These people were FAST! I mean I am hardly ever the faster person in the pool, but also hardly ever the slowest. I feel comfortable in the medium or fast lane, depending on whom else is circle swimming, try to avoid the very fast lane and slow lanes.

When I first entered the pool deck, the slow lane was open and I figured I would just hop in there. Then I looked around and realized compared to everyone else, that is the lane I belonged in.

All was fine and dandy and I am swimming along doing my ‘comfortably hard’ 200’s and I notice the guy in the lane next to me. He is doing the bicycle flutter kick, you know, with the really bad bent knees and tons of slashing (I couldn't find a good picture to describe the bicycle flutter kick so this is showing the splashing) During a 30 seconds rest, I see his stroke – just odd looking - so I figured he was doing drills. Later, still the same odd looking stroke. But here’s the thing, he was kicking my butt!! I mean really kicking my butt!!
Ahhh, I hate it when people have horrible technique and are really fast!! The guys who were super fast and great technique is one thing, this is another.

But a Caribou light white sugar free raspberry made it all better - the sugar free gives it way less calories!!

Ironman Wisconsin Review - via Evermantri

Rachel just sent me this. A good read.

Makes me question some choices I have made (Carlos vs. Blain) but the more information I have, the better.

I Bricked... Now I am Late for Work

I got out of bed before the sunrise, and before the heat. I had to do 90 minutes with 5*5 minutes hard with my HR 10-15 beats higher. Now, as you may recall, I did a tempo run yesterday and I tend to have a difficult time getting my HR up in the morning while biking. So this was a nice challenge.

But, it did not end there. Coach said to do a brick if I was feeling good. And not just any brick but the run with ANOTHER 5*5 minutes hard with 2 minutes easy in between. So, after 10 minutes of a warm up (and bathroom break) I started my first of 5 five hard minutes. DANG!! But I managed to do the entire 45 minutes with the 5*5 minutes with my HR close to where it should be.

How do I feel - well, not quite the endorphins, my legs feel a bit like bricks, but overall I am happy with today's workout.

Now I am really late for work and need to get moving!!

It Was Okay, I Guess

Today was a tempo run. I decided to try it outside and try to get used to this heat. Because I haven't had great runs lately, I decided I would change up my tempo and go back to my running coach - Lance. I just needed that "you can do it, 1 minute left" and "pain is temporary, quitting is forever". So not my furthest or fastest run. But not my slowest either. Given the heat, I will take it.

Tonight, instead of swimming (I know, I know... I will get back to the pool!) I got a hair cut. It was way needed! One of my 1017 pet peeves is my hair on the back of my neck - when it's in a pony tail. So, I had a few (4) inches cut off. I kind of fits in a pony tail, but I just wanted it off and really didn't care.

And I celebrated with a cupcake from Cake Love. Or the plan was 1 tonight and 1 tomorrow. But I couldn't decided so I had half of each. Then half of the first. Then I couldn't leave just one half, so I ate that too. TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!

AND I came home to a package from home. My wonderful parents sent me a new container of Bag Balm! Woo-Hoo!! I could not find it anywhere here! And when I asked, people just looked at me like I was crazy. I mean really, why wouldn't you carry something that is to prevent chaffing on cow utters. Anyway, now I can hopefully do my 5 hour ride on Saturday with out (many) saddle sores.

What else was in that package.... My parents know how much I love bags. This is definitely coming with me to Madison!

Rant

I think it's been awhile since I have just complained/whined. Here we go

1. I am tired. And I am tired of being tired. No matter how much I sleep, its not enough
2. Chlorine and I are not getting along. I keep getting really bad stuffy heads.
3. Because of #2 I keep having rough nights of sleep, which leads to #1
4. My stomach isn't happy. And hasn't been since the 'littering' on Sunday
5. The air conditioner in my apartment doesn't work well. I think this may be a cause of #1
6. I know I live in DC and it is hot/humid, however the code red air days - not good. You aren't supposed to be outside on code red days, let along 'engage in strenuous physical activity'. How am I not supposed to 'engage in strenuous physical activity' when training for an Ironman???
7. Saddle sores. Nothing else needs to be said
8. Going to bed at 9, but still having #1 as an issue
9. 46 days. 36 days of working out (and a 10 day taper)

There was other stuff, but I can't think of it right now.

Oh, Back on the Treadmill

Given yesterday's oh so great workout in the heat, I decided my run should be done on the treadmill. All was going well, until about 30 minutes into it when I just feel like my sweating took on a whole new level. See all those puddles on my artistic picture of me running on a treadmill - that is about what I looked like.
Okay, not that bad but that is how I felt. After some walking, I finished up the 45 minutes. Meh...

It was still hot out, but no chance of a thunderstorm, so I decided to hit the Hains Point outdoor 50M pool for my swim workout. Coach has it in for me and upped my 100 hard to 15!! So in addition to have the 50M pool, I had to do 15!!! I remember when 8 was hard! But I got it done before the pool closed at 7. It was a nice reminder that I need to get my butt in the pool.

Oh, and Coach's reaction to yesterday's workout... He had a bad day too. And he said a lot of the people he coaches had hard times with the heat/humidity as well. Selfishly, that made me feel much better. He also said "I think you did a heck of a job on the long ride today, stopping, driving, and then getting back on the bike. I think that's remarkable! Coach". Notice how he didn't comment on the puking...

Starting To Ride When It Is 82, at 8 am... Can You Guess How It Went???

AHHH!!!! WHY CAN'T I HAVE A DECENT RIDE!!!

I thought getting up at 6, packing up the car, driving to Columbia, and clipping in by 8 would be early enough. Nope. Not even close. IT WAS HOT

I did my first 27.5 mile loop and felt okay. Not great, but was ready to power through.
Half way through loop 2, things were not going well and the Clif shot I just took, did not stay down - a problem I have never had before and my nutrition plan has been the same for the past few months... After I littered a bit, I felt a little better and kept going - not that I had a choice. On the stop sign before a large hill it said Don't above and Believin below. So I then had Journey's Don't Stop Believin up the hill. That actually helped. Until I made it to the top with a side stitch and left more Clif Shot and Accelerade on the side of the road.

Sorry Columbia!!!

I decided that the extra hour just wasn't going to happen and just focus on getting back to the car. I got stopped at a stop light, clipped out on the right, even put my foot down, but somehow still fell over and saw stars... That confirmed the decision to stop the ride.

I get back to the car, open the doors, turn on the AC and smell something... My Bag Balm that I had left on the passenger seat, apparently on its side, MELTED ALL OVER!!! There was a nice puddle on the back of the seat, dripping down to the floor on the back. So Marcus went from smelling like chain lube to Bag Balm. Just not good.

After some time in the AC of the car, I started to feel better. I decided to head to Beach Drive to finish up the ride. I know it's not the same as doing 5 hours straight, so I added an extra 30 minutes.

Overall, one 4 hour ride, 55 miles. One 90 minute ride, 20 miles. Slow, hot, seeing stars, littered a bit in Columbia, MD, and just HOT (and not in the good way). Not the 5 straight hours I had hoped for, but hopefully next weekend...

Today's Workout... Naps

Yes, that is the correct subject line. I filled Coach in with this weeks workouts and just how tired I have been. So he said to take today off, stay off my feet and take a few naps!
To fuel and rest up for a long ride tomorrow. So that is what I did. Expect I couldn't really sleep in - stupid body clock! So I did a few load of laundry, followed by a nap. Some dishes, changed the bed sheets, cleaned up, took a nap. Not too bad.

I met up with Kristin for some light shopping and to see Wanted. Very entertaining.

Now I am just getting ready for my 5 hour ride tomorrow. I just can't complain about days like today (even though it was a Code Red day and 95+ outside...)

Work, Sleep, Sleep, Work

What is missing, WORKING OUT!!

I am trying, really trying. Things are going well and the last thing I want to do is screw them up. However, I am just so incredibly tired!! I have had a few workouts but sleep keeps winning out, again. My legs and muscles are pretty recovered from Sunday, but I have not caught up on sleep.
One thing of fun I did do last night is head to Wolf Trap to see the Indigo Girls with Lauren and Kristin. A nice picnic dinner on the lawn, clear night, full moon, and good music. Yes, that is not helping with the sleep factor, but it was totally worth it.

Not sure what Coach has scheduled for the weekend, but tonight will be an early night and there will be lots of naps!!

Have a great weekend!

Easing Back Into the Workouts

This morning came sooner than I would have liked. All weekend, I woke up at 5, my body ready to go. Now that I had to get up at 5:30 to go bike, my body did not want to go. Figures.

But I am glad I got up. Of course I was super close to calling Brooke to cancel, but I didn't. We headed out and I told her every detail of my race - probably bored her to tears that early in the morning, but it was fun to relive a bit. And I am super excited for her because I know she is going to kick butt at her race on Sunday.

Tonight, a swim (that I was supposed to do yesterday, but close enough).

Oh, and my bike shoes... STILL WET!! Not dripping wet, but damp. Couldn't not believe it

Back in the City

Ahhh... what a great weekend! So many fun stories. And since I don't have much else to report, I am going to share some.

After Rose's race, it was a trip the wineries. But according to Jess, we could only go to the ones with animals on the labels. I only had one sip, of Jack A$$ wine, at 1 winery, and it was not good. Jess and Rose had a bit more than a few sips...
Lakeshore wines had a loon looking animal on the label.

The reading of signs lead to just announcing things you saw out of the window. For example: corn, cow, stop sign. I think the sips of wines by the other two helped the humor of the day.

Celebrating a birthday with cake is good. Biking a hour later as your last workout, and to make sure you bike/new cleats are working, not good.

A little note about the race director. He is the best, very funny, in the dry humor way. For example, at the pre race meeting, he said "The way to avoid cutting your feet on from the mussels, swim the swim, don't run it." And his mom was in charge of packet pickup. How cute!!

Finally, some of you know I DESPISE the cow bell. And not in the way I say I don't like things, but really like them (like hot pink signs that say "Congratulations Amanda" and have smiley faces drawn by my 2 favorite girls who live in New Orleans). They were GIVING AWAY COW BELLS TO RACE SUPPORTERS! Jess and Rose had to tell me multiple times to take deep breaths. I don't know why I don't like the cow bell, I just don't. It has a place, but it is not what pushes me forward in a race.
Jess and Rose took one, they said to take 2 more out of circulation - but I don't know how much I trust that...




Tomorrow, back to my workouts. It starts with an early morning of biking. I am planning on meeting Brooke which will 1. get me out of bed and 2. I can tell her all about my half as she is leaving Thursday for hers.

Yesterday's Race Report

As we are lounging around in the hotel getting ready for the drive back, I thought I would take the time to describe my wonderful experience of yesterday.

Wake up 5. Jess and Rose did a coffee run and gave me a few minutes to chill on my own. We headed to the race start and I was quickly intimidated by all the really fit looking people.
After some final checks on Blain, headed to the transition area.

Head to body marking where I had a very nice lady who thought I was 848, not 841, so turned it into a heart. How cute.

Then it was to the swim. Now my wave went off at 7:10 and watching 2 waves ahead of me was extremely beneficial. Now I have had my fair share of experience in open water, however, very little prepared me for this swim. We were standing waiting for the gun to go off. The race director said "Get ready to have the greatest race experience of your life!!" We all laugh and the buzzer went off.
IT WAS TOUGH!!! I have never felt so beat up in the water. 1.2 miles of being smacked by waves/swells. At times I would breath to the right and get hit, I would look around and see no one else, and there was NO sighting! Part of that problem was orange buoys, pink caps, and lifeguards wearing red tops. Not good. By the last leg of the triangle, when you had the push of the water, it was to a point where you couldn't swim because it was too shallow. Needless to say, not my best time, however I am SOOO thankful that I am comfortable in the water. But you could tell everyone had a rough swim.

T1 went fine. I was by a port-o-jon which was great for changing! I am not going to win so I go for comfort. I changed, finished dressing and headed out. I did forget my gloves, ran back, and then headed out.

Bike. Where to start. First of all, what causes swells?? WIND. So after a rough swim, because of the wind, what do you accept on the bike?? WIND! BOO!!! The first 10 or so miles were directly into the wind, with a slight incline. SO NOT FUN! When you are pedaling hard, dying and only going 10 mph, it' s just not a good sign.
We took a few turns and finally got some wind at our back with a slight down hill and flat. That was fun!
Another few turns, headwind, and downhill is fun, but not the extra I was hoping for. Hit the half way point and saw how dark it was getting... Hit the big hill, eventually made it up, felt a bit dead, and then it started. The rain. It was at first a light drizzle, kind of nice after the hill. But then it didn't stop. And got worse, and worse, and worse. So for 25 or so miles, wet wet wet. There was some thunder and I just wanted to finish. I slowed down a bit, because I had no brakes and as afraid to go into aero.
When I looked at my bike computer, after wiping it off, I realized my speed was pretty good.
I was on the way back and feeling pretty good.
Overall, 15.5 mph!!!
But here is the thing, my goal was 14 mph, closer to 4 hours, not 3 hours 35 minutes. So with the rain, I wasn't sure if Jess and Rose would be there. I saw Rose, but no Jess (and no pictures because they weren't expecting me that quickly). As I head into T2, I hear Rose on the phone.
Jess was napping in the car!!

T2 went well, easy to change and get started, even thought it was still coming down.

One word can describe the run. WET. It rained the entire 13.1 miles. But when I talked to Coach the night before and told him about the weather forecast, he just said "smile, there is nothing you can do about it". For some reason, that is just what I needed to hear, and that is what I did starting on the bike and carried it through with the run.

Overall, I am really happy with what happened. I don't think there is anything I would have done different, accept change the weather to be cloudy with no rain.

I can not thank Jess and Rose enough for all they did for me. And Kristen, Scott and all the family who were there at the end. This was a great race for me and really good feeling leading into Madison in 54 days!!

Jess is here

As promised, just a bit later than expected, here is Jess's own post. She is here too

I AM A HALF IRONMAN

I am not sure if that is really a term, but whatever. I finished!!

Full post and race report to come, but I am super excited! Really HORRIBLE weather (wind and rain, better then hot and sunny but still)

In the mean time, here is a not great picture of me after I finished. It's all I have for now, but for now, I kind of love it.
Off to eat!!

Tomorrow is the Day

Not the day, but one of the days.

I had so many things I wanted to post about that happened today after Rose's race. Then I went to the transition area to see where I will be racking and this is what was on my spot.
It got to me (shocking, I know). I will do my best, it's all I can do...

PS. The stories are good and will post them eventually.

Rose Rocks!!!

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSE!!!

Would you want to do a sprint triathlon on your birthday? If you are like Rose, the answer is yes. And would kick butt at your triathlon on your birthday? If you are like Rose, once again the answer is yes.
I like watching. At first, it was really foggy, you couldn't even see the third buoy!
But the fog cleared and the race started without any problems. I am not sure if the water level is low, or the swim is just really shallow. Either way, Rose finished the swim with a solid run out of the water.

Driving the bike course must have helped because Rose was supper speedy, we almost missed her coming back. Look at that smile!

And of course, she finished nothing but strong.

It was great to watch and learn how the transition area worked, the in and out of the bike and run course. Jess and I had a good time cheering for everyone and it actually made me excited for tomorrow.

I am off to give Blain one last test drive. Apparently walking 5 miles in your bike shoes is really bad for your cleats. When I finally cleaned out my cleats, I noticed it was worn down and the tip was about to chip off - not good. So, off to the Geneva bike shop for new ones. As you all know my rule, nothing new on race day so hopefully my 20-30 minute ride will do.

We Are Here!

After a pretty uneventful trip up, which is good, we made it to Geneva, NY.
It started off a bit rocky with the smell of chain lube wafting through Marcus. Sure enough, when Jess and I got to Rose's house, my bottle of chain lube leaked all over one of my many bags. Grrreeeeaaattt....

But the ride was good, only one wrong turn, a lot of laughing about nothing and learned that Jess likes to read aloud signs - all the signs.

We went to pack pick up for Rose and headed out to drive the bike courses. My first impression is that it's not too bad. I know I was in the car, but everything I had marked as the "big hill" wasn't too bad. I feel much better after the drive, but know it will still be tough.

The night ended with a beautiful sunset over Seneca Lake.

PS. Yes, Jess is here and once we all like a picture, I will prove with a post just for her that she is here.

And it's not because she is reading this over my shoulder.

Yes it is.

I Have A LOT of Stuff

I just finished packing and I have a lot of stuff. I mean the race stuff is a lot, but then 3 days of other stuff for the trip in general, Dang!! I have a Speedo bag that I have had for ages, used it maybe for high school swim meets (I think it was something I had to have in high school), I know for sure I had it for college water polo tournaments, but overall I have never actually filled the bag before. Today, it's full. And the wet suit is in its own bag... That's a lot of stuff!!

Today is a travel day, so no workouts! Woo-Hoo!! I didn't sleep that well last night, woke up at 5:15 - stupid body clock. I think because I knew I didn't have to workout, it was easy to wake up. Figures.

Hopefully I will have some sort of wireless up in Geneva so I can fill you 5 readers in on this adventure.

Well, Jess will be here in an hour so I better shower. It's 7 hour drive and it's just mean if I don't.

Tapering Makes Me Swim FAST!!

I really do like this tapering thing. Today all I had to do was a 500 warm up, 8*50 hard (I did an extra 2 because I was feeling so good) and an easy 500 to finish up. Simple, quick, felt good, and about 5 minutes faster than my previous 1500M.

For Sunday, I am number 841 in wave 3, with a blue cap. FINALLY a cap that is not pink or purple. Once I saw that, a slight panic moment. But, once again with the help of some good friends, I moved on. It also helped that I had a 1:30 meeting that lasted almost an hour and a half which completely frustrated me.

Otherwise, it was a pretty uneventful day. I had many well wishes from co-workers and friends about Sunday. Jess, Rose and I finalized our plans for the drive tomorrow. I am starting to get exited as I finish up my packing.
This is just a brick, with an event I enjoy doing as a warm up... Right...

And the shirt says
1. one athletic endeavor consisting of three events - swimming, biking, and running; 2. the ordinary... doing the extraordinary; 3. freak

From Rachel with a note "So I believe that you are doing your half-ironman this weekend, and I thought that you could use a couple words of encouragement: You can do it! (Okay 4 words of encouragement and an exclamation point)". She just makes me laugh.

70.3

I do much better when I don't think about that distance. In 4 days that is the distance I will be attempting to do. In a bit under 2 months, I have to do double that. I start to freak out, sweaty palms, short breaths, and run around trying to find something I can control. I forget that I can control what I am going to do, I just need to think about it in parts.

A 1.2 mile swim
A 56 mile ride
A 13.1 mile run

That sounds much better than 70.3 miles. So mental training, that is what I am working on now.

As Coach said for the weekend
"Don't get worked up over the pre race hype or pre race talk. Get in your own little confident world and stay there."

Oh, and I almost forgot, I did my 30 minute run today. I did it on the treadmill because there was the threat of rain and I lost my work knee braces so if I felt pain, I could stop. But the BEST news, I had such a low average heart rate! 152!!! I don't think I have ever had such a low heart rate with a non-snails pace run. Woo-hoo!!

So Nice...

Tonight was relaxing. Yes, I should have cleaned, done laundry, dishes, changed the sheets, but no. I went shopping with Jess. Some stuff for this weekend, but mostly stuff I don't really need. It was fun.

This is one thing I found while looking around the Internet that I have been wanting to post. Sometimes, advertisers are very clever

Ahhh... Taper Time

I L-O-V-E the fact that it is before 9 and I am done with my workout for the day. I just finished my bike and run, a light brick. Blain was okay, no flats, not falling apart. All good things. And I didn't notice the extra weight from the back tire. He is creaking a bit but I don't think it's anything serious. I know I am a bit hyper sensitive to noises he is making right now.

So, what am I going on the rest of the day...
What to do during lunch???

• Read? Relax?
  

What to do after work???

• Laundry? Read? Relax? Clean?
  

So many options!!
Really, these are problems I don't mind having.

Now I just need to get to work on time.

2 months, 2 Months, 2 MONTHS!!!

I can't believe it. I really REALLY can not believe that in 2 months I will be (hopefully) running a marathon towards the end of my IM Moo experience. With Sunday being my half, having a slight panic attack today is an understatement. Merissa helped calm me down and we looked at my log to see where I was 2 months ago. It was the Columbia tri and I was around 35 miles on the bike. I have almost doubled that in the past 2 months, and have 2 months to double it again.

I was told that you really learn how your friends are during this adventure. I have to say, I am very very lucky in that department.

I just can't believe that time has moved so quickly.

2 months = 60.8736998 days

Just Not My Weekend

Even thought I took a nap yesterday, I had no problems falling asleep last night. That does not mean I enjoyed waking up for my run this morning. But I did get out of bed and out the door to meet up at Old Anglers/Great Falls for my run. My favorite place to run because of the views from the trail.

I start out with Brooke, explaining the remainder of yesterday's experience. She seemed just as shocked as I was. We are trotting along and I realized that something felt different. New shorts, but that wasn't it. Same water pack, hair, shoes... I couldn't figure out what it was. Brooke looked at me and said "Don't you normally wear knee braces?". Yup, that is what I was missing, my knee braces.

I had planned on going out 30 minutes, heading back to find Merissa for the final hour. So, I turned back a bit sooner to get to the car and grab my knee braces. About 50 minutes into my run is when I started to feel the knees. At first, knees were not happy being pushed back into place - but I have worked so hard to get my knee caps to point in the correct direction, I was not going to let them start to point out again by running 2 hours without the braces.

After I found Merissa, we trotted on for about an hour. The humidity really got to me by the end and the last 10 minutes were not great. I am still not going to map my run dot com what I did because I don't want to be upset at my slowness. With the half next week I really need to work on my mental training.

I am really hoping this will be a light week and I can relax and focus on the training that I have done and be ready for my first 70.3.

Okay, it Really Was the Worst Training Day EVER

And in a lot of ways it is worse when the reason is things I can not control. This is basically how I felt today.

So after I took my nap, it was sunny. So, I got dressed, again, packed up the car, again, and headed out for my ride, again.
Now I realized I forgot my pump and I already mentioned that I didn't have a CO2 cartridge. But I figured I already had my flat, I would be fine. Headed up Beach drive, right at the turn around, and I hear it - pop, hisssssss..... OHHHH Sh*t!!! No no no no NOOOOOO!!!! 5 miles. I went 5 MILES!! Which means I am 5 MILES from my car.

I start to walk back. Finally 2 guys stop. All I needed was a pump or CO2 cartridge. The 2 guys from Boston (when I said I was going to blog about them, they said that is how they wanted to be described) pulled over and helped. They were great, changing the tube faster than I knew what was going on. Super sweet and greatly appreciated. They pedal off, I get my helmet back on, clip in and start.

100 yards later, pop, hisssssss..... OHHHH Sh*t!!! No no no no NOOOOOO!!!! Not again!
So I start walking again. Another guy stops a little while later and we find 2 holes in the tire, one big one. We patch the tube, plug the hole, flip Blain back over and what happens...
Pop, hisssssss..... OHHHH Sh*t!!! No no no no NOOOOOO!!!! SERIOUSLY!?!?!
So it was pretty much a lost cause after that and I hobbled back to the car.
20 minutes out, 2.5 hours back. Not good.

When you are walking in bike shoes, it's not comfortable, or good for the clips. I walked in my socks at times, but not good either. Not looking forward to tomorrows 2 hour run. And I was surprised at how few bikes asked to help... I always ask, stop, and will now for sure continue to do so.

So that was my day. I rushed to The Bike Rack for a new tire. I wanted the one that would least likely give me a flat, but wasn't really heavy. Hopefully it will workout. Today just really stunk and I hate the fact I missed a long bike. But, it's better this week than next at the half or in 2 months.
I am trying to have some sort of positive spin to this...