SATURDAY
Slept in until 8am and woke up ready to run! The 16 assigned miles sounded so much easier then 20 the prior weekend. Jeff and I headed over to Alki. From my 1st step of the run, I felt strong and focused. Stella prevailed through out the entire run. My average pace was 8:43. I finished hard, as assigned. It felt GREAT and I was pumped up!!! Jeff proclaimed "You owned that run!" Look out, Canada, here comes Stella.
SUNDAY
My schedule read: 115 miles!! Last super long ride!!! Follow race day nutrition. Transition run: 1 hour.
I am an exceptionally directionally challenged human being, very prone to getting lost. I really wanted to focus on riding rather then staring at maps, so I signed up for the Sound to Mountains Ride (Seattle to North Bend). This way, I just had to follow the painted blue anteaters on the road. The ride was 104 miles. In order to get the additional mileage, Jeff and I rode from home to the start at Magnuson Park. It was actually really peaceful riding at 6:30am in the mist. From the start, we turned out of Magnuson onto the Burke Gilman Trail and the mist became more like drizzle. The route took us from Seattle to Bothell to Snohomish to Lake Stevens to Munroe to Duvall to Carnation to North Bend. The rain was steady through about 60% of the ride with a slight wind. It was not comfortable.
Around mile 50 of 115, my mind starting playing tricks on me. It was screaming - I don't want to be here, why am I riding in the rain? For the next 15 miles, my mind drifted. My sunglass lenses were covered inside and out with drops of water making it difficult to see the directional anteaters. Then, I saw a rider coming toward me heading in the opposite direction in a TN Multisports jersey. She was tucked down in her bars in a tight aero/racing position, laser focused, and moving lightening fast. It was Johna Koenig! She did not see me, but she sent me a message loud and clear. Get on it, slacker! I snapped out of it. Thank you, Johna.
At mile 65 of 115, I stopped at the ride rest station and had a croissant and sent a text message to Jeff who was at mile 77. I am pretty sure that croissants are the way to go mid ride. It tasted fantastic! Maybe I should have a croissant with butter and jam in my special needs bag in Canada.
Speaking of eating, during a ride like this, I need to eat around 250-300 calories per hour and about 1000mg of sodium. This alone can be daunting. Here is a partial list of what I ate during the ride.
CarboPro= 450 Calories,
Electrolite Pills=24 = 4000 mg sodium
Power Bar Gels= 5 = 550 Calories, 135g carbs, 1000mg sodium
Power Bar Fruit Smoothie Energy Barb=220 calories, 43g carbs, 180mg sodium
Organic Energy Chews=320 calories, 80g carbs, 160 mg sodium
Croissant = 231 calories, 26g carbs, 424mg sodium
Other energy chews and shot blocks, ran out so I do not have the nutritional information
Back to the ride, the rain continued to come down pretty steadily. The course was on the hilly side. Little by little, I made my way to Bybee Nims Farm in North Bend, the finish line and the location of our car which we parked the night before. At mile 110, there was a never ending, killer hill up to Snoqualmie Falls. Just like Yellow Lake Pass in Canada! When I arrived at the Farm, there were 5 volunteers clapping. I was SO GLAD to see them. My bike computer read 117 miles. I did it! My longest ride!
Jeff was my bike catcher, as he reached to grab my bike, I was in a bit of a fog. He told me that he had finished his run and that I needed to get out there. I changed and headed out again. My slow run took me down a country road where I saw a deer and a friendly dog decided to run with me for a few minutes. Stella was no where in sight.
Sunday was my hardest training day EVER. It was designed to be that way. Riding on Sunday after the fatigue from the run on Saturday is going to help me in Canada. (well, it better!) Today, Monday, my muscles are stiff and the couch is my friend.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Why did I not do this earlier?
I have not written all week because I have been tired. The lasting fatigue that comes with IM training is unbelievable. Even on days after light work outs, my body craves extra time to snooze which is not possible due to other responsibilities like my day job. Despite the fatigue, the work out week was pretty good. 3 highlights:
1) Wednesday Bike Fit with Rusty Pruden - Coach Teresa had recommended a bike fit for me quite some time ago. It was super tough making the time. Maybe part of me was delaying because I do not like change on the bike. I have come so far and am always worried that little changes (new wheels, bike fit) will set me back and I just can't go back. (For those of you who do not remember or know, my 1st bike experience as an adult was getting my tire caught in the street car track in Portland. After that, when I first started clipping in 2008, I had a horrible time with falling over at inconvenient places like stop signs. It was not pretty...When I finally figured out how to not fall over, my average speed was about 9 miles per hour, not really enough to race) Rusty made adjustments to the seat, handle bars, stem (?), and brakes. He patiently explained what he was doing and why. He made me feel like my lack of technical bike knowledge and dependence on Jeff for anything mechanical was OK. He gave me the same advice that Jeff has told me in the past - shoulders down, back flat. Would the changes set me back to the spaz that set out to tackle the bike in 2008?
2) Thursday night South Lake Washington Loop (25-26 miles) with Melinda - after a hard day at work, the fresh air, solid effort, and friendship was a huge pick me up. And, Rusty's changes made me more comfortable on the bike! Now I can ride down in the drops without reaching so far. The seat hits me in a totally different way. Why did I not do this earlier? THANK YOU, Rusty!
3) Friday night swim at Green Lake. There is some rowing competitive series or training going on during the day in Green Lake and they have buoys set up in lines going across the Lake with a rope attaching them about 6' under water. What this means for me is that I could focus on my extending my stroke and form rather then sighting as often. My 60 minutes swim felt good.
Made it through the week...Time for a Saturday run. Spell Check does not recognize the word spaz.
1) Wednesday Bike Fit with Rusty Pruden - Coach Teresa had recommended a bike fit for me quite some time ago. It was super tough making the time. Maybe part of me was delaying because I do not like change on the bike. I have come so far and am always worried that little changes (new wheels, bike fit) will set me back and I just can't go back. (For those of you who do not remember or know, my 1st bike experience as an adult was getting my tire caught in the street car track in Portland. After that, when I first started clipping in 2008, I had a horrible time with falling over at inconvenient places like stop signs. It was not pretty...When I finally figured out how to not fall over, my average speed was about 9 miles per hour, not really enough to race) Rusty made adjustments to the seat, handle bars, stem (?), and brakes. He patiently explained what he was doing and why. He made me feel like my lack of technical bike knowledge and dependence on Jeff for anything mechanical was OK. He gave me the same advice that Jeff has told me in the past - shoulders down, back flat. Would the changes set me back to the spaz that set out to tackle the bike in 2008?
2) Thursday night South Lake Washington Loop (25-26 miles) with Melinda - after a hard day at work, the fresh air, solid effort, and friendship was a huge pick me up. And, Rusty's changes made me more comfortable on the bike! Now I can ride down in the drops without reaching so far. The seat hits me in a totally different way. Why did I not do this earlier? THANK YOU, Rusty!
3) Friday night swim at Green Lake. There is some rowing competitive series or training going on during the day in Green Lake and they have buoys set up in lines going across the Lake with a rope attaching them about 6' under water. What this means for me is that I could focus on my extending my stroke and form rather then sighting as often. My 60 minutes swim felt good.
Made it through the week...Time for a Saturday run. Spell Check does not recognize the word spaz.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Stella Took a Dive and Kept Running
Sunday - After sleeping in a bit (recovering from 4 1/2 hour ride and 45 minute run in Lake Stevens yesterday), Jeff and I headed over to Alki for a 20 mile run.
When I 1st started training for marathons, I would get in a groove and forget everything and just run and run. My friends in DC at the time would call me Stella when I hit my groove like that. Looking back, it was probably the few times that I was properly hydrated and fueled with calories, since I had no idea back then of the importance of what you eat and drink during endurance sports. Today, Stella was back! After about mile 5, I was flying with a HUGE smile on my face. That is, until I flew off the curb onto the pavement. That's right. At mile 10.2, my foot hit a high curb and the rest of me went airborne and landed in the middle of the street. (graceful as ever) My water bottle went one way, my gel bottle, the other and 5 people came running over to see if I was OK. My right knee was bleeding and my hands were a little scraped up. While one woman and family went into their home to get 1st aid, a real estate agent who was running a nearby open house stayed with me. He asked me what I was training for. When I told him Ironman, his response was "Oh, you're OK," implying that for an Ironman this little scrape was nothing. The kind lady and family returned with a bag of ice, band aid, Neosporin, and a full water bottle. They offered to drive me back to the car. They were SOO NICE. Honestly, the scrape is pretty small, you can barely see it now. The dramatic fall looked a lot worse then it really was. I finally got up and started running again. After a few miles, Stella came back. I was flying again, feeling great. At about mile 14-15ish, I saw Coach Mark running the other way. Yeah! At mile 19.5ish, Coach Teresa yelled "Go, Barb" off her balcony as I passed. Yeah!
This was my longest training run for Ironman Canada and I feel like I nailed it. I am happy and horizontal right now after a chocolate malt milk shake and late lunch at Luna Park Cafe.
When I 1st started training for marathons, I would get in a groove and forget everything and just run and run. My friends in DC at the time would call me Stella when I hit my groove like that. Looking back, it was probably the few times that I was properly hydrated and fueled with calories, since I had no idea back then of the importance of what you eat and drink during endurance sports. Today, Stella was back! After about mile 5, I was flying with a HUGE smile on my face. That is, until I flew off the curb onto the pavement. That's right. At mile 10.2, my foot hit a high curb and the rest of me went airborne and landed in the middle of the street. (graceful as ever) My water bottle went one way, my gel bottle, the other and 5 people came running over to see if I was OK. My right knee was bleeding and my hands were a little scraped up. While one woman and family went into their home to get 1st aid, a real estate agent who was running a nearby open house stayed with me. He asked me what I was training for. When I told him Ironman, his response was "Oh, you're OK," implying that for an Ironman this little scrape was nothing. The kind lady and family returned with a bag of ice, band aid, Neosporin, and a full water bottle. They offered to drive me back to the car. They were SOO NICE. Honestly, the scrape is pretty small, you can barely see it now. The dramatic fall looked a lot worse then it really was. I finally got up and started running again. After a few miles, Stella came back. I was flying again, feeling great. At about mile 14-15ish, I saw Coach Mark running the other way. Yeah! At mile 19.5ish, Coach Teresa yelled "Go, Barb" off her balcony as I passed. Yeah!
This was my longest training run for Ironman Canada and I feel like I nailed it. I am happy and horizontal right now after a chocolate malt milk shake and late lunch at Luna Park Cafe.
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