Trying to find free speed in my bike fit

Well, I'm leaving for Charleston this afternoon for the Low Country Splash!! I'm a little nervous, but it will be fun! I'll write all about it when I get back.

I have been fiddling around with me bike fit, trying to maximize my aero-position and as a result, gain some free speed!! Its difficult to do this on my bike because I have a road bike frame, not a tri-bike (which I desperately want) and I also have a compact frame (made for us girls). SO, with all that confusion its difficult to get my butt close enough to me areobars and enough drop between the saddle and the aerobars, but I've been working on it, so here is what I changed.....
That picture is from the side of my bike, looking at the aerobars and the stem that holds the handle bars. I moved the spacers from under the stem, to on top of the stem, dropping the bars about a 1/2inch. Then I moved the pads back towards the saddle one space. You can see where the mount is now, before it was more in the middle of the pad. So the pad was about 1/2 inch forward. This is in an effort to become more aerodynamic on my bike...FASTER!!
This is the result.....

This is me at Surf N Turf (original postion)

<--This is my new position.

So the biggest differences I see are:
-I have a better bend in my elbow...closer to 90 degrees
-My back is flatter
-I'm lower

It is a good start I think. I went for a 2hour easy ride today and so far the new position hasn't made anything hurt...always a plus! I'd like to drop a bit lower but I'm going to see how this works first.

Wish me luck in Charleston!!!

Broke a record on my birthday!!

I'm 25 today! And this morning I went for my longest swim EVER. I swam in the Intercoastal Waterway while Mike kayaked next to me (I love him!). I started at the Coast Guard station on the south end of Wrightsville Beach and swam 2.2 miles to Oxford St. Thats 0.55 mile more than I have ever swam before. Now I feel fairly confident that I can complete the Low Country Splash 2.4 mile swim in Charleston S.C this weekend and the Ironman swim leg in November. After my record breaking swim we ran back to the car giving me yet another thing to celebrate. Yesterday I went for a 5 mile run....normally I wouldn't be able to run two days in a row because my hip would hurt or my IT band would hurt....well....since I bought these miraculous Newton running shoes I can run whenever I want!!! So 5 miles yesterday, 2.3 miles today....no pain!! Things are looking up!

We started this morning at just about peak low tide, so my swim was pretty much with no current. Which gives me a good reference for my swim pace over a long distance. My pace was about 1:44/100yds. I was wearing a sleeveless wetsuit, which I will probably be wearing in the Ironman, but the Low Country Splash doesn't allow them, so I can expect to go a little slower this weekend, unless we have a current.

Swimming in open water is definitely becoming one of my favourite workouts. Its so peaceful and serene out there in the morning. Minus the occasional boat wake the water is perfect, its a great way to wake up!

Newton Running shoes

Well after a week of waiting anxiously for my Newtons to arrive they are finally here!! I went out for a short 2 mile test drive this afternoon and so far so good. They come with all kinds of cool stuff too....socks, a mesh bag, a DVD and an extra pair of laces. Anyway, I can definitely tell that they are more comfortable to land on the forefoot than the heel but I think I have to try them out a few more times before I can really give a good review.

I ran the first mile with my custom orthotics and really had a hard time feeling the cushy-ness of the shoe, I think my orthotics are just to rigid. For the second mile I took them out and it was a lot more the way I thought the shoes would feel. Maybe I can move away from needing them?? We shall see....I might just have sore feet/arches tomorrow....I will write more when I have come to a consensus.

Surf N Turf Pictures

These are the Birds Eye View Photos, there are also more that Mike (boyfriend) took in my online photo album. (link is on the right side of the screen)

I came 2nd in my age group at Surf N Turf!!!!

This past Saturday I raced in the Surf N Turf Super Sprint Triathlon in Surf City. Its one of my favorite races! Anyways seeing as I have aged up this year and I am now in the 25-29 age group I didn't think I would win anything ever because its such a competitive age group...well....it turns out none of those fast 25-29 year olds showed up at Surf City this year because I came in 2nd!!! I jumped up when they called my name, I was so excited!! Everyone else walks up to the podium all nonchalant like its no big deal that they placed in a triathlon....well not me....everyone definitely knew I was stoked about it!!!
The race started at 8am, the ocean was beautiful. We couldn't have had better weather. I think I came out of the water in the front half of the pack, which is unusual for me....all this pool time must be paying off. Then I headed to the bike, the wind wasn't bad at all, I felt like I was flying, passing everyone I could. I sat there watching my heart rate, it stayed in the 180s for the whole bike/run/bike/run I think. I was pushing as hard as I could. Unfortunately I had to change my shoes every time because I couldn't get my pedals off the night before....it turned out to not be so bad. The 1st run was mostly on the beach...so hard. It felt like was going to last forever...its the longest 2 miles I have ever run. I was quite happy to be back on my bike after that, then I blazed through the last mile run thinking its only a mile, its only a mile, you can push harder for just one mile.....sprint triathlons are so PAINFUL! You have to push so hard the whole time. I've decided I'm a much bigger fan of the longer races.
Anyways here is what all this energy exertion got me:

750m swim - 14:07
4mile bike - 13:14
2mile run - 15:04
4mile bike - 12:12
1mile run - 8:34

Total - 1:03:08

age group: 2/13 overall females: 14/75

Getting back into training & trying Newton running shoes

I've been such a slacker since White Lake, but this week I'm making progress towards resuming my normal training schedule. My 10mile total running goal was a success last week, so I'm going for 11 this week. Slow and steady. My hip hurts a little after I run but I stretch, take ibuprofen and drink Hammer Nutrition's Recoverite (its awesome!!) and normally feel better a little later on. Hopefully this combination will work all season.
Tomorrow is the Surf N Turf Super Sprint in Surf City. Its fun little race, last year I was 3rd in my age group. It consists of a 750m ocean swim, 4mi bike, 2mi run, 4mi bike, 1mi run.....crazy....fun though. Its done before you can blink. After this weekend I have to devote some major time to the pool for the next 2 weeks before the Low Country Splash in Charleston (2.4mile swim).
I am currently selling my Asics Kinsei and Nimbus shoes on ebay because I've decided to try something totally new. I have been running in my Adidas Boston Racers (racing flats basically) and trying to focus on running on the balls of my feet (Pose Method). I started reading about Newton Running Shoes online, and evidently they are designed to help you run more efficiently...which means on the balls of the feet. SO....after days of research and contemplation I decided to dish out the $175 (yes you read that right, one hundred and seventy five dollars) to try out the shoes. I called Newton and they said I have 30days to wear them, destroy them, get them filthy and return them for a full refund if I don't love them....that I think is a good deal. I'm so tired of being injured and trying to learn how to run all over again, and from what I've been reading these shoes are supposed to help. I will write a full shoe review as soon I have some miles logged on them.

Another pain free run! (for me and my mum!!)

I just got in from my second 3mile run since the race. I'm not wearing a HR monitor or a GPS, I'm just running....slow and relaxed. So far so good. I have no IT band pain and my hip only feels alittle funny when I'm done, but then I do my Yoga for Athletes and I'm good! I have one more run this week to hit my 10mile/week goal, thats less than half of my weekly mileage from a month ago. I was running about 25miles/week. Its ok though. I'm working on my training plan for the ironman and I have all this factored in. I'm pretty proud of it.

I've been trying to focus on Pose running technique but I have a hard time knowing if I'm doing it right. I have video taped myself afew times to get an idea of how it looks. I think I need to work on the drills more. (they are all shown in video clips on the Pose website).
Here is a video from April 5th, I'm due for another one in my new shoes, but you can see how I'm trying to land on my forefoot with my foot under my center of gravity not in front of me. I'm pretty sure I have a ways to go.



I have one other thing I have to mention in this entry about running:

I'm EXTREMELY PROUD of my Mum!!!! She finished her first 5K last November but had to take a break from running due to knee pain and I think IT band pain also. I think life got in the way alittle and I was worried she wouldn't pick it back up....but....SHE DID!! I just found out last night, and I'm so excited. She said she just runs when it feels good and walks when it doesn't. Last year I showed her some stretches and got her a foam roller (God's gift to the IT band), so she'll be back up to 3 pain free miles in no time! Running is good for the soul. Its time that you have with you, and I think everyone needs that. .....She doesn't know it yet but I see triathlon in her future.......

White Lake Pictures and race belt tip

Here's me at White Lake......



Birds Eye View does an awesome job of photographing these events. They've never missed me in a race before. I should probably order pictures one day to show my support.

If I can figure out how to set up an online photo album these will be available in a bigger size, but I'm new at this stuff so it might be awhile.

Oh heres a good race tip:
Buy a race belt with buttons not the little plastic slide things. As you can see I'm holding my number in the run picture, because as I went to turn my belt around the plastic thing that holds the number on came flying off and then some guy yelled at me that I'd get a penalty if they couldn't see my number!! So i ran through the finish chute holding it, and then bought a new belt with buttons from Athlete3.

Official race results WLH 2008

I forgot to post my results earlier so here they are...I'm so happy!!...

1.2 mile swim - 39:49
T1 - 2:36
56 mile bike - 3:00:10
T2 - 1:34
13.1 mile run - 2:13:04

Total time - 5:57:12

9/21 age group 25-29
51/203 overall females

Liking the R&R week

I'm definitely enjoying the rest this week. I think I've probably gained some weight...not good. I'd still like to lose 10 lbs and be 125. I'm probably somewhere like 135-138 right now, but I'm not about to check. I'll check when I have a solid week of training done...Anyway I'm still in disbelief that I finished that race so well! It feels like it was all a dream.

This week so far I've just been doing my 2 swims a week that I do with the YMCA triathlon club and I've run once (yesterday)...that went suprisingly well...only 3 miles and very slow. But my goal for the next 6 months is to stay injury free. So I'm going to bring my running way way back and build up slowly. I'm probably going to run a total of 10 miles this week, and build from there. I also started doing these yoga videos by Flexible Warriors, it is in partnership with Spinervals. They are great! I bought all 3 in the Yoga for Triathletes set. There are segments for before and after workouts and also sport specific segments for swim, bike and run. Its awesome! This is part of my fight against injury!! I have also decided to write my own training plan for the Beach2Battleship Iron Distance race. I have been using generic plans from Triathete Magazine's Essential Week-by-Week Training Guide, and they are great. They have worked so far, but I feel like I need to pay really close attention to my running mileage and factor in more yoga time. Writing my own training plan will allow me to really focus my workouts on my weaknesses. So I'm using the book I mentioned above and Joe Friel's Triathete's Training Bible to help me. I'll post it when I'm done.

My first Half Ironman....Success!!!

What a day! I started out really nervous, I didn't feel ready and I didn't want to be there...due to that I think my swim could have been faster, but I turned my attitude around by the time I was half way through the bike and well on my way to meeting my first goal....a 3 hr bike split. After that I had to face the run. I decided on Friday to go with the Adidas Boston Racers, how bad could it be? They were AWESOME! I love those shoes. My IT band didn't hurt at all. When I got to the 4 mile marker and realized I was running under 10min miles when I thought for sure I'd be running 11:30 miles I could hardly believe it. At that point I put blinders on and stayed focused. I held my pace for the whole race and at mile 9 had 35mins to run 3 miles and finish in under 6 hours (my goal time). I DID IT!! After the 12mile marker I just gunned it and ran as hard as I could finishing in 5:57:12. I still can't believe it. It seems surreal. All of last week I didn't think there was a chance in hell that I would even finish the run let alone finish in my goal time. I am thrilled!!
White Lake is a great race venue too, its beautiful out there and Setup Events does a great job with it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good half Ironman. Its also mostly flat and the wind isn't bad at all. I'm definitely doing this race next year.

Ready or not I'm going anyway

I have decided to take a leap of faith and race tomorrow. I am trying to pretend that I had a great week and I'm fully ready....mental training has to count for something right? My leg feels fine again today so we will see. I'm not too sure which shoes to run in because lately I've been trying out different ones...I've been trying to learn the Pose Method of Running. So I was in the Asics Kinseis but then I got the Adidas Boston Racers because they are flatter which is what Pose Method recommends. I only had one run in the Adidas before today though and it was only 2 miles....what will they feel like after 13? They are so light and comfy though, I really like them.
Pose Running makes a lot of sense to me and I think whenever I'm fully back in the running game I'll work on my form a lot, here is a link so you can check out the website. The man who started it all is Dr. Romanov, there are lots of videos you can watch on the website that teach you what to do. After listening to it all I wonder, why would you ever want to run heel-toe?

2 days before half ironman....am I ready?

So, some background info before I get into this....I have been training for this race since January and everything was going pretty well....my swimming is average, its improving and I'm happy with it, my biking is great, I think I'm pretty good at it seeing as I've only been road/tri biking for alittle over a year. Running on the other hand is a constant struggle....I have been injured on and off ever since I started running regularly in college, I've been to all kinds of people, lots of physical therapists, sports medicine doctors, chiropractor....anyway its always different injuries and I never get to train consistently for more than a month before I have to take time off for something. Oh, I have also tried lots of different types of shoes...I have extremely high arches...and custom orthotics...Anyway! things were going okay with the running stuff up to 2 weeks ago when I started to get this pain in the top of my calf area....not good, this is right before my race taper, then I went out for my last long ride before the race which was supposed to be 3hrs and I felt the pain then too....that did it for me. I stopped riding and pretty much have just been swimming and going to yoga class (a huge effort for me, I'm not a yoga type) ever since last weekend. My leg has since been feeling fine....but why wouldn't it I haven't been doing ANYTHING...but I feel like crap and feel like I've lost all my fitness for my race, I had a 6 hour goal in mind but now I'm so depressed at the idea of going out there and not doing as well as I know I could have done. What if I end up not being able to run and have to DNF....that would suck. Or even worse, what if I just hurt myself more and am unable to train for a month after the race?! I don't know what to do....to race or not to race? which would feel worse? whats better for me? I don't want to jeopardize my ironman training either. How much fitness do you lose when you take a week off anyway??