Motivation

Click on the links below.... its absolutely amazing...

You Will Do This
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh1yMnrby3w

IronWill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8l249bM0FE

Ironman Triathlon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EokseUskyDI

The Distance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw6LR__wr4Y

"Do the things that no one believes you can do."


"Your body's potential for greatness is only limited by your mind."


"Energy and Persistence conquer all things."

What to do now?

In June 2006 I completed the Kure Beach Double Sprint Triathlon. It was my first one, and I really thought it was a big deal. I followed an 8 week training program and I was super nervous before the race. When I crossed that finish line my world changed. I was completely hooked. I wanted to go do it again. Somewhere in the mix that feeling got lost, I got busy with other "important" life things and I didn't do another one until May of 2007. Mike talked me into it, I barely trained and I really didn't want to do the race. Well, when I placed 3rd in my age group that changed quickly! I promised myself I would never be too busy or too wrapped up in life to do what I think is the most fun thing on earth...Triathlons! (I also told him that my dream was to complete an Ironman before I turn 30).

So I quit my crappy, stressful, not fun full time job and went back to basics. I got my job back in the resturant I worked in during college, PT's Grille. That was awesome for about a year, I had a flexible schedule, I worked part time and I raced 4 more races in 2007. My life was a blast! Soon enough the resturant thing got old again and I started to feel reality biting. The thought of a real job was killing me. I'll never be a 9 to 5. Then all of a sudden I get offered a job at my favourite store in town...my bike shop!! How lucky am I? I have most fun full time job on the face of the earth, and I don't have to be at work until 10am!!

So in 2008 I signed up for an Ironman (momentary lapse in judgement...happened to work out in my favour), I signed up for a Half Ironman, I completely a century ride and then some, I did that more than once, I got the best job I could ever ask for, I work with my heros, I made some great friends, I broke all my personal records more than once...in short I had a BLAST!! I can't believe how lucky I am. And in the end, I became an Ironman. HELL YEAH!! (for the record I'm now 25, not even close to 30!)

Two years and 5 months after my very first triathlon, and 3 years after my very first running race (a 5K) I became an Ironman. Hows that for progress?? So now I've spent all week pondering what to do next??

Maybe I should run afew marathons before I do another Ironman. Or maybe I should jump right in and sign up for another one? Thats what I really want to do, but I'm thinking I should work on my running fitness first. Run for a year without injury. I also really want to do some of the century rides in the mountains: The Assult on Mt. Mitchell, Fletcher Flyer, Blood, Sweat and Gears...those sound super fun. I'd like to get better at riding hills, and bike handling. I really want to get faster. So what do I do? Either way there will be many more Ironmans in my future, if not in 2009 then absolutely for sure in 2010. Maybe I'll qualify for Kona before I turn 30....

An ENTIRE day of organization

This morning I got up at 7:30am and got out on my bike at 8:15. It was still 35F outside...perfect to test out my gear for the race. Outcome: I was moderately comfortable!!! Hurray!! The trick to being happy when it's 35 outside is hand warmers! (you can get them at any outdoors/camping/hunting place and they are awesome!! It takes a little bit for them to get hot, but when they do they are REALLY hot! I stuck them under my toe covers on my bike shoes and wore two pairs of gloves with them in between. My hands got so hot I had to take them out!

After this monumental success I proceeded to organize all my bags for the race. I also had to go to a "mandatory" athlete meeting at 2pm. I did learn something however: They decided that we will be getting our bike special needs bags back, so when I get hot I can take all my stuff off and know that I'll be able to put it in a bag at mile 50 or 60 or something around there. NICE!

Anyways, as for my bags....this was like planning a 4week vacation, but its really only one day, and its anything but a vacation! Here's what ended up in them all:

Pre-Event Bag
Just whatever I take off before getting in the water at the start goes in this bag, and they bring them over to the finish line for us.

Swim to Bike Transition Bag (very big bag!!)
helmet
ear warmers
head warmer
sports bra
base layer
TWD cycling jersey
arm warmers
shorts
leg warmers
2 pairs of socks
shoes w/ toe covers
2 pairs of gloves
wind breaker w/ zip off sleeves
hand warmer packets
chamoi butter
deoderant
tissues
towel
sunglasses

Bike Special Needs Bag
some back up food in case I drop anything
extra tube for my bike
(this bag will be more useful to put clothes in later)

Bike to Run Transition Bag
shorts and long tights (I couldn't decide)
long and short sleeve t-shirt (again...I couldn't decide)
race number belt w/ a pocket holding electrolyte tablets and 3 Accel Gels
socks
shoes
Ace bandage and picture of the wrapping method for my ankle
hat
tissues
velcro strap for my GPS watch

Run Special Needs Bag
2 more long sleeve shirts (one cotton, one technical)
gloves
electrolytes and 3 Accel Gels
Firefox light for my waist band
warm hat
extra Ace bandage
extra socks
Aleve
warm running pants

Post Race bag
big warm jacket
sweat pants
warm hat and gloves
compression sleeves

You think thats enough stuff!?!? Jeezz..

Oh, I also left a pair of shoes near the swim exit, because it quite a ways from there to the transition and its going to be 40F in the morning, the water is 65F. I'm not running it bare foot, I won't be able to feel my feet when I get there!!

Here's the chaos that has taken over my living room:


While I'm going on about my planning, here is my nutrition plan for the day:

Breakfast (enough to feed an army...or a soon to be IronWoman!)
bagel with cashew butter (480 calories)
perpetuem with a banana mixed in (360 calories)
low fat chocolate milk (180 calories)

No, those aren't options, I'm eating it ALL, for a grand total of 1020 calories, about 3.5-4hrs before the race.

After that I'll drink some more Perpetuem (260 calories) about 1.5 before the start, then drink about 100 calories of Heed 10 minutes before jumping in.

Bike
0-20min:water (let the tummy settle)
After that, during the first 3 hours each hour I'll take in 260cal Perp, and one Hammer bar. The rest of the race will be just 260cal Perp each hour and 2 gels when ever I want them. (I'm taking 7 servings of Perpetuem with me)
Total Calories: 2680

Run
I'm carrying electrolytes (Elete...more sodium per tablet than Hammer Endurolytes has), and Accel Gels (because of the protein...help the muscles to not break down).
The rest I'll get at aid stations. The plan is 2 gels an hour, two Elete tablets, and as much Heed as I feel like I want, and water. That will get me about 250-300calories an hour, and about 350mg of sodium per hour.

Dinner
BEER AND PIZZA!!!!!!!!!! and water and Recoverite and aleve....

I also checked in my bike at the beach transition today as well as my changing bags. I'm sitting here at 7:20pm the night before my first ironman, and I'm relatively relaxed...is that good or bad? I guess by tomorrow night I'll know for sure.

The result of hours of work:

My bike, with cues for aid stations and mile markers that I like taped to it (Yes, I was an A student, don't laugh at me)

My bike all clean and pretty ready for the big day

All my bags, full of all my stuff

My clothes laid out for the morning, with my swim stuff next to it,
and yes, my pink PT's Grille socks...gotta represent!

My baby

Charlie had surgery this week on his ACL. (Which he managed to tear in 2 places). He is so pathetic looking I feel so bad for him. He also has to wear a lampshade around his neck at night and when we aren't home, so that he doesn't chew off the cast.

Poor baby.

Unfortunately for me, he has been whining at night, and wanting to sleep on the bed...meaning my nights have been restless...awesome...right before an Ironman. Just what I need.

He's sweet though huh?

2 Days till the Race

This has been the LONGEST week of my life. Every day dragged on. At work we just talked about the same stuff over and over and over again, the weather, the swim, bike clothes, special needs bags, run plan, electrolytes...on and on and on....Whats worse it that every time a customer came in (usually someone doing the race...I work at a bike shop....) they would have something to add to the mix which would just start the conundrum all over again.

Finally its Thursday and we got out of work at 3pm to go down to the race expo and pick up our packets. Oh, also at work this morning I changed my rear tire, changed both tubes, both rim strips, and checked and re-checked everything on my bike.

The race expo was alright. The athlete dinner was better. Most importantly however I got my packet and all my stuff:Above: All my bags for the race, numbers, brunch tickets, a sweat towel, lots of nutrition, toe and hand warmers, misc.
Below: All my B2B "free" stuff...canvas bag, swim cap, long sleeve technical t-shirt, and Defeet socks..sweet!A close up of only PART of my nutrition for the day:
So tomorrow I am going to go out for a 30min bike ride at 8am, this will be my trial run for the weather. See how warm I am, or how much more stuff I need. Then I will spend the day packing and re-packing and re-checking and worrying and organizing...AARRGGHHH!!! I like training better than racing!! I also have to check in my bike and my changing bags, and go to a mandatory athlete meeting at 2pm.

I can't wait to be on Blueberry Rd, on my bike. From then on its just business as usual...

Worried about the weather

I know my worrying is wasted because there is no way to tell with the race 12 days away, but its COLD. And there is another cold front coming through.

10 forecast right now has:

Thursday October 30th - Sunny, High 62F, Low 49F
Today - Sunny, High 71F, Low 45F

Lets keep in mind here that the race starts at 7am, so any "low" is definitely going to come into play. We also start SWIMMING, in water, that will be in the high 60s at best by then. Next I have to get on my bike, with wet hair and create my own personal wind on top of what is naturally occurring. SO, to see all this in a positive light is becoming difficult to say the least.

I trained all through the summer for this race, my body handles the heat great! Cold however is a very different story. I have lined up a long sleeve wetsuit to borrow, just in case the water temp drops a lot more. I also invested in better gloves, a hat for under my helmet, toe covers for my shoes, and I'm thinking about buying a better wind breaker and maybe another long sleeve base layer.....this sucks...

Its TAPER time baby!

My taper for this race started last week. I thought it would feel good to do less exercise, but I'm tired ALL the time, and sluggish. I feel like I don't want to do anything. Why run for 30min? Why ride my bike for ONE hour? What happened to SIX hours? Apparently this is how you are "supposed" to feel, so its all ok. I'm not sure about that. I feel like the race is over, not like its coming up. I'm not amped up about it at all. Now instead of training I just want it to be over. Here is what I did last week:

Monday - off
Tuesday - swim 1:00
Wednesday - bike 1:30 (2x15min tempo) -- that was fun!
Thursday - off
Friday - swim :30, bike 3:00
Saturday - off
Sunday - run/walk 12miles

4 workouts!! Thats it! A grand total of 8 hours of exercise, the week before was 18! I'm SO bored!! And its just making me nervous and frustrated and anxious AND tired! Argh!! This week is going to be less than that.

Here is what Six-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion Mark Allen has to say about tapering:

The final touches to any training program come during the taper. This is the period of your season leading up to a key race when you cut back your overall training volume and allow your body to absorb all of the hard work you did during your base building and speed phases. Doing the right kind of taper is an art unto itself.

A taper is tricky because of what is happening internally when your body is given a chance to recover. When athletes start to give themselves rest, the system in the body that responds to stress (which is the system that allows you to get up for big workouts) starts to shut down. This is like working on the engine of your car. You cannot give the engine an overhaul while it is running. You have to shut it off.

The same is true for our bodies. You have to shut the "engine" off for it to recover and charge up for the big races. And when you do this, you might feel like you are out of energy, sluggish, and getting out of shape. THIS IS NORMAL.

This requires a readjustment of mindset. Allow yourself to feel less-than-stellar. It is just a signal that your body is repairing itself and getting ready for a big effort in a few weeks. Resist the temptation to go out and test your fitness just to make sure you are not losing it. As best as you can, stick to the plan I will outline for you. This is the toughest part of a taper...the rest.

New training foods

On a ride a few weeks ago a friend offered me a Spree that she bought in a gas station towards the end of our ride. We had probably rode about 100 miles and had 20 or so left and my energy level was steady. I was feeling good. But this sudden burst of sugar, and different flavour in my mouth just shocked my system and woke me up! Suddenly I had TONS of energy and felt great!

I thought this through a bit and figured I would try something similar the next time I had a long ride. The day we rode 115miles I busted out a bag of pink Sport Beans at around mile 105. My taste buds were stoked and my brain instantly perked up thinking, "sweet! candy means this is almost done!" I started the run feeling like I just left my house to go run.

I've also been trying to get more calories in in the beginning of the bike ride when it really counts. And I've been having a hard time chewing, breathing and pedaling all at the same time! I've been trying to drink Perpetuem as normal but also eat a Clif bar sometime before the 3hour mark. This has proven difficult because they are dry and just hard for me to get down. Then, along came Hammer Bars!! These things are great. They kind of just melt in your mouth, and you barely have to chew, you can just swallow. And they aren't all crunchy like Clif bars are.

This eating solid foods idea occured after reading an article in Triathlete Magazine about Ironman bike nutrition. Apparently, your body can't absorb as many calories at the end of a 112mile bike ride as it can in the beginning. Therefore, you want to get in lots early, then cut it back as you go to avoid gastrointestinal destress.

Jamaica's Comfort Zone

This is totally un-related to triathlons, except that it might be the best recovery/relaxation food EVER!!!!!!!! If you live in Wilmington NC go eat here NOW. I can personally recommend the curry chicken roti!! If I closed my eyes while eating it I would have thought I was home in Trinidad!! Go eat there!

http://www.jamaicascomfortzone.com/

I have thin blood

This is ridiculous! Yesterday morning I went out at 7am to do a short bike ride, just to get on that new saddle and get used to it a bit more. The temperature on October 4th (not even the end of October yet) at 7am was:

50 F

Here is what I had to wear:

2 pairs socks (ankle length)
leg warmers
shorts
tank top
long sleeve bike jersey
ear warmers ... yes, ear warmers ...
gloves (took them off after 30min)

ARGHHH!!! If the temperature keeps dropping, by November 1st I'm going to have icicles hanging off my ears and nose after the swim and my tires will freeze to the road on the bike!! Not to mention I will look like this on the run:


And yes, there will probably be boat loads of snow on the ground too!!!!!!! WHY did they plan this race for November!?!? September or October would have been just fine.

Ok, I'm done whining for now.

Back to normal

Just a quick update...

1. I am NOT growing width ways exponentially, as I first thought. My weight is back to an acceptable 137 today. I've been really good lately, so that feels awesome. Maybe 135 by the race? I'm relieved. Now I just have to keep it up....

2. My shins are sore from my 5mile walk, but its nothing outrageous. Again, I'm relieved. I'm going to try walking 8 tomorrow (Friday).

3. I'm currently in a recovery week and I love it! I've taken a yoga class twice this week so far and my body is thanking me.

Its cold!!

I'm sitting here typing a blog entry instead of riding my bike, and I feel like crap about it. My problem is that I woke up this morning and saw this:

Temperature - 60F
Wind - 15-18mph NNE
Wind Gusts - 25mph

Not fun...not fun at all...The wind I can handle, but 60!! It was 80 last week...How could it be 60!!??

Anyway that was my first problem. The second problem is that I stepped on the scale.....Why? You ask, because I'm an idiot. I've been trying to lose weight for a long time, at the beginning of the summer I was FINALLY under 135, I really want to be 130. So I start training for an Ironman, you would think that would equal weight loss...no. Its been fluctuating between 135-138 all summer, which is endlessly frustrating, and then last week I saw 140....tried to stay positive...water weight from electrolyte intake, muscle mass, slow digestion...whatever. And then this morning...144. I don't have words for how depressing that it.

Needless to say, I didn't go for my frigid bike ride, I couldn't even go back to sleep. I just sat up thinking and worrying and crying. I'm probably going to regret writing this on a public blog. I just don't know what to do.

I know one problem I have is eating at night. I have been doing much better with that lately, I think I just developed a bad habit somewhere along the way. Anyway I'm going to start putting updates on this blog concerning my eating habits, I think it will help. I've been dealing with all this alone for so long that it feels good just to type it.

On another subject: RUNNING
I was able to run for a total of 35min on the treadmill last Friday. I did 30min elliptical/6min treadmill, 4 times and then finished with 10min on the treadmill. That made up my "long run" workout, a total of 2:35. SO BORING!! But I was pretty happy with the running part of it. I still had some pain in the top of my foot, and my shin, but it was substantially less that it has been. Hopefully this won't cause another set back.

My plan is to do this every Friday, increasing the run time slowly. Hopefully I will get to 1hr of running before the race. That would be the best I can hope for at this point.

Some really good advice

I had a terrible swim on Tuesday morning. My back and neck were sore from learning how to water ski on Monday, but I still should have been able to handle the swim. The workout wasn't hard. But regardless, my stroke sucked, I was hitting 21-22 strokes per length, and I need to be around 17-18. I couldn't hit the times, I didn't even have the energy to flip turn, I was short of breath...I was a mess.
Maybe I was too sore, maybe I didn't realize how much the 126mi bike ride affected me? I don't know. I do know that I was depressed and totally unmotivated. The rest of that day I sat around the house watching mindless television. It was bad. During this momentary lapse of pathetic-ness I emailed my swim coach to ask how I should deal with days like this, and if she had any good advice. Her reply almost made me cry. I love my coach. Here is her answer:

Don't be so hard on yourself. you are one of the most dedicated, focused and hardest working swimmers i've got. all of us have days like you had today. one of the things to do on those days is to choose one thing to focus on that you can do even if you don't have a lot of energy to swim hard. for example: work good turns, work on the finish of the stroke, work on swimming slowly with some every 5 breathing, work on dropping stroke count--since you're not hitting the times you want go slowly and feel good about hitting 17-18 strokes. This way you can leave feeling good about something that you worked on even if you're tired.

Try to get a little more rest this week if you can, and you should be fine by next week.

This kind of advise is something that I can refer back to for swimming, biking and running, I really appreciate how much she cares about everyone she coaches.

ACUPUNCTURE!!

I thought this experience deserved it's own blog. After all my research into peroneal nerve entrapment I decided to try acupuncture. This inevitably sent me straight into an hour and a half of research into acupuncturists in Wilmington. Then I had to call them all and rail them on their sports medicine knowledge and treatment process and so on...FINALLY I got on the phone with Robert Kienitz, Licensed Acupuncturist and Herbalist. I got a good feeling from this guy right off the bat, then later learned that he is an x-triathlete...Ironman triathlete to be exact and has lots of experience treating athletes...endurance athletes.....I'm SO good at picking doctors!!
The logo to the left is the name of his practice. He shares is with a psychologist and a relaxation and stress management specialist.

I made a 4pm appointment TODAY. (I'm not the most patient person.)

Here is my first ever acupuncture experience:
When I arrived I had to fill out some paper work, the usual, then we talked. I told him about my injury(s) and my race and how important it is that I get better...and he understood! Only another athlete can hear "I absolutely have to run 26miles, I'll be devastated if I can't" and not think the person is just plain crazy! I told him about Dr. McGraw and Dr. Martin and all that they have done and he listened. I felt like he really really listened.
Next he told me a little about acupuncture and said that he was confident it would help me. I hate to be cynical but I've heard that before...
Soon enough there I was lying on a table with needles stuck in my legs and arms, and none of it hurt, not at all. Then he made a little electrical circuit out of me and I chilled out for 20min. It was the oddest feeling to look down and see needles sticking out of me, but I couldn't feel them. Next time I'm going to bring a camera!!
After the treatment he told me that the treatment will continue to work for 72 hrs and told me to try running tomorrow (Saturday). He says that I could be 100% within a couple weeks, AND I can run through the treatment process. I'm trying my best to have faith in his confidence.

6hrs after treatment: My leg is definitely feeling better. I had some pain from my run yesterday and it is now almost gone. I barely feel any inflammation in the area either, earlier there as a bump.

I have a follow up appointment on Tuesday. I'm excited about this new avenue of recovery. It is definitely a last resort, but maybe it shouldn't have been. There is a lot of research showing that acupuncture has helped treat a bunch of "untreatable" conditions. I'm just sorry I waited so long to try it. (And that its SO expensive).

Check out the website: http://www.island-time-institute.com

The past 2 weeks...in a nut shell

A lot has happened since I last sat down to blog. I'll try to start from the beginning.

LAST WEEK
My training went pretty well. I got my act together and completed my runs on the elliptical machine. On Friday (8/22) I did 12-13miles on the elliptical!!! 2 HOURS!!! Pure mind numbing torture...but I felt better when I was done. I also visited Dr. McGraw at Active Care Chiropractic a few times. He diagnosed my leg pain (shin/calf pain) as a "peroneal nerve entrapment". In english that means that my peroneal nerve which runs down my leg from the knee to the foot is being pinched but the muscle around it. So, every time I run the muscle swells, pinches harder and the nerve sends signals to me by causing me lots and lots of pain...nice nerve I have huh? Here is the notorious peroneal nerve: (click to enlarge)
Besides my normal struggle with yet another running injury, things last week were good. On Sunday (8/24) I went on my first long ride with a group! I felt completely special to be riding with the likes of Billy Curry (Ironman and BIG surf hero/legend) and Jim Mincher (Ironman and owner of Two Wheeler Dealer, also amazing surfer). The ride was awesome. I ended up with 95miles and learned some new bike routes in the area (up HW17, 210 and 53 to Burgaw and around back to 421). It was beautiful countryside, and with the exception of one small patch, the roads were super smooth.

Sometime last week I also finally took that Cateye double wireless computer off my bike. I was SO tired of watching it lose signal and tell me I as riding 2mph with a cadence of 0, when I was definitely going at least 18mph with a cadence of 90!!! Argh!!! I replaced it with a simple WIRED computer: Cateye Strada Cadence...
All the wires (as seen above) aren't the best BUT it NEVER loses signal and its dead accurate when I compare it to my Garmin GPS watch. I'll take that!

THIS WEEK
Still having trouble with my leg, Dr McGraw is working on it, I'm stretching and icing and wearing my new compression socks EVERY night! (I sleep in them)...check these bad boys out:

how sexy are they!? haha

Dr. Martin at New Hanover Foot & Ankle (podiatrist) also got in my fancy new orthotics this week so I got those on Tuesday...take a look...

new ones - rigid sole, higher arch, deeper heel cup =
more arch support for my MASSIVE archesold ones - more cushiony, soft orthotic, arch isn't as high = less stable = more pronation

Dr. Martin also gave me a compression sleeve to put on my leg when I'm running to help keep the muscle from rubbing on the bone and help keep blood circulating in the area. You can obviously run in compression socks but you get a lot of wierd looks...the sleeve somehow is more acceptable in public? Don't ask me....here it is...
Also in the news this week I bought a water bottle mount for my saddle so that I no longer have to ride with a camel bak!! I can now get about 50miles in before I have to stop for water! I haven't tried using it yet but it sure looks like I mean business sitting there on my bike! This way no matter how far apart the aid stations in B2B are I'll be all good.
They YMCA is closed for its annual repairs this week so my swimming has been suffering. I swam the docks (1.65mi) on Tuesday but thats been it for the week. Thursday it was thunderstorming outside...I had good intentions, and today (Friday) I had a rough morning and didn't go. I should have. While on that subject....
RUNNING UPDATE
I've been struggling mentally with all these running injuries lately. I took 3weeks off running after that 14mi run, because it was honestly too painful. My leg hurt just walking.
Finally on Tuesday I was cleared to try running, but I was SO scared that I just did 1.5mi on the treadmill and when it hurt just a bit I stopped. Dr. McGraw told me to try outside because your biomechanics are changed on a treadmill, so on Thursday I tried again. I went outside and did 45min. I ran 8min and walked 2. I had some pain, but it wasn't terrible. My thought though is that I have to run 26miles 2 months from now, if 4 hurts, even a little bit, then 26 is out of the question...am I right?
I proceeded to become very depressed about this (so characteristic), skipped my swim on Friday morning, as I mentioned, and sat at the computer from 5:30am to 7:30am researching the peroneal nerve and how to treat nerve entrapment. I got some serious education in those two hours...stretches, nerve flossing, strengthening exercises, ART (Active Release Therapy), surgery etc, etc, and then I found....ACUPUNCTURE!

Nuun vs Endurolytes...what do I need?!

So I decided to do some electrolyte comparisons and try Nuun. Unlike Hammer Nutrition's Endurolytes which you take like pills, Nuun is a big pill that you drop in your water bottle. I thought it might work out well on my long rides, to just drop it into my areo-bottle.....I'm not sure that I'm sold on the idea. Nuun is also flavored (its like drinking Crystal lite) so I thought it would help me to remember to drink a lot.

I liked the way it tasted (I tried the "tri berry" flavor). And I like the idea behind it, but for riding it was more of a hassle than anything. First I had to constantly refill my areo bottle by squirting the water out of my camel-bak (This is on my 115mi ride). Then I had to fumble for the Nuun thing, open it and drop the pill into the aero bottle AND get it under the yellow splash guard thing...Argh! I will admit that it was nice to have a flavor in my mouth that wasn't water or Perpetuem.

I'm thinking in the race using Nuun would be easier because I will be constantly refilling my aero bottle at the aid stations, not with a camel bak. Endurolytes are just so simple. They are big though, if you don't take them with a big gulp of liquid they could be challenging to get down.

Electrolyte comparison:

NUUN
serving size = 1 tablet
recommended dissolution volume: 16 oz water
calories < 5
total fat 0
total carbohydrates 1g
sodium 360mg
potassium 100mg
magnesium 25mg
calcium 12.5mg
vitamin c 37.5mg
riboflavin 500mcg

ENDUROLYTES

Serving Size 1 capsule
Amount Per Serving
Sodium (as Sodium Chloride)	40mg
Chloride (as Sodium Chloride)	60mg
Calcium (as Chelate)	50mg
Magnesium (as Chelate)	25mg
Potassium (as Chelate)	25mg
Vitamin B-6 (as Pyridoxine HCL)	6.6mg
Manganese (as Chelate)	1.6mg
L-Tyrosine	50mg

Hummm, I never looked at that before....judging from this I would say Nuun is better! But....how do you know how much of this stuff you really need anyway? AND I drink a ton of Perpetuem, which has (in a 1hr serving):

Calcium 243mg
Phosphorous (as Sodium Tribasic Phosphate) 344mg
Iodine 0.03mg
Magnesium 11mg
Copper 1mg
Chromium Polynicotinate 100mcg
Sodium 231mg
Potassium 156mg
L-Carnosine 100mg
L-Carnitine Tartrate 50mg
Choline (as Choline Bitartrate) 50mg

SO! Do I NEED more electrolytes than that? Its time to do some research....

The past week

Its been awhile since I've had time to write on this thing. Last week was pretty uneventful, which in training, is probably a good thing. Instead of a long ride on Friday I did a long brick workout (bike then run immediately). I cycled for 3 hours then ran 4 miles. It was blistering hot that day making it SO tough. On Saturday morning I completed a 12mile run. Again, I did the 15min running, 1min walking. That works so well for me. My legs are handling all this running a lot better than I thought they would.

This week I'm taking it a little easy because my left shoulder is bothering me a bit. I probably just pulled it in the weight room. I'm only going to do 2 swims instead of 4, and I'm skipping my weight training. My Friday ride is a whopping 5 hours, with a 14mile run on Saturday!! Sunday will be a well deserved day off!!

Good surf session saved the day

I decided to salvage my Sunday by going to the beach and took my board just in case there was anything remotely resembling a wave out there. It was the first time my poor board has seen the ocean since last summer. I get out there and the wind is howling, people trying to get a tan are just getting buried alive in sand and people who got in at the south end are now drifting past me on the north end....RIDICULOUS! I stood there thinking how much I'd rather be in Costa Rica but paddled out anyway, against all odds, in desperation of something to take my mind off my stupid foot. All I can say is that someone was smiling down on me and I'm SO grateful. I had the best little surf session I could hope for considering the conditions. It was like the waves were being aimed in my direction and they were effortless to catch. I probably had more fun out there today than I did all of last summer! Yes, unfortunately my foot still hurts, but my motivation is somewhat renewed and that is what I need the most.

I'm SO LAZY!

I skipped my swim and my strength training today and I feel like crap. I just wanted to get that off my chest. I hate when I skip workouts, but sometimes I just want to be at home and catch up on all the stuff I never get to. But the whole time I'm doing what I think I want to be doing I'm upset because I'm missing my workout and I beat myself up about it. Such a conundrum...I'm never going to make it to that finish line in November if I skip workouts!! AAAGGGHHHH...I should have gone to the pool.

I'm going to change the subject....I got a new job, and I love it! I work at my favourite bike shop, and all though I don't feel like I know anything about bikes, I'm trying to learn as fast as I can. I feel a little useless when I'm there right now, but when a customer comes in that I can help it feels great! People are always happy when they are there. I'm trying to jump on the bike building train soon too, I think it would be bad ass if I knew how to build bikes. It would help me remember all the differences between them if I had to put them together also. The down side to this is that I now want to own half the bikes in the store, and its looking unlikely that my career choices are ever going to make me rich and famous....the upside is that I'm working with a couple Ironman athletes and I'm hoping that all their greatness will rub off on me!

From what I hear Bree Wee (awesome, super hardcore triathlete) worked in a bike shop......just thought I'd throw that out there....

Swim & Run Time Trials...I'm getting faster!!

Today I pulled myself out of bed at an un-Godly hour (5am) yet again, to make it to the track before the sun got too hot. It's my weekend for tests, to see if all this training is paying off. So like my bike time trial 2 days ago, I want the best conditions possible.

After doing a bunch of research on the best way to estimate lactate threshold(LT) I decided to use a 30min time trial for my run. I think I've decided to use it for my bike next time. It is a slightly longer test than the one I did, and it seems to be the most popular in all the websites and books I read. I need to find a standard so that my results can be compared. The way this test works is after a sufficient warm up you start running at a pace you think you can hold for 30min. After the first 10min you hit the lap button on your heart rate monitor so that you get a reading for the average HR over the last 20min. That number is your LT.

Because of my trials and tribulations with running I haven't done any speed work, or hill running, or 5K races....nothing that would pound my legs, I'm so nervous about hurting myself now. Hence I was super anxious about trying this time trial. Anyways I got up, rode my bike to the track and did it. My pace hasn't improved since the last time I ran a 5K (November 2007), but I haven't gotten slower either, I'm right about the same....complete miracle if you ask me! Here are my full results:

1st 10min - Dist: 1.26mi Pace: 7:55/mi Avg HR 179 Max HR 185

last 20min - Dist:2.42mi Pace: 8:15/mi Avg HR 188 Max HR 193

Total Dist - 3.68mi Avg pace: 8:09/mi

188 - *New Lactate Threshold*

I'm happy with that, I'm slow still BUT I'm NOT INJURED and NOTHING HURTS ANYWHERE!! Thats huge!


I also jumped in the pool this afternoon for my last test - 1000yd swim time trial!! (NOT FUN) Here is what I did: First I warmed up, then rested 1 minute, and then started a 1000yd swim as fast as I could. (That is equal to 40 lengths of a pool for you non-swimmers). I took a quick second to hit the lap button on my watch every 300 yds, because I've done a test before that was 3x300yds with a 30sec rest in between, so I was just curious to see how it would compare, even though this test is with no rest. After the test I cooled down for 200yds and came home to EAT!!

In swimming most people test for a LT pace instead of a heart rate because its hard to keep track of your HR in the water. Most swim work outs are interval based so having a goal pace to do everything in keeps you on track. Your T-pace, as its called, is the average pace from your 1000yd time trial.

Here are my results:

300yd splits: 4:46, 4:50, 4:49
last 100yds: 1:36

Total Time: 16:03:05

Avg pace: 1:36/100yds *New Lactate Threshold Pace*

In that 3x300 test I was talking about all my splits were over 5:00!!!! I had a T-pace of 1:43, now look at me!! Michael Phelps might not need to worry but I'm moving on up in the swimming world!!

My next set of tests are scheduled in 8 weeks, I'm excited to compare the results!