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/

Too tired to blog!

I've done more in the past two weeks that I ever thought possible!! I'm going to catch my blog up over a few entries instead of just one huge one.

First of all on Friday October 10th, I completed what will be my longest training "run". A 15min walk/jog that took my 3hrs and 11mins. My average pace ended up being a 12:46min/mile. I started with a 8min fast walk/3min jog and added more running after the first hour. By the end I was running 5min and walking 6min. No pain!! Walking was about 14-15mph, running was about 10-11mph. I was STOKED!!!!!! This wasn't a 20miler, nor was it fast, but it gave me the confidence to feel like this Ironman is possible.

THEN, only TWO DAYS LATER I completed my first ever 9 hour workout!! My body was moving for 9 straight hours. That's a little ironman wake up call for ya! Here's what I did (copy and pasted out of my training log) :

BIKE

6h 54m 35s 115.20 miles 16.67 Mi/hr

Started late because it was raining in the morning. Rode with Brian Originally we wanted to go long with a low HR, no more pushing. The weather made this impossible. The wind was insane all day, and because we refused to draft we just went slow. It was a good training experience. We rode the new changes to the race course, which sucked, because the new road is super bumpy. Weather: 9am Wilmington - 65F wind: 5-10mph NNE 12pm Harrells - 75F wind: 6-8mph NE, gusts 10-12mph 3pm Wrightsville Beach - 75F wind: 13-17mph ENE, gusts 25-27mph RUN

2h 08m 53s 10.00 miles 12m 53s/Mi

started out w/ 8min walk/3min run, increased that to a 7min walk/4min run, and ran the whole last mile. Felt great!!

Weather:
4pm Wrightsville Beach - 75F
wind: 15-17mph ENE, gusts 25-27mph

And the cool part is that after 10miles I wanted to keep going! It was awesome.

I slept well that night...

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.

10 mile walk/jog

Yesterday I drove out to the beach to do a walk/jog workout like the one I did on Tuesday. Honestly, I wasn't sure how far I'd get but if I'm going to walk this race then I've got to get in some walk training. So I started just like before with a 10min walk and a 2 min jog. My first hour went like that. I covered a little over 4 miles and my average pace was 14:19/mi. My leg was doing great and although I didn't want to push it I felt like I could do more. I reset my interval timer for a 10min walk and a 3 min jog. This lasted for about 30min, before I started extending my run time to 4 and 5 minutes. In the end, 2 hours and 20min later, I stopped. I had walk/jogged 10 miles!! The average pace for the last 1hr 20min was 13:47/mi.
I'm relatively happy about all this. At first I had a goal time in mind for this race, now just finishing after all this struggling, would feel great. I'm thinking if I get it to a 10min walk and a 5min run maybe I can get the average pace to 13min/miles. That would make for a 5:40 marathon. Thats long and unimpressive, but I would be stoked!

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.