In the course of training for an Ironman I have discovered that I really enjoy doing long solo bike rides...really REALLY long solo bike rides...followed by long runs (of the 10+ mile variety)...
Can't wait for Coeur d'Alene!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Girls On The Run
This past Saturday I had the opportunity to participate as a running buddy in the Girls On The Run 5K at Sugarhouse Park. Girls On The Run is a wonderful program aimed at getting elementary-aged girls involved in running, giving them a sense of empowerment and achievement and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. One of the masters swimmers that I help coach, Susan DeYoung, is a GOTR coach at Backman Elementary and she recruited me to be a running buddy for one of her girls. We did a practice 5K at the school about month prior to the "real deal", so I had already met my runner, Jenny, and was looking forward to pacing her through another 5K. I knew this would be tougher because the course at Sugarhouse is hillier than what we practiced on, but there was no doubt in my mind that Jenny could do it!
Despite being hot and (relatively) humid, it was a great morning for a run. The festivities started early, with face-painting and hair-coloring available for the girls, as well as samples of Jamba Juice for everyone. After meeting our runners at their designated table, all the different schools came together for a group warm-up led by Cari Jung of OPT-IN Fitness. Then we headed over to the start line and the horn went off! The course consisted of two laps around the road in the park, then a little straightaway at the end into the finish line. Jenny got pretty hot during the run because she was wearing long pants, but by adopting a strategy of alternating running with walking and making sure to stay hydrated she was able to pace herself and complete the 5K in a respectable time. It was so awesome to run down the finishing chute with everyone cheering for her! Each girl got a medal as they crossed the line, and everyone also got pink GOTR t-shirts with the race #1. It was really great not only to see so many girls running, but to also see a lot of familiar adult faces out there supporting the cause. My clients Rebecca and Jordan brought their cute fluffy dog Beau along to run with their two younger kids, and I also bumped into another lady I trained for a while, Shelley Snow. It was a great event and is something I'm excited about being involved with again next year.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Going Postal
Today I swam a 5K (non-stop in a 50 meter pool!) as part of the United States Masters Swimming 5K/10K Postal National Championships. Will Reeves, one of the faithful morning crew swimmers, joined me for the effort and Albert stood in as our official timer/lap counter. The only other time I have done this distance non-stop was for the exact same event seven years ago when I lived briefly in Bloomington, Indiana and swam for the IU Masters. I somehow managed to become a national champion that time around...probably because most competitive swimmers in that age group have just finished up their collegiate careers and don't even want to get within a mile of a pool! I think my current age group will be more competitive and I don't anticipate a repeat performance. However, it was a solid effort and a great workout to get under my belt to remind myself what over-distance swimming feels like. Now 2.4 miles in five weeks is going to seem like a piece of cake!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Pics From Galveston and St. George
Pics include my awesome Galveston homestay, Hud and Christine Hopkins; the funny Teapot House on Galveston Island; IM St. George spectators at sunrise; IMSG lead swimmer; bike gear set-up; cool tattoo; and kids playing in the fountain.
Long Overdue
There is a double meaning in that title...first of all, this update is well past due! The reason is that the past month has been a whirlwind of activity and travel. I visited Galveston Island, TX, the final weekend of April to do the Memorial Hermann 70.3 Ironman Triathlon. The race was originally called the Lonestar 70.3 but it was designated as the US Pro 70.3 Championships and renamed when a new sponsor stepped in. The additional prize money drew a strong international field including a smattering of previous world champions and Olympians. It was a real honor to be part of this event, and I had the luck of being hosted by a wonderful family during my stay. A big thanks to Hud and Christine Hopkins for adopting me and showing me the very best of Galveston!
The race was a good one for me…and I finally figured out the food part of the equation for this distance! The nutritional aspect of longer distance racing has been the monkey on my back for a while now. I know that my running fitness has come a long way, but I’ve struggled with maximizing that fitness because I have been getting hungry and puttering out on the run. No mas! I’ve FINALLY figured out a formula that works for me. Who knew that I could eat so many PowerGels in so little time?!
The swim part of the race was rough due to the relentless wind and I ended up getting out of the water about 5 minutes slower than usual for the 1.2 miles. It’s funny, I don’t usually think much about the swim but on that day it was the hardest part of the race for me! The bike segment was a flat out-and-back course with a steady headwind going out and a nice tailwind coming back. I tried to ride conservatively in the first half then build into a stronger second half, and was able to split 10 minutes faster on the way back in. My other focus was on having a steady intake of fluid and calories on the bike because I didn’t want have a repeat of Oceanside and run out of steam on the run. Mission accomplished! I closed with a 1:32:11 run split, a good 6 minutes faster than I’ve managed to run at the end of a half-ironman before. It’s still not in the league of what the best are running right now but, as I jokingly told Albert, I was the fastest of the slower runners on that day. My effort was good enough for 8th place female and 5th American; best of all, I nabbed a spot for the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championships in November! It’s nice to have that qualification out of the way so that I don’t feel the pressure of chasing a spot the rest of the season. Now I can focus on getting down to work for the next big task at hand…training for Ironman Coeur d’Alene!
And speaking of Ironman races, we had one of our very own right here in Utah! The week after the Galveston race, Albert and I drove down to southern Utah for the inaugural Ironman St. George. I signed up to volunteer with body-marking, which ended up being an 8-hour date with an air-brush on Friday before the race. It was a different way of marking the race numbers and I sucked in more ink fumes than I care to remember, but it was a great way to meet the athletes up close and personal and to see things from the other side of the fence. Race morning started very early with driving out to the swim venue at Sand Hollow to help catch any stray people who needed last minute body-marking before the cannon went off. Once the athletes headed down to the swim start, I put on my spectator glasses and cheered for everyone I knew out there. It was so much fun! We watched most of the swim and some of the last bikers going out, then we took off for a little training run before heading back into town to catch more of the action. It was perfect timing; we had just gotten some sandwiches and settled down along Main St. when the first riders started rolling in! The run course was two out-and-back loops which ended up being great for spectators because we caught everyone going past four times. Aside from the cold water and some wind on the bike, the weather really could not have been any better for this time of year in St. George. The best part was knowing so many of the athletes and being able to cheer for them by name…what an inspiration! The most amazing thing I saw all day was the guy who had crashed near the end of the bike and broke his collarbone…then proceeded to walk the entire marathon. Talk about tough as nails! The real tear-jerker part of that tale is that two of his buddies ended up stopping their races and walking it with him. Very cool to see. So it was a great experience for me on many levels, not least of which was to see an Ironman in person and draw inspiration from it for my own upcoming stab at the distance. Thank you to Paul the body-marking captain for all your hard work, and to the Olsen family for giving us the run of their house for the weekend!
Since then, I’ve really been able to wrap my mind around the Ironman distance and have been training in earnest for the end of June. My training includes plenty of solo time in the saddle getting strong and practicing nutrition, as well as an increase in running volume. So far so good. I’ll do a test drive at the Boise 70.3 in mid-June (I’ve wanted to do this race the past two years but because of one broken bone or another have had to sit it out…) and then the big one is on the 27th. Anyone want to take a trip to beautiful Coeur d'Alene?!
The race was a good one for me…and I finally figured out the food part of the equation for this distance! The nutritional aspect of longer distance racing has been the monkey on my back for a while now. I know that my running fitness has come a long way, but I’ve struggled with maximizing that fitness because I have been getting hungry and puttering out on the run. No mas! I’ve FINALLY figured out a formula that works for me. Who knew that I could eat so many PowerGels in so little time?!
The swim part of the race was rough due to the relentless wind and I ended up getting out of the water about 5 minutes slower than usual for the 1.2 miles. It’s funny, I don’t usually think much about the swim but on that day it was the hardest part of the race for me! The bike segment was a flat out-and-back course with a steady headwind going out and a nice tailwind coming back. I tried to ride conservatively in the first half then build into a stronger second half, and was able to split 10 minutes faster on the way back in. My other focus was on having a steady intake of fluid and calories on the bike because I didn’t want have a repeat of Oceanside and run out of steam on the run. Mission accomplished! I closed with a 1:32:11 run split, a good 6 minutes faster than I’ve managed to run at the end of a half-ironman before. It’s still not in the league of what the best are running right now but, as I jokingly told Albert, I was the fastest of the slower runners on that day. My effort was good enough for 8th place female and 5th American; best of all, I nabbed a spot for the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championships in November! It’s nice to have that qualification out of the way so that I don’t feel the pressure of chasing a spot the rest of the season. Now I can focus on getting down to work for the next big task at hand…training for Ironman Coeur d’Alene!
And speaking of Ironman races, we had one of our very own right here in Utah! The week after the Galveston race, Albert and I drove down to southern Utah for the inaugural Ironman St. George. I signed up to volunteer with body-marking, which ended up being an 8-hour date with an air-brush on Friday before the race. It was a different way of marking the race numbers and I sucked in more ink fumes than I care to remember, but it was a great way to meet the athletes up close and personal and to see things from the other side of the fence. Race morning started very early with driving out to the swim venue at Sand Hollow to help catch any stray people who needed last minute body-marking before the cannon went off. Once the athletes headed down to the swim start, I put on my spectator glasses and cheered for everyone I knew out there. It was so much fun! We watched most of the swim and some of the last bikers going out, then we took off for a little training run before heading back into town to catch more of the action. It was perfect timing; we had just gotten some sandwiches and settled down along Main St. when the first riders started rolling in! The run course was two out-and-back loops which ended up being great for spectators because we caught everyone going past four times. Aside from the cold water and some wind on the bike, the weather really could not have been any better for this time of year in St. George. The best part was knowing so many of the athletes and being able to cheer for them by name…what an inspiration! The most amazing thing I saw all day was the guy who had crashed near the end of the bike and broke his collarbone…then proceeded to walk the entire marathon. Talk about tough as nails! The real tear-jerker part of that tale is that two of his buddies ended up stopping their races and walking it with him. Very cool to see. So it was a great experience for me on many levels, not least of which was to see an Ironman in person and draw inspiration from it for my own upcoming stab at the distance. Thank you to Paul the body-marking captain for all your hard work, and to the Olsen family for giving us the run of their house for the weekend!
Since then, I’ve really been able to wrap my mind around the Ironman distance and have been training in earnest for the end of June. My training includes plenty of solo time in the saddle getting strong and practicing nutrition, as well as an increase in running volume. So far so good. I’ll do a test drive at the Boise 70.3 in mid-June (I’ve wanted to do this race the past two years but because of one broken bone or another have had to sit it out…) and then the big one is on the 27th. Anyone want to take a trip to beautiful Coeur d'Alene?!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Spring is Here!
Something really exciting happened over the weekend…it suddenly became springtime in Salt Lake! It’s really wild how quickly the seasons can flip here. Our neighbor’s magnolia tree was completely bare on Friday, then got down to the serious business of flowering on Saturday and somehow reached full bloom by Sunday afternoon. The flowers are up, the grass is green and the birds are singing again. And I’m riding my bike outside quite a bit now! It certainly is much more enjoyable when it’s sunny and 70 degrees as opposed to snowing and 25. I’ve been able to get in some quality time in the saddle over the past few weeks and am looking forward to testing out my bike strength next week at the Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 on Galveston Island, Texas. This event is serving as the 70.3 US Pro Championships this year and from what I hear the course is flat, fast, and windy!
But first, I had the pleasure of participating in the Salt Lake City Half Marathon this past Saturday on what turned out to be an absolutely perfect spring morning. This is a really fun race for me because the route basically goes right through my stomping grounds and I know the course inside and out. It’s also a treat to race locally because there are always people I know along the route to help cheer me on. In fact, there are always lots of people I know actually IN the race as well! This year was no exception and I ended up doings lots of chatting in the first part of the race with several different people I know from the running and triathlon communities. My mindset going into the race was to have fun and be conservative for the first 8-9 miles then to pick it up if I felt like it and see where I finished. I thought the 1:30 ballpark would be good, considering that I was running on tired legs and have a half-ironman coming up next week, but I wasn’t really as focused on my pacing as usual---in fact, I missed the majority of the mile markers! I was slightly annoyed at myself for that because I do like to see the numbers afterwards. Oh well.
Once we swung into Liberty Park I caught a girl who said, “There are three more girls just up there, go get them!” That’s when I started looking up the road and saw that Amanda Theobald, the girl I ran most of Moab with, and Mel Lemon, my nemesis from the Salt Lake Winter Series, were not that far ahead. I had let them go early in the race and honestly had no intention of racing them going into the event…but when I could see them up ahead I thought, what the heck?! Let’s see if I can catch them! So I got down to work. I think going out more conservatively definitely paid off (chalk another one up to negative splitting!) and I was able to catch them both going up the long grind on State Street to South Temple. I remember that stretch was much more of a death march last year…it helps to be in better shape, but I also got a lift from my clients Rebecca and Jordan who were on the sidelines cheering with their adorable dog Beau when we passed the City/County building. That was AWESOME! Beau bears a strong resemblance to a Muppet or Wookie, and it was really cute to see him and Rebecca bounding down the sidewalk and cheering.
Once I rounded the corner onto South Temple I knew it was downhill to the end of the street and then just a couple of quick turns into the finishing straight at the Gateway where the crowd would carry me home. I had gotten my split at mile 10 (one of the few markers I actually spotted!) and had figured out that a sub-1:30 was in the making. But I was absolutely delighted to see 1:26 and change on the clock as I came in the finishing straight! That really was quicker than I had planned to run but I’ll take it! I know it’s small potatoes compared to how fast a lot of the girls are running these days in triathlon, but it’s a big step for me physically and mentally to run under 1:30 consistently and to do it with complete control. The next step is to build the bike fitness and dial in the nutrition so that I can put my new-found running legs to good use at the end of a triathlon!
Believe it or not, I wasn’t the only person running on Saturday. :) Albert had a good run, taking 4th place in the men’s race with a 1:13:19. My client Jed ran a 3:10 marathon, while another past-client-turned-friend, Betsy Pollack, won her age group and ran a 4:47 in her first stab at the distance---at age 61 nonetheless! These are just a few of the people I know who ran the various races; there are too many to list them all but congratulations to everyone. And thanks to PowerBar for keeping me fueled during the race, Rudy Project for keeping my eyes protected with style, and to Glen and the gang at Wasatch Running Center for supporting me in my running and triathlon endeavors!
Next up: a little trip to Texas…
But first, I had the pleasure of participating in the Salt Lake City Half Marathon this past Saturday on what turned out to be an absolutely perfect spring morning. This is a really fun race for me because the route basically goes right through my stomping grounds and I know the course inside and out. It’s also a treat to race locally because there are always people I know along the route to help cheer me on. In fact, there are always lots of people I know actually IN the race as well! This year was no exception and I ended up doings lots of chatting in the first part of the race with several different people I know from the running and triathlon communities. My mindset going into the race was to have fun and be conservative for the first 8-9 miles then to pick it up if I felt like it and see where I finished. I thought the 1:30 ballpark would be good, considering that I was running on tired legs and have a half-ironman coming up next week, but I wasn’t really as focused on my pacing as usual---in fact, I missed the majority of the mile markers! I was slightly annoyed at myself for that because I do like to see the numbers afterwards. Oh well.
Once we swung into Liberty Park I caught a girl who said, “There are three more girls just up there, go get them!” That’s when I started looking up the road and saw that Amanda Theobald, the girl I ran most of Moab with, and Mel Lemon, my nemesis from the Salt Lake Winter Series, were not that far ahead. I had let them go early in the race and honestly had no intention of racing them going into the event…but when I could see them up ahead I thought, what the heck?! Let’s see if I can catch them! So I got down to work. I think going out more conservatively definitely paid off (chalk another one up to negative splitting!) and I was able to catch them both going up the long grind on State Street to South Temple. I remember that stretch was much more of a death march last year…it helps to be in better shape, but I also got a lift from my clients Rebecca and Jordan who were on the sidelines cheering with their adorable dog Beau when we passed the City/County building. That was AWESOME! Beau bears a strong resemblance to a Muppet or Wookie, and it was really cute to see him and Rebecca bounding down the sidewalk and cheering.
Once I rounded the corner onto South Temple I knew it was downhill to the end of the street and then just a couple of quick turns into the finishing straight at the Gateway where the crowd would carry me home. I had gotten my split at mile 10 (one of the few markers I actually spotted!) and had figured out that a sub-1:30 was in the making. But I was absolutely delighted to see 1:26 and change on the clock as I came in the finishing straight! That really was quicker than I had planned to run but I’ll take it! I know it’s small potatoes compared to how fast a lot of the girls are running these days in triathlon, but it’s a big step for me physically and mentally to run under 1:30 consistently and to do it with complete control. The next step is to build the bike fitness and dial in the nutrition so that I can put my new-found running legs to good use at the end of a triathlon!
Believe it or not, I wasn’t the only person running on Saturday. :) Albert had a good run, taking 4th place in the men’s race with a 1:13:19. My client Jed ran a 3:10 marathon, while another past-client-turned-friend, Betsy Pollack, won her age group and ran a 4:47 in her first stab at the distance---at age 61 nonetheless! These are just a few of the people I know who ran the various races; there are too many to list them all but congratulations to everyone. And thanks to PowerBar for keeping me fueled during the race, Rudy Project for keeping my eyes protected with style, and to Glen and the gang at Wasatch Running Center for supporting me in my running and triathlon endeavors!
Next up: a little trip to Texas…
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Oceanside
Well, I don't really know what to say about the Oceanside 70.3 last weekend other than thank goodness it's early in the season and there's a lot of time for improvement! The race itself is very well run with a great venue, and it was nice to spend a few days in sunny southern California. My homestay was TERRIFIC---thanks Felicia, Forrest, Gus and Laird!---and I had the opportunity to explore the area a little more than the last time I did this race. I also caught up with Tim Johnson (the WTC swim course director) who I know from my days at the training center in Clermont, FL, as well as some other athletes that I haven't seen in a while.
Race day itself was a mixture of ups and downs. It started off with an up: a great swim effort! I felt strong and comfortable in my BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit during the whole swim and was the fourth female out of the water, behind perennial top swimmers Leanda Cave, Pip Taylor, and Kelly Williamson (who I knew as Kelly Handel from our days as age group swimmers back in Indiana). It was a good indication that I'm getting my swimming groove back after the collarbone injury last year. T1 went smoothly, it was really great running up out of the water with all the volunteers and spectators fresh and excited!
Once on the bike I tried to settle into a rhythm and keep an eye on the other cyclists around me so as to stay in contact yet out of trouble. The ride had both highs and lows for me; I definitely felt stronger on the flats than on the hills...so guess what I'm going to be working on in the next few weeks?! I knew my bike fitness was just average going into this race, and it was especially apparent on the hills and in the windy sections. The hills were a bit harder than I had remembered and it took more out of my legs for the run than I had expected. One positive that came from the bike is that my shoulders and neck stayed relatively loose throughout the ride; in the past I’ve tightened up so much that I can’t wait to get off the bike and stand up straight! I think there might still be a couple of important positioning tweaks to make to be comfortable for an Ironman, but this is a step in the right direction.
Mentally I was prepared to run well, especially after the Canyonlands Half Marathon, and I started off running sub-7:00 pace miles. However, I quickly realized that I was low on fuel. I found myself slowing down significantly on miles 4 and 5 and gobbled up whatever I could get at the aid stations. The food helped and my second wind kicked in, only to sputter again just past the 10-mile mark. So my run split ended up being much slower than what I was aiming for, which is really disappointing after all the hard work I've put into it. However, as always there were good lessons learned along the way. First, EAT MORE! This goes for the days leading up to the event as well as the pre-race meal and on the bike. Nutrition is going to be key during the Ironman distance, and I need to get it figured out before then. PowerBar supplies me with all sorts of great fueling options and I need to diligently experiment with calorie intake to find how much I need to eat on the bike to be strong when the run comes around. Second lesson learned: you can have all the running fitness in the world, but if you haven't put in the time on the bike it's really hard to show off that run fitness!
I’ve got another 3.5 weeks until the next half ironman race in Galveston, Texas, to continue improving my fitness and race-nutrition. It’s going to fly by, so time to buckle down!
Race day itself was a mixture of ups and downs. It started off with an up: a great swim effort! I felt strong and comfortable in my BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit during the whole swim and was the fourth female out of the water, behind perennial top swimmers Leanda Cave, Pip Taylor, and Kelly Williamson (who I knew as Kelly Handel from our days as age group swimmers back in Indiana). It was a good indication that I'm getting my swimming groove back after the collarbone injury last year. T1 went smoothly, it was really great running up out of the water with all the volunteers and spectators fresh and excited!
Once on the bike I tried to settle into a rhythm and keep an eye on the other cyclists around me so as to stay in contact yet out of trouble. The ride had both highs and lows for me; I definitely felt stronger on the flats than on the hills...so guess what I'm going to be working on in the next few weeks?! I knew my bike fitness was just average going into this race, and it was especially apparent on the hills and in the windy sections. The hills were a bit harder than I had remembered and it took more out of my legs for the run than I had expected. One positive that came from the bike is that my shoulders and neck stayed relatively loose throughout the ride; in the past I’ve tightened up so much that I can’t wait to get off the bike and stand up straight! I think there might still be a couple of important positioning tweaks to make to be comfortable for an Ironman, but this is a step in the right direction.
Mentally I was prepared to run well, especially after the Canyonlands Half Marathon, and I started off running sub-7:00 pace miles. However, I quickly realized that I was low on fuel. I found myself slowing down significantly on miles 4 and 5 and gobbled up whatever I could get at the aid stations. The food helped and my second wind kicked in, only to sputter again just past the 10-mile mark. So my run split ended up being much slower than what I was aiming for, which is really disappointing after all the hard work I've put into it. However, as always there were good lessons learned along the way. First, EAT MORE! This goes for the days leading up to the event as well as the pre-race meal and on the bike. Nutrition is going to be key during the Ironman distance, and I need to get it figured out before then. PowerBar supplies me with all sorts of great fueling options and I need to diligently experiment with calorie intake to find how much I need to eat on the bike to be strong when the run comes around. Second lesson learned: you can have all the running fitness in the world, but if you haven't put in the time on the bike it's really hard to show off that run fitness!
I’ve got another 3.5 weeks until the next half ironman race in Galveston, Texas, to continue improving my fitness and race-nutrition. It’s going to fly by, so time to buckle down!
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