Olympic Training Day

So yesterday was Olympic Race Day in my training calendar.  The problem is, well, I live in Connecticut- and an Olympic distance race was a little out of the question.  With frosty/icy pavement and plenty of loose salt- an outdoor bike was something I could only dream of.  I was considering it the night before, but on Saturday morning, when the dogs slid off the deck, I figured it would be an indoor race day.

Start Time: 8:51
The swim:  I have been taking my swim for granted.  When it comes time to train and if I have to miss a day because of scheduling problems, I always make it a swim for two reasons.  1) That is where my background is, and has always been my strength.  2) The swim counts for the smallest portion of race day.  I have stayed in the pool, but definitely not as much as I should.  Yesterday was a mile long swim, and I have to say, I was quite pleased with how it went.  I kept thinking of my high school coach, focusing on my stroke and making it look as pretty as I could, and keeping myself as efficient as possible, thanks Coach Kristyn!  Over a couple lanes was someone just a hair faster than I wanted to go.  That motivation kept my head in the game.  1750 yards later (70 lengths), I popped out of the pool and hurried into the locker room.
Finish Time: 9:18 (swim time 27 minutes)
Transition Time: Technically only took me 10 minutes to get changed (not a very realistic transition since I had to change out of my suit, dry off, change and get out to my car) but all the same.  On top of that, I then had to drive home and get on the bike.  So not a perfect representation of a race, but close enough for what I needed to do.
End of T1: 9:45  (27 minute transition)
Bike: This part always amazes me.  I am not a biker.  I repeat, I am not a biker.  I only started biking when I started Tri-ing 2 years ago.  With this in mind, I am so happy with where my bike is at.  I settled in, alternated resistances and positions on the bike, I kept my elbows bent and my neck relaxed.  I jammed to a variety of music while Timmy watched the Olympics, only a short way into my ride, the USA Hockey game started, and while frustrating, it was nice to watch while I rode and ran.  Before I knew it, my 24 mile ride was over. 
End of Bike: 11:01 (1:19 hour ride- 18.2 mph)
Transition Time: This is also not a terribly accurate for a race as my trainer stands next to the treadmill, and all I had to do was put my shoes on and turn the treadmill on and get it up to speed. 
End of T2: 11:02 (1 minute)
Run:  Until I started heart rate training, this was a survival.  Whatever I had left went into the run.  Instead, by keeping my heartrate on the high side of Z2 and the low side of Z3 during the bike, I had plenty left for the run.  I put myself on a run/walk cycle to keep my heartrate down.  I ran for 8 minutes, walked for 2.  And every time I got to the run, I went a little faster than the time before.  In the last ten minutes, I gradually increased my pace with every 30 seconds that went by, enabling myself to sprint to the end.  Good feeling!
End of Run : 12:15 (1:13 hour run 11:45 minute miles)  Not too bad for run/walking
Total Time: 3:24 

Overall was very happy with how the workout went.  I slid my compression sleeves on (albeit sideways- thanks for pointing that out Carly :)) and went about my day.  I felt wonderful the rest of the day.  I love a good workout!

Today was all about the girls.  A quick stretch and run this morning to get myself moving.  Then off to one hell of a brunch!  I ate well- kept it relatively healthy, and well, lets just say I jumpstarted my metabolism for the week.  The good news is that I am sure we burned a few calories by laughing so hard :).  Thank you ladies for that.

I ran errands and was productive for the balance of my day.  By the time I made it home, brunch had well settled, and I was hydrated.  It was time for my real workout.  Onto the bike I went. 

This was the first back to back workout I have done.  I usually try to do different workouts in consecutive days, swim one day, run the next, bike the next, even on double workout days, I try not to repeat too soon.  This was the first time that I did a bike followed by another bike.  It made for a great workout, and a great time.  I was able to build on my strength from yesterday and pump out an hour long ride, covering 20.5  miles.  Very happy.  How well the trainer simulates road speed, I don't really know.  But for now, I'm feeling pretty good about where my training and heart rate is at.

I had a special kind of motivation tonight as I thought back on my day.  Brunch with my lovely ladies reminded me of who I truly am underneath it all, and was incredibly inspiring.  One incredible woman who balances everything, while putting herself on the back burner.  I truly don't know how she does it, and now she is adding 5k's to her schedule!  Can't wait to have our running dates!  My other girlfriend is a rockstar, working on building a house, raises money to beat down cancer, and trains for a 200 mile ride this summer.  My butt hurts just thinking about it.  Consider donating to her cause, because lets be honest, cancer sucks!  http://www2.pmc.org/profile/CS0302  

On top of this, two like-minded crazies are keeping my motivation running by finding a 70.3 that (HOLY COW) actually fits all of our schedules!  Maine Rev3 here we come.  This is such an incredibly friendly and supportive sport, it doesn't matter if you don't know anyone there, you have plenty of support along the course.  But I have to say, I look forward to tackling a course with these gals, and can't wait to see all of us succeed in meeting our dreams.

Also keeping my butt in the saddle is my weekly email from St. Jude.  They highlight a patient or family who has reaped the benefits of this incredible organization.  This week, among several stories, Auston's touched my heart.  St. Jude, like many hospitals, has therapy dogs.  Auston who has  a form of brain tumor called medulloblastoma, had to leave the family dog behind when he went to St. Jude to undergo treatment.  Now, because of their therapy dogs program, Auston and other children are able to seek the loving comfort of the pups.  (Now you know this tugged hard on my heartstrings.) This boost in morale is yet another reason why I am racing for St. Jude.  If you can, I would be so appreciative of your donation.  http://fundraising.stjude.org/goto/krisironmantexas

I have learned so much about myself because of this sport, and because of those around me.  Thank you all, I cannot say enough good things about you! :)

Simple Pleasures

This blog post has been a few days in the making, and has been inspired by oh so many moments in the past week.  The truth is, I am blessed.  Tonight, I spend reflecting on all of the simple pleasures we take for granted, or get so caught up in life that we completely forget about.

Laughing until you Cry
This is something that I hope everyone has had the pleasure of doing.  This week alone I have on three occasions laughed so hard that I had to wipe tears away.  Thank you to good friends for making this possible, even if everyone else thinks we may be just a bit crazy, whether it be in an office, a restaurant, or right in the middle of a parking lot.  Tell a joke, laugh at a joke, laugh at your silly mishaps, laugh at a ridiculous situation, but laugh- let the joy pour out of you.  It is infectious, it brings hope to those suffering through the unthinkable.  Pure joy, love, and laughter.

Switch Roles
Are you the caregiver?  Are you worried about everyone else?  Do people offer help and you have no idea how to accept?  Do you simply want to trudge along and do it yourself?  That's ok, I understand, I am that Type A organized person who has no clue how to accept help from anyone else.  However, with that being said, the amazing joy and relief that you get from having someone take over, or at least contribute- it is beyond compare.  I have stumbled upon this more than a few times, and am still learning my lesson.  Poor hubby is along for the ride in this- but I think I am getting better... maybe? :)  The reason why this simple pleasure is one on my mind is for the benefit of someone else.  Despite my career path, there are seldom few moments when I feel as though I have truly helped someone.  This week, though, was different in one particular case, a mother, forever the caregiver, who finally (with some very strong encouragement and cheerleading) let her very concerned children become the caregivers, even if just for one day.  Remember, if you don't care for yourself, how are you going to care for anyone else?  Just a thought.

Music for the Moment
Wow, this will need to be a dedicated blog post down the line.  A few brief thoughts.  This weeks workouts were not the easiest, they were difficult to keep pushing through this nagging little pain, or the idea that there are many other things that need to be done.  However, for every moment, there was an anthem, a beat that kept me trucking along.  I often wonder what the soundtrack of my life would look like.  A great variety from Eminem and Wiz Khalifa to push me through a hard section on the bike, to a chill session with Matt Kearny or The Piano Guys, cleaning the house to Shakira and Vanilla Ice, easing the pain of commute with Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan, and everything in between.  Music often gets drowned out by the incessant chatter of the TV saying a whole lot about nothing or the most recent show about Moonshine.  Turn it off, and then turn it up.

Read, Read, Read
Wow, this is something that tends to get put on the back burner.  At least for me, I tend to get home and the TV is already on, I punch out a workout, and then settle in to make dinner.  After dinner and the TV is still on, and now we sit mindlessly playing stupid games, scrolling facebook, and overall, just spending too much time plugged in.  We sit next to each other on the couch, but somehow it seems much further than that.
Tonight, as he heads out to clear snow after yet another snow storm, I grab a blanket and a book.  I turn off the TV, turn on the Pandora radio, and snuggle in.  As I finish the last words of the book, I look up and find that it is quickly approaching midnight.  And I feel... refreshed.  I can't say that I have ever felt refreshed after watching TV.  But after reading an inspiring and motivating back whilst listening to gentle music (see above), I crawled off the couch and felt- calm.
Those who know me know that on the surface, a facade of calm, while underneath it all, my brain goes 100mph, worrying about everything, thinking about responsibilities, money, schedules... everything.   But tonight, I am truly calm.  And every time I feel it start to rise up, I take a breath and think, "Not tonight, tonight is mine."

And with these simple pleasures, I am so incredibly happy.  (Although dreaming of a turn in the weather so I can finally get off the trainer!)

   

Are you Tough Enough?

This is a question I find myself asking and considering over and over again as I train, as I ice, as I plan, and as I dream.  This is a mental game, and if you can dream it you can do it.  At least that is the idea.

The truth is that day to day you have no idea what you are going to encounter, what challenges, drama, pain, fatigue, illness, anger, tears.  But with all of this, you need to take the joy, success, love, laughter.  This happens on a day to day basis, and if you focus on the bad, well, there goes your day, but if somehow you can focus on the light on the horizon, and the pure joy of the experience, somehow the whole day, the whole race, no matter what the downside was, just seems better, easier.

Tonight, I trucked through a trainer ride, feeling good, right up until a 12 minute push to a Zone 4 heartrate (90-95% of max).  That push made me want to back off, it made me question what I was even thinking getting into all of this, made me think, "can I even do this?"  That dark side of training exists, but only has an impact if you let it.  So I put my head down and dug my heels in and kept spinning, for 30 seconds at a time, talking myself through the push, until eventually it was over.

So much of this race is mental, I know I will have low points, but if I can keep my chin up and focus on the experience, I truly believe I can do anything.  This applies to you to, no matter what it is, be positive, smile, laugh, enjoy the experience.  Its just not worth being down. :)


Also, in true ironic form- my scale died shortly after my last blog post.  And if you know me, you know that this is probably a good thing since I was typically weighing myself every day.  So, my challenge to myself, I am not going to buy a new scale for at least one month.  Trying to gauge my success on how I feel, not what I weigh.  We'll see if I last :)

Numbers

Numbers, they mean so much to so many people, in so many different ways.  I'll look at a few numbers that have been floating around in my head.

60% That's the percent of weight loss of the most recent Biggest Loser Winner.  Now this on previous seasons has been viewed as a success story- but this year this number is being waved around as too much.

Picture Source: CNN.com

I haven't watched the show in a few seasons because it all spun a little too out of control for me, and the contestants seemed to care more about "the game" than their health.  All the same, I couldn't help doing a little research into this.  Rachel is 24 years old and at the start of the season, weighed 260 pounds at 5'4 (BMI: 44.6), at the end of the season she took away the $250,000 prize money by losing 155 pounds (60% of her body weight) and went down to 105 pounds (BMI: 18).

Now everyone is all in a stir about this.  I'm not one to place judgement, especially not when I don't know the story.  All I do know is, too much emphasis is placed on the number.  We get caught up on the scale, or the dress size, and don't pay attention to the feedback our body is giving us.  Do you feel good?  Did you eat enough for your body to not eat away your muscle mass, for you to get your workout in?  Did you eat junk and now you're not running at your top efficiency? These are questions we don't ask.  Instead we ask, how many pounds did I lose/gain?  Do I need to buy biggest pants?  Even the BMI is not a perfect number, 18.5-25 is a "healthy BMI" 25-30 is overweight, that means that at 5'4 and 148 lbs, a woman is overweight.  Also a 5'10 man at 175 pounds is overweight. 

COME ON!  Seriously?  We all know someone in incredibly good shape that meets this description and these stats and we would have never thought of them as "overweight."

So really, lets stop with these numbers, scale, BMI, GUIDELINES ONLY!  Lets go based on how we feel.  I am just as guilty as the rest- on the scale once daily, but I am trying to use it as a sign of hydration, and less as a measure of anything else, certainly not of how I am doing.


More Numbers: 8.... hours in a work day, 16 in a double shift.  These are hours we beg to be over, count them down, and in some cases dread.  Can we learn to enjoy these?  Can we get something out of work (other than a paycheck)?  I don't know the answer, just a thought.

17
Number of hours that I have to complete 140.6 (more numbers) miles.  Holy crap, seriously?  A double shift worth of that?  Although some days I think working out for 17 hours would be easier than 17 hours of medicine (certainly 17 hours in the ED).

24
Hours in a day- doesn't quite seem like enough most days. 

Partners

Can I just brag for a minute how lucky I am to have my partner in life?  My wonderful, albeit stinky, dedicated, hysterical, partner in crime, my husband.  This morning I found him getting ready for work, keeping the pups quiet so I could sleep in.  Before he left, he knew this was my long day, and wished me luck.  He asked that I not take to the roads on the bike (first beautiful day of the year!) because he was worried I would get hurt on roads that have not been cleaned up.  When he came home to find me firing up the wood splitter, his first words were, how was your workout?

This, my friends, is love.  You see, no one really wants to hear every detail of your workouts, the weird pain you have only when you tip your foot in this direction, how you were reading about this one triathlete's method of catch in the swim, how interesting the Texas course is, how much you hate the trainer and working out indoors, how effective heart rate training is, or the reason why you are wearing the ever so attractive compression socks to bed.  Yet, this man, knowing how one simple question can open a huge can of worms and yapping, asked that one question and was legitimately interested.  That folks is a training partner.

I can complain and ramble here, and people can stop reading, or start.  Maybe someone will laugh, or learn something, or feel better about themselves.  But when it comes down to it, a partner listens and gives feedback, has ideas, brings to the table their own research, and lets be honest, tolerates the compression gear :) 

Today, I could not have been happier working alongside my partner for a few hours while we cut and split wood, not really talking, just existing together.  Its a nice reality to live in! 

How was my workout you ask?  Three hours on the trainer, one running on the road, it was a long tough morning, but I did it, and I am one step closer to Texas.  And with the forecast of snow for all week, and pain in the ass Phil the groundhog predicting 6 more weeks of winter, I'm looking into a bike trainer or triathlon dvd to pop in for these long rides, because, lets be honest, they are only going to get longer, and my ass is starting to protest against the saddle :)