I Feel Way Better About My Half Ironman Training Now!

First of all I just wanted to say that I volunteered again for the Portofino Sunset Triathlon series race number 6 or 7 or something like that and guess what?

That's right! I directed traffic again wearing the super sharp, orange vest, although this time I didn't get a flag and I was at a different traffic stop (See the orange fashion statements Here). This time I was at the main entrance with three other volunteers, where the bikers were coming out of the resort from the transition area and then coming back in as they finished the 7.5 mile ride.

After making sure the cars all stopped when the bikers came out and then waving the bikers back in, I had to make sure the runners stayed on the sidewalk. You would think stopping the traffic would be harder than merely directing runners to stay on the sidewalk, but no. By the time the racers got off their bikes in the heat and humidity, some of them were a little delirious, I guess, and they were trying to go everywhere but stay on the correct sidewalk. It didn't even matter that I was wearing the bright orange vest!

My spot directing traffic/bikers and runners

It just so happened that one runner got past me and ended up on the road and had to be directed back to the sidewalk. The Murph witnessed this and shook his head at me like it was all my fault I let the delirious, sweaty racer get past me.

What? I TOLD him to stay on the sidewalk. I even pointed down the sidewalk in the direction he was suppose to go. Was this my fault?

Hey, I didn't even have a flag!

Besides, one of the volunteer coordinators congratulated me and gave me a high five after the race telling me what a great job I did. Of course, he was the one who totally stuck me and a couple of others out there until the last runner came through.  It's funny how even the most delirious, heat exhausted ones had no problem at all knowing which way the finish line was! Amazing what the promise of vodka shooters will do. (and that was a lie because there was no alcohol at the finish line - sorry!)

I  know that feeling of getting to the finish line! Sweet! Sweaty and sweet!

I sort of like the power that comes with directing traffic. This kind of power could go to my head. All the vacationers really appreciated my help crossing the road too as they made their way back to their condo at the end of a beach day. It's been a lot of fun volunteering and the racers are great and appreciative, which makes it totally worth it, but next time I'm racing, not volunteering!

Not bad when you are looking across the road at this as you're volunteering!

Once again I decided to compare what I should have done according the training plan this week with what I actually did. First, let me start by saying I haven't been getting much sleep lately which has directly impacted the intensity of my training. Second, I've had to go back to inhaling my steroid meds because of my asthma and trouble breathing. Third, my weird vertigo/motion sickness, whatever it was the other day decided to linger around and screw me over.

So there are the excuses and there's more of them where those came from! See...

image from showmestrenght.com

Here's what the comparison looked like and I had to estimate how long it would take me to bike the number of miles that is on the plan since it goes by miles, estimate how long it would take me to swim the number of yards on the swim, and estimate the number of miles on the run since the plan goes by number of minutes run, not miles. It's all way too confusing which is probably why I stick with my own plan or lack of plan. Whatever, here's what it looks like....

                    The Training Plan                                            What I Actually Did

              Yds/Miles                Time                                     Yds/Miles                 Time

 Swim     3500 yds                 1 hr 45 min                             BIG FAT '0'              '0'

 Bike       80 miles                   5 hrs                                         49 miles                  3 hrs

 Run       14-15 miles             2 hrs 25 min                             14 miles                  2 hrs 30 min

Total Overall Times:          9 hrs 10 min                                                            5 hrs 30 min

So not surprising I am way behind on swimming, half-way there on biking and right on target in running. While it seems like I'm way behind in overall training time, if you add the strength training (weights), core training, stretching and time on the elliptical I did for the week, it brings my overall workout time to 9 hrs and 22 min. This is clearly more than the training plans 9 hrs and 10 min, although not by much. I  would say according to this comparison, I am not as behind as I think I am. I have plenty of time to make up the swim and bike hours before October. No worries!

I think this training plan seriously lacks in core and strength training anyway. Although I think it does say somewhere on there that you should do strength training at least twice a week for an hour. That would make the training plans overall time 11 hrs and 10 min. Hmmm...

I'm still going to remain positive. I mean it's not like I haven't had painful races before when I didn't put all the training hours in that was suppose too. Two races to be exact and I finished both of them swearing I would never do another race without proper training ever again. They were the slowest races I've ever done, as well as the most painful. Being slower, I had a lot more time on the course feeling the pain.

My motto is: "It's all mind over matter.  If you don't mind, it don't matter!"

I think I better get to work!

Image from graphics99.com

Buster Britton Memorial Triathlon

Watching the 3rd place baby fly!

Saturday I raced in the Buster Britton Memorial Triathlon in Birmingham, Alabama. It was my 12th time to do the race which was the very first one I did in 1999 when my son was seven years old. I have raced it every year except two over that 14 year period. (read about last year's race here and here)

Over the years they have shortened the swim from 600yds to 400yds and shortened the bike from 16 miles to 13 miles and moved the transition area up the road a bit until now it's at the very last picnic area before you start up the barely paved rough road that winds it's way up the mountain to peavine falls.

That's where the run takes place. It goes gradually uphill out and then mostly downhill back except a couple of small uphills. It's not bad though. The bike ride is the same. Going out is rolling but mostly uphill and coming back is smoking fast downhills with a couple of uphills.

There's a reason it's called "Oak Mountain" State Park.

In line for swim start... adjust the googles.... it's important!

The swim start is not a mass start. Everyone lines up by race number and goes in the water every 3 seconds. It use to drive me nuts to stand in line and wait, but after last year being at the end because I registered late, it doesn't bother me at all. I even got to the race at 6:30 instead of my usual 5:30 a.m time and parked a fairly long distance away from transition and that was fine. This was my husband and chief athletic supporter, staff photographer and food and beverage coordinator that broke me of the my OCD habit of having to get there at a certain time, park in a certain place, do everything in a certain way or have complete meltdown.

I actually race better now!

There was one small moment of panic when I couldn't get my bike in transition area before the race start because I wasn't wearing my arm band. It was way down the street in the car because I hate wearing those things! We have to have our bike racked by 7 a.m and I only had 5 minutes to run back to the car and grab it and get back. I had also forgotten my bike pump and had pumped the tires a little before we left Pensacola on Friday, but I knew they needed more air.

I rode the bike to the car to get the arm band and then went by the Bike Link tent to get the guys to pump air in my tires. Good thing because the back tire only had about 65psi and I usually race at 100psi. Luckily, there wasn't a line and I got my bike in transition right at 7 a.m with tires full of air.

Image from Facebook.com -Team Magic photo

Ready to go!

The water as usual was very warm and very brown and squishy at the bottom. The ramp is slippery but they had us going in next to the ramp with a carpet down. I wish the carpet had been extended all the way into the water until it was deep enough for me to start swimming though. It was squishy.

Thinking if I lean back far enough it will postpone going into the icky brown water....

Finally in the water swimming around...

It was very foggy at the start of the race and my googles were a little foggy too so I had a little trouble seeing where I was going. I think I stayed on course though. My swim time was only a few seconds slower than last year at a little over 9 minutes. Two minutes slower than I had wanted though.

Buster Britton transition area... you can't come in without your wristband... don't forget the wristband! Trust me!

The camera battery died right after the swim start so the Murph couldn't take any other pictures of the bike and run portions of the race. I got the awards ceremony photos off of facebook. The President of the Vulcan Triathletes Club took them. I missed the group photo with them though. I usually do! Now I am a member of both the Vulcan Triathletes and the TriGulfCoast club in my new home city. I guess this will be my last year as a Vulcan Triathlete. 

I will miss that too even though I haven't been training with them much the last couple of years because I haven't been training much at all the last couple of years! That will change now that I'm training for a 70.3 race.

Transition area

Award ceremony

I felt a little flat on the bike and I don't really know why. It was the first time this year that I've used the race wheels. I didn't use them in the other two races I did last month so I thought I would feel faster but nope. I was a minute slower on the bike than last year which was disappointing since I've been on the bike more than last year.

Buster Britton Finish line... always a welcome sight!

My run was much faster and I that's because of all the 5k's I did in April. I've been working on speed and keeping my long distance runs under 13 miles. Long distance has always slowed me down.

Overall I was about 3 minutes faster than last year and placed first in my age group same as last year. This year we stayed for the award ceremony so I could get my award. I'm glad I did because I also got a bag of all kinds of goodies such as running socks, bike tubes, water bottle, bike co2 pump, power gels, etc. It took a very LONG time to get to my age group though because I'm so old. The Murph was somewhat patient and I appreciate it. He even broke down and used the port-o-potty, something I thought he would never do.

Also, new this year was that everyone, all the race finishers, received a very nice finisher medal. After all that hard work everyone deserves a medal, especially the ones on the course in the heat after the 2 hour mark. They deserve something more than the top finishers and now they get some hardware too.

At packet pickup Friday I ran into the psychiatrist my son has been going to for ADD meds since he was in 6th grade. The same psychiatrist who diagnosed the Boy with Asperger's when he was in 8th grade and changed our lives for the better. He told me he was racing and that Buster Britton was his first triathlon. I didn't see him during the race, but as I was heading over to look at the results after the race I ran into him again and asked him how he did. He kicked butt! He placed 6th in his age group and was 6 minutes faster than me.

I have to admit I couldn't find his results because I thought he was much younger than he is. When I first took my son to see him many years ago, I even remember thinking he's so young that he probably just got out of school. "How much experience does he have? He's barely older than the Boy." Of course, I immediately realized he was very qualified and I shouldn't be so quick to judge. After seeing the race results I realized he's older than I am! Oh, well, sorry I thought what I thought! I'll never tell though!

The race is named after Buster Britton, a Birmingham area triathlete who died while doing a fun run a couple of weeks after doing the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii about 25 years ago. Buster Britton's family was there and his daughter spoke about what a great legacy this race was for their family. This was the first time I had seen the family and I didn't realize that Buster Britton's daughter was pregnant with his grandchild when he died. The granddaughter had never met her grandfather, but his legacy lives on in the triathlon which is one of the longest running ones in Alabama.

That was very touching. I hope that I can continue to do the race in the future even though I'm not living in Birmingham. Oak Mountain use to be practically in my back yard and was one of my favorite places to train. I will miss it.

Another pic of award ceremony.... babies still flying!

Except not the icky brown water part!

Triathlon Race Photos And The Beach Trip

Last Saturday The Murph and I drove over to Orange Beach, Alabama from Pensacola Beach, Florida so I could do the Alabama Coastal Triathlon.  We got up at 4:30 am to make the hour and 1/2 drive.  It doesn't seem like it would be that far, but we had to go up and over and stop and go through some small towns to get there.

There were two distances offered.  One was a full Olympic distance and the other was a very short sprint distance.  I did the very short sprint since I haven't been bike and swim training very much this year.

Okay, I confess!  I have done zero swim training since Ironman Canada 2010 and most of the biking I've been doing has been on the exercise bike at the gym instead of my road bike.  The Murph is my true, very loyal athletic supporter!

This is us right before the race start.  You can see from the waves behind us that the ocean was not very calm that day.  I was a little worried, but I have had to swim in much rougher water and this was a very, very short 300 yd swim.  No Ironman distance swim here!  Thank God!

It was cloudy in the beginning, but by the time I crossed the finish line the sun was out and it was clearing up.  Also, it was getting hot.  I was glad to be finished in less than an hour.  I love short triathlons right now.

This is me coming out of transition after getting off the bike.  Now it was time to do the run which was very, very short.   Only two miles.  That's it!

I'm thinking that my butt looks fat here in these shorts.  I doubt I will wear them again.  I may need to cut back on all those cookies I've been eating too.

Despite the lack of swim training and the big butt, I place third in the masters category and was the 10th overall woman.  I was very happy with that!

The night before the race, The Murph and I went to eat dinner at Jackson's in Pensacola, Florida.  I ate tons of bread with fresh butter and the most delicious steak and crab cake ever.  

This probably contributed to the bigness of my butt the next morning....

Oh well, it was worth it!

This is The Murph about to go in the water the other day.  He didn't know I was taking pictures of him.

I added our baby pictures to our wedding website last night.  This is The Murph's baby picture.   He's such a cutie!

I tried to scan this picture in and post it on his birthday post in July, but I couldn't get the scanner to work.  I have been trying to scan things and print for two months now and couldn't get the dang printer to work.  Then right out of the blue it just decided to start working last night.

Go figure!

Sprint Triathlon At The Beach

Today I raced in a sprint triathlon in Orange Beach.  It was very short, fast and fun.   Less than an hour and it's over!  Great workout and I placed third in the master's category.  The Murph cheered me on and took lots of pictures.

Unfortunately, I left the cord to hook the camera up to the laptop at home so I will have to post them later if I don't forget.  After the race, we lived dangerously and went to eat breakfast at IHOP after picking The Boy up from school.

The "acne" The Boy called me about the other day at 2 a.m. is officially bug bites, not acne.  Those must be some big, hungry fleas though.  We tried to get him measured for a tuxedo while we were down there, but couldn't find a place.  Since he won't be back in Birmingham until the day before the wedding, we will have to "estimate" his size.  

That should be fun!

Last night I had one of the BEST steak dinners I've ever had at Jackson's, a local restaurant in Pensacola.  The Murph and I split a 16 oz New York Strip and a crab cake and salad.  It was absolutely delicious.  My mouth is watering now just thinking about it.  

It was served with plenty of fresh bread and whipped butter.  We had to make the waiter take what was left of the bread off the table.  The whipped butter disappeared.  They make it fresh every night in the kitchen.  I think The Murph would have licked the butter bowl clean if he could.

Again, I have pictures.  They are on my camera, but I can't post them because I don't have the darn cord to hook the camera up.  I promise to post them later so your mouth can water too!

One thing I forgot to get when I saw The Boy was the accommodations form that needs to be sent to Al Rehab.  This shows them what accommodations he is getting while in college.  I will have to try once again to convince The Boy to find a fax machine or a scanner at school so he can get me a clear copy to email to the counselor.

This seems like an easy thing to do, but I assure you it's not.  The Boy picks and chooses what he wants to do.  Sometimes I don't think he listens to me at all until it's too late and then he panics and everything is an emergency.

As The Murph always says to him...

Strength Training - A Triathlete's Best Friend

I've always included strength training in my training plan so it isn't exactly something new that I just started doing a couple of years ago.  What changed in my training in January 2011 is that I went from only doing strength training twice a week for 30 minutes to at least 5 or 6 times a week for 15 to 30 minutes.  I can't believe the difference it has made in my muscle strength and endurance.

I always thought in order to have endurance, I had to spend hours on the bike or in the pool or running for miles and miles.  I know I still need to do that if I am training for a half Ironman or Ironman triathlon or a half marathon or marathon.  You have to put the time in or it will hurt!  But for short distance, I am getting by with less time on my real bike and pool and more time in the gym doing weights.

And the difference is amazing.

One thing that helps is that I have been riding, running and swimming for years and years, probably 16 or 17 years now.  I can do transitions in my sleep.  I spent a lot of time on my bike, in the pool and on the road back in 2010 when I was training for Ironman Canada.  After the race, however, I was totally burned out.  This happened to me in 2004 after I did Ironman Florida as well.  I would love to be one of those triathletes that stay focused and motivated and can compete in one Ironman after another and several half Ironman triathlons in between, but I'm not.

Fifteen months is the amount of time it takes me to get over from burnout after I complete an Ironman. I've tried to trick myself into continuing on with training after an Ironman by signing up and committing to another one immediately, but it doesn't work.  I am so unmotivated that you would have to drag me to the pool and throw me in to get me swimming.  Biking for long distances too.

Running is about the only thing I can force myself to do and that's because it's easier, requires less planning and I love it. (besides there's the Running Nazi to contend with).    I love biking too, but it requires a little more planning and equipment.  And I am extremely lazy when I'm unmotivated.

After IM Canada in August of 2010, I had already signed up for Ironman Coeur d'alene for June 2011 and Hawaii 70.3, also in June of 2011.  I made it to Hawaii and was able to finish that race with very little training, but I knew better than to attempt to do a full Ironman with no training so I bowed out.

During that time after IM Canada, when I should have been biking and swimming in preparation for Hawaii half Iroman, I was in the gym doing weights and on the exercise bike.  I only rode my real bike three times during those months and I got in the pool a total of 5 times (okay maybe 4 times) to make sure I could swim the 1.2 mile swim without drowning.

One reason I was able to not only finish Hawaii 70.3 and not be so sore the next day I couldn't move, I blame entirely on the increase in weight training and core training, done every single day in the gym.  No 3 hour bike rides or 1 hour swim session.  I did 13 mile runs with the Nazi once a week and the rest of the time, I was in the gym.

I still haven't been on my tri bike much this summer or in the pool at all, but I did do a sprint triathlon last month and was only 1 minute slower than the last time I did that triathlon two years ago.   And my bike time was faster than ever.  It was my run time that was slower and it's the only thing I been doing consistently outside the gym.  I think that is because I haven't done speed work in a while and I've trained for and run two marathons which automatically slow me down.  Overall, I was very happy with the results and my first place age group finish.

I blame my increase in weight training on the Murph.  It's all he does and he's in great shape.  My job is to get him doing more cardio.  This hasn't worked.  He can be very stubborn and hates cardio.  It's amazing how he and the Boy can come up with a zillion excuses when they don't want to do something.

My new training schedule will more than likely have to change to include more time on my actual bike and certainly more time in the pool if I'm ever going to do an Ironman or half Ironman again (which I am),  but for now this plan is totally working for me.  I do 30 minutes on the exercise bike, elliptical or treadmill and then 30 more minutes on weights, stretching and core every single day.

I am loving not having to drag myself to the pool to swim mindless laps for an hour.  The sprint triathlon was a short 400 yard lake swim.  I wasn't fast, but I was the same as two years ago and my arms weren't tired at all.  They are very strong thanks to the weight training.  I love it!  Once I combine the two, swimming laps with the weight training, I should be a much stronger swimmer than ever.

Thanks Murph!

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Obsessive Compulsive Triathlete Behavior- Part 2

Finish line

Just in case you didn't get enough of the post on my bitching about The Murph blowing off my need to get the "best" parking spot at the race last Saturday, here's part 2 of my obsessive compulsive behavior when it comes to racing.  This one involves the swim.

For most triathletes, routines are just good thing to have to be prepared and relaxed on race day.  For me it gets a little obsessive compulsive because I tend to get overly upset when my routine gets screwed up in any way.  A little flexibility would be good in those situations.

This is when the line of who has Asperger's, me or my son, gets a little blurry.  I don't have Asperger's, but can so totally relate when it comes to routines.  I haven't had a full blown melt down yet because I can usually blow off steam by general bitching about whatever it is I don't like.

In the race I did Saturday, the swim start is by your race number.  Everybody lines up numerically and goes in the water one at a time.  Your number is usually based on your estimated swim time that you use to register for the race.  This has been a source of anxiety for me since I started doing this race in 1999.

Egg Heads!

It is great for beginners because they avoid the rush of 100's of swimmers entering the water at the same time and kicking you in the face or swimming over you, but it's not good for me.  Standing in line very long is just not good.  My swim time is generally slow so I always put a faster number on the registration form so I won't have to wait at the back of the line and get in the water last.

Unfortunately, since I registered late I didn't get the benefit of being lined up by swim time.  Not only that, but I was in the 400's getting in the water.  I thought maybe I could get the race director to bump me up so I could get in the water sooner.  I've done this before.  I had even mentioned the fact that I was going to do just that to L that morning, who's husband J was doing the race and I've raced with them for years.

I looked over and both L and J were looking at me waiting to see if I was going to approach T, the race director as she was getting everybody lined up and in the water.  I hesitated.  I hovered nearby but was a little scared to approach her.  She was probably deliberately ignoring me because she knows I pull this stunt every year and she probably knows I lie about my swim time.

Lined up for the swim...

Finally, I gave up and walked over to L and J, who was in the 400's as well.  L then told me that J tried to get bumped up last year and T made an example of him for registering late and wouldn't let him bump up.    Poor J.  He looked beat!  I was glad I didn't attempt it and a little miffed that L didn't tell me that earlier when I first told her I was going to try to get bumped up. I didn't do the race last year and things have apparently changed.

L and J were waiting to see if I was going to get blasted down by T and made an example too!!

I am kind of proud of myself that I stayed within my number and was over 400 in the water with 100's of beginners doing the back stroke, floating on their backs and hanging onto the buoys in front of me.  People if you can't freestyle it for 400 yds maybe you should reconsider till next year!  Just sayin!  I can't tell you how many back strokers I almost swam up on, face to face, up close and personal.

I learned how to swim freestyle in my thirties by reading a book on master swimming and getting in the pool when nobody was around.  I was slow, but between March and the June race day, I built up to being able to swim over 600 yds freestyle straight.  No back stroke or back floating.  If I can do it anybody can.

A couple of years ago, I would not have been able to handle not being one of the first 100 in the water.  Just couldn't do it.  My entire race would have been ruined.

This year I spent the night before the race obsessing over it and the morning of the race thinking up strategies on how to convince T to bump me up, but being the chicken that I am,  I ended up not doing anything and hallelujah, I survived it!

I survived!!!

The End.

Obsessive Compulsive Triathlete Behavior - Part 1

Yesterday I competed in my first triathlon of the season.  It is a local sprint triathlon that I have been doing  for years and actually was my very first one almost 14 years ago.  It's a very short 400 yd swim, 13 mile bike ride, and 3 mile run.   I decided to do it at the last minute even though I haven't been in the pool since last October.  I don't swim fast anyway so it really doesn't matter.  I thought I could handle 400 yds even if I had to dog paddle.

I have only been on my bike about twice since October unless you count the exercise bike at the gym.  I showed up for a group ride on Wednesday just to make sure I could still ride without training wheels.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Not only was I able to stay balanced, but I kept up with the top two guys and we left the rest of the group behind.  Near the end of the ride, one of the guys looked over at me and said, "Man, you're fast!  This is a really fast group and you are in the front!"

Made my day!  Usually, I'm coughing up a lung, wheezing and turning blue as I see all the riders pass me and leave me in their dust.  Humiliated.

Over the past 14 years I have developed certain "routines" that I do the night before a race and the day of the race.  The Murph doesn't really understand obsessive compulsive behavior.  He's a little bewildered that someone who is usually really laid back and sweet (ok, that's a lie) suddenly has turned into this thing with snakes coming out of her head.

He totally didn't understand the importance of a good parking spot close to the transition area.  I have a particular spot where I like to park and in order to get that spot, I generally have to be one of the first to get in the park.  I will wake up at 4 a.m. and get there by 5 to get THAT spot.  Unfortunately, the race directors changed the entire course last year (I didn't do the race last year) and didn't let me know.

The transition area was in an entirely different spot therefore my "choice" parking spot was in a different lot up the hill closer to transition.  That's my goal.  As close to transition as possible.   I did a complete survey of the area on Friday at packet pickup to decide on a new "choice" spot.

You can see the best parking spot through the trees here.

When I got home, I let The Murph know that we had to get there early so I could direct him to the "choice" parking spot.  The Murph said that was way to early to get to a race that didn't start until 7:30 a.m.  Since he was going to have to wait on me to finish the race, I decided we could wait a little later to get there that morning.

We got to the park at 6:15 and everybody was already parking two parking lots down.  The Murph said no way was he going up the hill because my "choice" parking spot was probably already taken.  It was getting crowded.

This didn't sit well with me.  I bitched about how far away from transition we were.  I didn't like that lot that we were parked in at all.  As we were walking up the path toward transition, we got to the lot where my "choice" spot was and I saw that there was actually one spot left!

I started bitching about not trying harder to grab that spot.  The Murph gave up too early!

Then we got even closer to transition where people were parking on the side of the road in a dirt field.  An even BETTER spot than my "choice" spot and there were still spots available!

Then to make matters worse I saw a rival that's in my age group and she had a better spot than me!

Steam started to come out of my ears.  The Murph was dodging the snakes that were darting out of my head.

He asked me "Why can't you just have fun and enjoy the race?"

I was confused by that because I was having fun!  Bitching about parking spots just happens to be fun for me.  If you can't bitch about not getting a good parking spot, what can you bitch about?  (Actually, I can find  ALOT of things to bitch about)

But next time I'm driving.

The End.