Training Update - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good -

Love my bike. Love my rides. Love my fellow bike riders. Love...OK, you get the picture. Seriously, the bike is going well. Recently I've had great rides with TRIDi, TGCoach CD and Ironwoman Canada.

I always look forward to rides with TRIDi. She is so much stronger than she gives herself credit for - even before factoring in that she is about to graduate from an accelerated business IT program, works full time and is dedicated to her family, kids, dog and friends. Our rides are tough, but always full of fun moments and great conversation.

TGCoach CD kindly agreed to meet with me for a ride before I left for Phoenix. We made this year's first pilgrimmage to Miller's Lane, with her devious hills and cruel teases. TGCoach CD helped me feel more comfortable with my natural tendencies for dealing with traffic and worked my butt off trying to teach me how to attack hills as we rode the Capital One loop a bunch of times. Build up speed, rise off your seat, come out with acceleration.

Ironwoman Canada and I ventured out on her 5 county course this week. She claims riding with me is fine. It is like the third or fourth time she has been on her bike in over two years due to injury and having a baby - though her rockstar abilities were obvious - I don't think she broke a sweat while I panted and gasped for air more times than I want to remember. She made me pull for over half of the ride, giving me pointers for climbing tough Patterson hills and yelling at me to PEDAL when hitting descents I'd normally coast (and brake) through (I learned that bike breaks were reserved for after the workout, not during) - making this training ride with notable winds and tough climbs within seconds of my White Lake half IM race pace.

Now Patriot Sangria's life would be perfect if we could throw in a few bike rides with more TRIgirls (DL, Annn and MS, among others!), Barricudas (BL and BN) - and the rest of the winter posse!

The Bad -

While my swim training has seemingly remained on track, I had a rude awakening during a core workout when I couldn't put my left arm into the correct position for a lat pull exercise because it.would.not.go. Right arm - perfect, left - a mess. My shoulder pain has fluctuated from tolerable to annoying to more uncomfortable than I want to admit - and when Ironwoman Canada told me "This is not good," I scheduled an appointment with Dr. S for this coming Tuesday. All signs are pointing to tendonitis - and I'm hoping that a good cortizone shot will reduce the inflammation so I can build up strength and flexiblity.

The Ugly -

I've been struggling with running since the SF. Though I am gradually upping the distance, my pace is all over the place. The dreaded side stitch from my early running days has returned, usually around mile 2.5. During my t-run yesterday, I tried running up hills for the first time since SF - and it was not fun. I am grateful that my foot is feeling fine, but also realize I've lost some ground and have my work cut out for me for Placid.

Laborious Training Days Weekend – the Good, the Bad..and the Ugly

With over 90 miles biked, 13 miles ran and a few miles swam, this Labor weekend featured several good, bad and ugly moments.

The good…

Faster than a Cervelo P3,
More powerful than a dolphin,
Able to leap roadkill in a single bound,
Look, all around Richmond!

It’s a Sherpa!
In a van!
It’s SuperAnnn!

Yes, SuperAnnn once again came to the rescue this Saturday as TRIgirl DL, her BF and I braved congested roads, bumpy bridges and crazy hills. From heckling us in her van to following us to Starbucks – SuperAnnn made sure her triathlon friends were taken care of – even cheering us up during our water stop, breaking out her van’s GPS to find alternate routes and featuring her weary friends in one of her creative blog posts.


The bad…

Sunday’s two hour run was even more grueling due to the oppressive humidity that completely soaked my clothes, even my sneakers (mind you, there was no rain), after five miles. Top it off by compounding some small aches and pains (most likely related to worn out sneakers) with a nice case of shin splints.


The ugly…

Imagine cruising along, by yourself, on your bike, the weather better than it has been all weekend, when a buzzing mass kamikaze dives onto your head. Like through the slits in your helmet. You think to yourself, no, there is no way. But then you sense something walking on your scalp. You still can’t believe it, but stop, pull off your helmet to feel a very large bug (Wasp? Cricket?) annoyed and quickly wishing to escape your nest of hair.

Top Brick Moments

This Saturday's brick - a 30 mile bike ride and 10 mile run - definitely had some good, bad and ugly moments.

The Top 5 Bad and Ugly:

1. Totally screwed up the gearing with Patriot Sangria on nasty hill number two by crossing the "waited too long to go into my small chain ring" point. Ended up having to escape the bike vs. toppling over.
2. The last 4 of the 10 mile run. Most of my running buddies were on the half ironman schedule - with a 6 mile run. Without their company, the weather seemed hotter, my water breaks were longer and my legs felt increasingly tired.
3. The ugly blister on my pinky toe after the run.
4. The bizarre heat or sweat rash that appeared the morning after the brick - 50 tiny little puss pimples. Gross. This is the second time this has happened to me after a long workout. Does this happen to anyone else? Any ideas how to prevent it?
5. No TRIgirl coffee. Other than TRIgirl CD and her husband, West Creek was empty by the time I finished the brick.

The Top 5 Good:

1. Awesome new bike route plotted out by TRIgirl CD which starts at West Creek and winds through the rural backroads of four counties. Lovely scenery, quiet roads, great company. Nice little bonus - the bike route was actually 37 vs. 30 miles.
2. Patriot and I made peace on the rolling hills and the one nasty hill TRIgirl CD mentioned. (I thought the worst was over until I hit the second one, which must not have phased our route planner as she is a rock star cyclist.) I am starting to figure out the gears I need to be in with her to not loose too much cadence when climbing some hills.
3. Getting through the 10 mile run. The first six miles with TRIgirls SD, MW, KO, LD and MW went well. We frequently found ourselves dropping below the 10:30-11:00 minute miles we were aiming for - sometimes even seeing paces in the 9 minute range. I could have justified stopping at 6 because the bike was longer than planned. I pushed for 8 to try and meet last week's long brick run, then decided to try for 9 to add 1 mile, then figured it was only 1 more mile to hit the 10. I've really been trying to remind myself that to finish Ironman Florida, I will have to push myself when my mind or body wants to quit. I am hoping that plugging through the tough workouts will help build my confidence and will be something I can remember and draw from this November.
4. The water stop set up by TRIgirl CD and her husband that became our nirvana every three miles for fabulously chilled water to drink - and to dump on our sweaty selves.
5. The wonderful two hour post workout snooze - nothing like a good nap after a draining brick workout!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Chapter 1

When I first started this blog, I mentioned there would be times when I’d share the good, the bad and the ugly. The past few days have seen a little of each.

The Good
90 minute bike class on Saturday – Tightened my trainer to almost Coach B’s standards. One and a half hours in aero position. Actually enjoyed the standing drills at levels 9 and 10. After class, Coach B said I did well in the aero. Felt strong.

Five mile easy run on Sunday – Met up with TRIgirls DL, Devil Face, TD, SJG, and LD at my favorite local park for a two loop run, including hills. Was my best time of day to run (late morning) and my preferred weather conditions (cool and dry). Finished up the last mile of run with TRIgirl SJG at a 9:15 pace – and, for once, felt like it was a little push, rather than a major effort, to keep up that stride.

The Bad
Missed the Saturday pre-bike run - Made the choice to stay in bed for an extra hour instead of doing dreaded half mile repeats. Little bit of guilt, but I got over it.

The Ugly
February’s schedule – Received our schedules for February. Runs are gearing up – several 6 and 8 mile brick workouts. Did I read that right – is there a day where we do 6 half mile repeats?

Floor work during this morning’s swim – Knew it couldn’t be good when the other guppies started groaning when Ironwoman Canada laid down mats at the far side of the pool. Boy, were they right. Swim 50 fast, plank pose for a minute, swim 50 fast, “V” kick for a minute, swim 50 fast, wall sit for a minute, swim 50 fast, push ups for a minute – repeat from beginning. And, oh, did I mention, throw in some sculling afterwards for good measure? Could barely lift myself out of the pool after the hour.