good swim

Swim 4000yd [1:10]
Main set: 4 x 650 as (50 fast/150 mod/100 fast/100 mod/200 fast/50 mod)

I felt great today and was able to hit my threshold pace on the fast sections of these 650's. I couldn't be more thrilled with the fact that I am not tired after that ginormous workout yesterday. (Bison burgers and spinach to the rescue!) I am also very happy with the fact that these longer swims aren't feeling mentally long or boring anymore. I'm used to the time in the water and able to focus through to the end. The endurance has come back like I never took any time away from the water.

weekend 9: 5k and race rehearsal

Saturday
Tiger 5K Run, Dripping Springs TX
[22:24 with mile splits 7:17(HR 157), 6:50 (HR 164), 7:34 (HR 165)]
1st in age group, 4th female overall

It was time again for a lactate threshold run test, and this small race was a good place to do the test. It was a benefit for the high school marching band so there was band music at each mile mark. The whole thing was charming and well organized so it was fun, but the course was challenging and not a great place for a PR. There were a lot of gradual inclines and a massive mountain in mile 1. I was 60 seconds slower than when I did my 5K run test last month.  I still managed to win my age group and bring home a locally-made jar of black bean and corn salsa as my prize :) George was a good cheerleader.



Strength workout
50 Manmakers (5lb dumbbell and knee pushups) - 13:19
3 rounds Bear crawl: front, back, right side, left side

---

Sunday - race rehearsal day
Swim 3200m (1:04) - open water with wetsuit at Barton Springs
Bike 60 miles (3:31) - rolling hills, rode tri bike
Run 7.5 miles (1:00)
[5:35]

Nutrition
Breakfast - 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 banana, omega-3 pill (about 400 cal)
T1 - 1 Nutrigrain bar (130 cal)
Bike - 30 oz water, 2 Nuun tablets, 2 fig bars, 1/3 cup raisins, 12 almonds, Justin's nut butter packet (about 600 cal)
T2 - 1 Nutrigrain bar (130 cal)
Run - water

It recently remembered that I am doing the Lonestar 70.3 in Galveston TX in two weeks. Yikes, where did that come from? I was glad to have this training day to practice execution for a long day. Everything went very smoothly for the most part, and I felt great on the run. A good run is concrete proof that execution was good. I was a bit low on calories and water the whole day, but I had enough just to slide by without bonking. The day was cool with a light mist, so I didn't need as much as I would have if it were sunny. It was a long day mentally. As I think back, I'm not sure what I thought about that whole time. I think I keep my eye on the road ahead and keep my mind focused on having my body move as quickly and efficiently as possible at all times.

When I was done with all this, I scarfed down some leftover veggies and fajitas that I had waiting for me in the car. It really is all about the food.

Week 9 of 20, complete!

weekly catch-up post

Just a quick post to log my workouts for this week:

Wednesday
Rest day and massage. Ooooh, my calves were really tight.


Thursday
Run 5 miles [44 minutes]
easy with 8x30 seconds pickups

Swim 3800
Main set:
300, 3x100, 400, 4x100, 500 (all at threshold pace, close to 1:30/100)


Friday
Swim 4000
Main set: 300 (10 sec), 400 (20 sec), 500 (30 sec), 600 (30 sec), 500

bike tt = leg burn at low heart rate

Bike Time Trial
[Time Trial 40 minutes: 13.25 miles = 20mph, HR 137]
Total ride time 1:10
Last time I did this test, I averaged 19.5mph and my average heart rate was 152. That was on my road bike on a rolling course and today I used my tri bike on a flat windy course. I think this result indicates a few things: 1) I am not getting as much power on my tri bike as I do on my road bike, 2) my cardio system is much stronger than my legs. I was pushing my legs to the point of major burn and my heart rate was still amazingly low.

I guess the tri bike gives me more speed at a lower effort level so that's perfect for triathlons. I have also noticed that my brick runs off the tri bike are decent, whereas they are super unpleasant off my road bike.

Brick Run 15 minutes
[1.8 miles]

Strength Session
Set 1: Crossfit "DT"
3 rounds of:
12 deadlifts
9 hang cleans
6 push jerks
(55 lbs)
[7:58]

Set 2
2 rounds of:
10 Step ups each leg with 25 lb plate
10 DB plank row each side with 15 lbs
10 Side lunges each side with 10lb plate

Set 3
40 leg press (110-170, up by 20 by 10's)
50 pullups
50 situps
145 knee pushups

I need to address bike power so I am going to emphasize heavier lower body exercises for a couple weeks. Not going nuts here, just a little extra emphasis.

honoring the animals

I saw a buffalo grazing while I was riding this morning. He and I had our own private moment because no one else was around. He was eating some grass and looked up when I rode by and we made eye contact. This is the first time I have seen a live buffalo since I added bison to my diet.

I got a bad feeling in my gut because I am struggling with the fact that I am eating animals for the sake of athletic performance. I am eating THIS animal. My heart and actions aren't in agreement. I am consciously aware that I am not being mindful. I console myself by honoring the animals for giving up their lives for me.

Bison

Turkey

Salmon

biking fredericksburg

I drove out to Fredericksburg this weekend to do the Easter Hill Country Tour - two days of riding.  I love organized rides because you don't have to plan a route, the turns are all marked, and there is food and water waiting for you at the rest stops.  I had never been out there before but had heard so many good things about the riding. People were right, it is great riding. It is green and the wildflowers are out, the roads are good, there is not much traffic, the hills are challenging but not impossible, the scenery is varied with fields, "mountains", hills, streams and rivers, trees, etc. It reminded me of biking in southern California or Hawaii. It also reminded me of biking the serene and hilly country roads at home in Wisconsin, and made me realize again how much I miss that.  The roads around Austin just aren't quiet and peaceful like that.

Saturday I got bit by a dog as I was riding up a moderate hill. Dogs are an ongoing issue with cycling back roads but this is a first for me. There happened to be a lot of chaos in front of the dog's yard and my leg was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A group of cyclists were passing me, there was an oncoming car and oncoming cyclists, and the dog didn't like all this commotion going on in her area. She was barking at the whole situation and then took my calf in her mouth and bit down. The skin broke a little but it didn't hurt too bad. It's mostly just a bruise now, a day later. The dog was large and heavy and could have bit me a lot harder. I'm thinking this was more of a "courtesy bite" as a way to tell us all to get the heck away from her yard. I do feel some sympathy for her, but I don't like it that people let their dogs run free when they aren't even home.

And with that, week 8 of training is complete! After some extra sleep and food, I am feeling a lot better than I did last week. This coming week is a rest week. I get two complete rest days and a massage :) Time for some serious recovery.


Friday:
Run 5.5 miles with 2x1 mile 
[2x1mi @6:54, 7:21, 45 min total time]

Swim 3400yd [1:02]
Main set:
4 rounds of
25 fast/75 easy,
50 fast/50 easy,
75 fast/25 easy,
100 fast/50 easy
This was an interesting progression, interesting in that it kept my mind busy the whole time and the recoveries were varied but all active. I liked this.

Saturday:
Bike 70 miles [4:42, hilly]
Kerrville north towards Fredericksburg, very sunny and hot... and wind. Lots and lots of hills.

Sunday:
Bike 36 miles [2:20, rolling]
South of Kerrville, rode in the rain.

Brick Run 1 mile [9 minutes]

time to recalibrate

I am getting to near meltdown point and need to make some time to get in tune with my body and mind so I can figure out what is going on. I am very tired and sleepy, nearly at the point of needing to take naps under my desk at work. I am hungry all the time. I feel like my body composition is going in the wrong direction and I am getting soft. I am overwhelmed by my training schedule and don't have mental freshness going into the workouts. It feels like a grind and is more work than fun.

I know this is all part of Ironman training. If all I had to do was train and rest, it wouldn't be so bad, but work also has to fit in the picture. I'm thinking of the 20 week Ironman training plan like a 20 mile run: one week of the plan = one mile of the run. It's mile 8 right now and I am tired, but still have a lot left to go. This is the time to pull out my mental strategies to make it through. Time to recalibrate, refocus, and freshen things up.

Here are a few things I'm doing to help:
1) take a complete day off - no work or training. just rest and fun. that's tomorrow.
2) log my food for a couple of days - find out if i really am off track or just feel like it
3) go to Fredericksburg this weekend for my riding - new scenery, new people
4) do some journaling to get even more clarity on things

---
Today:

Run 5 miles easy
[44 minutes]

Yesterday:
Swim 3800yd, 1:10
Main set: 7x300

Strength Session
3 rounds (1 minute each):
Bosu pushups
Single leg step up and press with 15lb med ball
Plank to pushup
Plank side-to-side jumps
--
20 walk out pushup and walk back, to shoulder press
10 V-up and arm row
15 walk out pushup
5 V-up and arm row
2x10 renegade row
3x10 leg press
30 assisted pullups

pancakes!

Long run - 15 miles
[2:07 (8:28 pace)]
6am: Town lake trail and campus loop, completely dark, almost full moon. Me: exhausted, working through it, steady pace for the whole run. This run was about getting the work done. I love my long runs but today it took a little more mental strength than usual. My glutes and hamstrings are sore and tight. I felt kind of sick for the rest of the morning - couldn't tell if it was extreme hunger or nausea or both.

I went to Magnolia and had a full stack of gingerbread pancakes with bananas and blueberries (carb overload), then slept for 5 hours. I never eat carbs like that anymore. Today I had a feeling that my body wanted it and I was happy to oblige :)

ok, this was a lot of workouts

I did all my workouts back-to-back today for one mega-session lasting about 3 hours in the evening. There was no way cooking dinner was going to happen after that so I took myself out to dinner at Zen Cafe and had salmon, veggies, and brown rice. Yum.

This training is starting to get relentless. I called today a "half rest day" because I only had to work out in the afternoon and not the morning. I look forward to half rest days. Mo thinks my half rest day idea is funny since they aren't really rest days. I look for rest anywhere I can.

Also, I have started to get to the point where I am hungry all the time. All the time. I eat a full meal and then am hungry for another full meal in 2-3 hours. Honestly I am getting a little tired of all the food. I've started eating more peanut butter because it has lots of calories without being a big deal to eat. I'm limiting my starchy carbs, but paleo and zone are out the window.  I don't know how to sustain them with this amount of training and rampant hunger.
 Pushup Challenge
23-25-20-20-25 = 113 total
Still chipping away at this challenge. Now it's a way of life.

Crossfit WOD
3 rounds for time:
21 KB swings (20lb)
12 pullups (green band)
6 burpees
[6:46]
I bet I could move to the black band for less assistance on those pullups.

Swim 3000yd, 56 minutes
Main set was 2 rounds of:
8x50 hard on 1 minute
400 hard
[round 1: 50s@38-40sec, 400@6:02]
[round 2: 50s@39-41sec, 400@6:06]
Shoulder busters. I stayed fairly consistent. The workout actually called for 3 rounds but by the last round I couldn't hold my pace and started to get foot cramps. I let myself off the hook today.

Bike 60 minutes with intervals:
10 min (4 min rec)
12 min (4 min rec)
16 min (4 min rec)

Run 3.3 miles, trail run
28 minutes
Not too bad. I felt best after 20 minutes into it but then I started to get hungry.

Nelo's and TrevAthlete

Bike 68 miles, 4:10
When the sun came up at 7am, I was out the door on my ride this morning. It's been so windy lately, getting stronger as the day goes on, and I wanted to beat it this time.  There were no cars on the road that early, which made for some nice riding. I took roads that I could never go on because of crazy traffic during normal hours. The route was my house to Liberty Hill (north of Austin) and back via Spicewood and Parmer and Jollyville. The wind was already out when I got to Parmer at 8am and I averaged about 10mph for at least an hour headed north, but as the morning went on the wind got stronger and lucky me got to turn around. On the way home, I had some long stretches where I was going 30mph and didn't have enough gears to go harder. Wheee!


----

Nelo's Pro Cycles (http://www.neloscycles.com/) in affiliation with TrevAthlete coaching (http://trevathlete.com/)  is sponsoring me this year. This is my first sponsorship and triathlon team so I'm pretty excited to see what the year has in store.

I discovered Nelo's shop last year when I was looking for an alternative bike shop to get a tune-up and wheel-truing for my road bike. Nelo's was close to my house so I took a chance on a shop that was a bit off the beaten path... it turned out to be the best tune-up I had ever gotten. The shifting was smoother than ever and the wheels were perfectly true. I like that the shop is casual without hype and egos, but caters to serious cyclists. I was never made to feel conscious about being a "girl in a bike shop" by having my bike knowledge questioned or underestimated. I'm happy to help promote Nelo's. I've tried a lot of shops in Austin and they have the best service and fittings around.

Nelo, thanks for the cool jersey and vest! :)

Race report and photos

Champions Olympic Distance Triathlon
1500m swim (25min)
42k bike (1:20)
6.2 mile run (46min)
[2:34 total]
1st place age group 30-34
5th female overall

I had a very solid race today - hard steady effort throughout, no logistical or gear issues, smooth fast transitions, nutrition was good. The swim was cold (~60 degrees) but I was going so hard and thinking about swimming straight with good form that I didn't really have time to notice. The bike course was gently rolling with a lot of turns, a lot of wind, and variably bumpy road surfaces. I was glad to have my tri bike so I could get down and be as aero as possible.

The run was two laps on a trail around the lake. The sun came out so it started to get warm, but the wind was still strong which meant that half of each lap had a headwind. The tailwind was very nice when running the other way. Mo came with me to spectate and told me my current placement each time she saw me so I knew I was 5th going in to the run. I would have liked to move up a few places but I couldn't make up 3 minutes and ended up 5th overall.

My final time of 2:34 was a 2 minute PR for this distance, but it was on a course where the bike course was 2k longer. I was trying to go under 2:30 and probably would have done it on a standard distance course.

Transition area

Coming out of the swim

Halfway through the run

Coming in to the finish

Hello podium

Post-race

race tomorrow

Champions Olympic distance Triathlon

Bike... check.
Wetsuit... check.
Neoprene cap for 58 degree water... check.
Justin's Peanut Butter... check.
Other gear... check.
Rested up... check.
Good focused attitude... check.

all good

Swim 3200yd
[59:39]
Main set: 5x300@4:23,4:24,4:24,4:28,4:33
My goal pace for those was 4:30 so I came in just under that as an average. 4:23 may even be a PR. For the amount that I am swimming these days (relatively little), I can't believe that I am able to tie and set PRs... could it be all the pushups and pullups? No doubt that all the Crossfit has dramatically increased my upper body strength. This is all good.

Bike roughly 60 minutes, roughly 15 miles
No numbers today, I just went out on my road bike and got my legs moving. I am fairly tight and sore from Tuesday, even after the massage yesterday. It was sunny but very windy, and felt good to work.

--
Champions olympic distance triathlon: T - two days. I can count on one hand the number of olympic distance races I have done in the past. Maybe 3? 1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6 mile run. It's a challenging distance because you go almost as hard as in a sprint distance race, but for twice as long. Honestly, it's not my favorite distance, but it's a great way to build fitness because you are at lactate threshold the whole time. i.e. it sucks and you think you might vomit. Those are always opportunities not to be missed, right?

That said... I am excited to race and see where my fitness is at right now. I want to practice putting it all together. So tonight I need to get a good long night of sleep, and then tomorrow I will get all my race gear together and write out my race plan.

run/massage

Run 7 miles easy
[1:01]

Massage

long day

Run 12 miles with 3 x 1 mile repeats
[1:38, repeats run at miles 8-10@7:04, 7:09, 6:58]

Crossfit
WOD 1
5 rounds for time:
20 squats
15 sit ups
10 box jumps
5 knees to elbows
[10:38]

WOD 2
30 walking lunges
30 walking lunges with 25lb plate overhead
50 pullups with green band [4:33]

Swim 1500m
Open water at Pure Austin Quarry
Water temp = 59 degrees!!!

get my head ready to race

This is the beginning of Ironman training Week 7. The weeks seem to be flying by now. I'm almost halfway there. This Saturday is my first triathlon of the season and the first one I have done in a year - the Champions Olympic distance triathlon in Pflugerville Texas. I need to spend some time getting my gear ready this week, and getting my head in race mode. It's a transition to go from a steady training groove, to being in a head space ready to take on some hard competitors. I feel confident in what I am doing in all three sports, and just need to sharpen up my race focus.

---
130 Push Ups
Broken up as: 10-35-23-20-15-20-7

Swim 4000yd
[1:11 total time]
4x300 mod-hard (4:44,4:34,4:39,4:35)
4x200 hard (2:59,3:00,3:01,3:01)
6x100 hard (1:29,1:29,1:28,1:29,1:27,1:28)

I got this swim from Terra Castro back when she was coaching me last time I did an Ironman. Her swims were HARD! and I loved them for that. They made me fast. How could you not get faster doing workouts like this? Endurance and speed bundled together to kick your butt. My shoulders were burning by the end of this one but I stayed steady with my pacing.

blah

Bike 1:30
I was trashed after yesterday. Not sore, just tired and sleepy. It took a lot out of me. I went to a party and ate a lot of delicious junk last night, including chocolate birthday cake. I got 8 hours of sleep but it was not enough. It was super windy today and I didn't have much mental motivation to do anything at all. I decided to ride the trainer again, this time at home. I got in the time and did random intervals to keep my mind occupied, but I was watching the clock every minute hoping that more minutes would pass so I could be done. I was going to swim today, but couldn't even get out the door on that one. I am listening to my body and going to let go of any guilt on the quality of today's workouts and just go to bed very early tonight.

Indication that Ironman training volume is increasing....

backyard looks like a forest...

weekend of trainer

Bike 3:50 with intervals7 min (3 min rec), 12 min (4 min rec), 7 min (5 min rec), 3 x 15 min (5 min rec)
It was rainy, windy, and cold so a long ride on the trainer was the only option. I was supposed to ride the Spokes and Spurs organized ride but it was canceled because of weather. Luckily Pure Austin has a good selection of spinning options on Saturday morning. I took my tri bike in there instead of riding a spin bike so I could get in some hours in aero position.

I started with Matt's 90 minute endurance class from 9-10:30. Then I did the prescribed training plan intervals on my own, and ended with Ryon's spin class from 12-12:45. It was a long time, in one place but people were in and out of the room all morning so there was pretty much always something going on. I broke up the time by getting off my bike to get water, kleenexes, go to the restroom, etc. A few friends came over to chat with me during the middle section.

The intervals were mentally hard because from beginning to end, they add up to 1:38, which is a ton of time to be pushing to Z4 on a trainer. I put my mind in race scenario and imagined chasing or being chased to help keep me going hard. I listened to my favorite running songs and imagined how hard I would be working if I were doing these intervals as run repeats.

Brick Run 3 miles
24:15 (12:50/11:25)
I got off my bike and headed directly for the treadmill. When I first started, it was a strange feeling - my quads weren't tight or sore at all like they usually are but... my kneecaps felt like they might give out. Yes, my kneecaps. After a few minutes it worked itself out. What is up with that tri bike position? With my fresh quads and warmed up heart and lungs, I nailed this run. I can't believe I was able to run that fast after 4 hours on the bike.

swim and waffles

Swim 3300yd
[1:07, MS: 3x(4x100 descend,100 easy), 2x200,6x25]
At 6:15am it is still dark. Big Stacy pool is lit by a floodlight, steam rising off the water, lifeguard at his post snuggled up in a thick warm coat. There are a few swimmers already there. It's about 50 degrees and the air feels cold as I strip out of my sweats and into my suit. The cement is cold on my toes. The water feels cold at first but after about 4 laps, I am warm. I go through my intervals, checking them off one by one. I crush the speedwork. It stays dark until 7:15 and the sun has barely come up when it's time to get out.

Waffle Breakfast @ 24 Diner
From left to right:
Veggie Sausages - spicy, quinoa-based, delicious.
Eggs - scrambled, moist, tasty
Waffles - melted in my mouth, homemade texture, maple butter on the side, wow!
This food was outstanding.

anyone want to do my dishes?

Long Run - 14 miles 
1:55 total
7 miles on Exposition/Pecos route, challenging hills - 55:30
7 miles at Town Lake trail, flat and gently rolling, last 3 miles as 3x1200 hard/400 easy - 59:30

I was super fresh and strong for the first half.  I've never run the full length of Pecos but those hills are tough and awesome for training. Things were all going well but in the last 4 miles my legs had some trouble. I have to say, I'm tired. The fatigue of all this is starting to build up. The fastest I could go on the 1200s was about a 7:50 pace. Haha. That's tired. I ate a handful of raisins in the middle and had a bite of almond butter at mile 10. I am really loving the Justin's Nut Butter single serving packets... they are like gels but more calories and not full of sugar.

Core
100 situps
60 tic-toks - bar held with straight arms above head, tilt upper body from side to side using obliques

--
What's my daily weekday schedule like, you ask? It's kinda like this:
6 - wake up
6:30 - start first outdoor workout - usually run or swim
8 - go to Pure Austin downtown gym to stretch, foam roll, strengthening exercises, shower
9 - eat breakfast and go to work
5 - leave work and drive through traffic to get home or to get to Pure Austin north
5:30 - start second workout
7:30 - go home and eat
8:30 - hang out, relax, pack workout bag and prepare food for the next day
10:30 - sleep

This is the constant grind of the IM training. There's very little time for anything else, even on this "reduced volume" plan I am on. Days with only one workout, or a set I can finish up in the morning are a gift. I need someone to do my dishes and laundry for me. Any takers?

do the work

Swim 3600yd
[1:10, MS: 4x200 moderate w/paddles, 4x200 match paddle pace, 6x100, 6x 25h/25e]


Bike 60 minutes w/ 10 min, 15 min, 10 min
Loops on Shoal Creek/Great Northern with tri bike
[1:03, one loop (3.5 miles) = 10:28, 10:38]

Brick Run - 20 minutes negative split
[18:42 as 9:55 out, 8:40 back - in neighborhood]

Not much to say here. Some days it's just about doing the work. And as we all know, #workworks.

big pr on fight gone bad

This is the first day of week 6 of Ironman training. I feel great.


Run 7 miles with 5x800
[1:01, 800 splits: 3:24, 3:21, 3:18, 3:18, 3:19]
Rainy morning led me to the treadmill. These repeats were pretty darn fast.

Pushup Challenge
20-25-20-20-28
My shoulders were about to fall off during the last set.

Bike 45 minutes - Spin class
This was not on the training schedule but I wanted to do it. I miss seeing my friends for the usual weekday evenings at the gym.

Pullup Challenge
100 as 10x10. Got er done. Help from green band.

Crossfit Fight Gone Bad
3 rounds of one minute of each, with one minute rest between rounds.
Row (for calories)
Push Press (45 lb)
Sumo Deadlift High Pull (45 lb)
Box Jump (20 inch)
Wall Ball (10 lb)
Result:
round 1=87
round 2=84
round 3=85
total score=256

I did this same workout on Jan 11, and my score was a mere 207. MAJOR PR today! After all the stuff I did today before this workout, that is extra amazing.

50 miles on tri bike

Bike 50 miles - Mansfield Dam Loop
[2:50]
This was my first long ride on my triathlon bike since getting it set up and things went well. I was almost 20 minutes faster this weekend than when I did this same ride on my road bike last weekend. I felt comfortable being aero and had no trouble with the saddle. The main adjustment I need to make is getting used to riding standard gearing. I'm used to my compact on my road bike and now I don't have the extra easy gear.  There were a few hills today where I was reduced to a very slow grind but I think I can get stronger by leaving things the way they are. IM Coeur d'Alene is flat and rolling.

Swim 2000yd - MS: 7x150 descend
[37 min]
An easy stretch out swim to get me up to three swims this week. I felt better after I did this than before. It got out the bike cooties.

nutrition grade for the day = B

Bike 60 miles - Out and back to Johnson City
[3:44 total as negative split 1:54, 1:50]
The route today was an out and back from Fitzhugh/290 to Johnson City and back. This was really an ideal ride - little traffic, rolling hills the whole way, one road with no turns, beautiful scenery and sun. Endurance Nation coach Patrick rode with me on the way out and then took off to hammer the way back.

Brick Run - 3 miles at Town Lake
[24:51]
First mile: ugh. Second mile: holding on. Third mile: ugh. I felt like I wasn't moving and couldn't move my legs, but my pace wasn't too bad. These brick runs are never a fun way to end the day.

My goal was to have good nutrition on the ride so I would feel good on the run. See yesterday's post for my menu. I did pretty well but not perfect so I give myself a B for the day. I had enough calories and didn't feel bonky, but I didn't drink enough water. I had only about 32 ounces during the ride and some water in the car on the way to the run, but as I was running my mouth was very dry and my legs had that dehydrated burning feeling.

I still got the work done, and stayed strong for a negative split on the bike so all in all this was a successful day.

preparing to not bonk

Swim 3200yd
MS= 4x300, 8x100
[1:05]
Not bad. A touch slow but getting in the yards today.

Tonight I met up with Endurance Nation coach Patrick who is visiting Austin for the weekend. He and I are going to ride 60 miles to Johnson City on Fitzhugh Rd tomorrow morning and then go to Town Lake for a brick run. The weather is going to be perfect so I have a feeling that everyone in Austin will be out.

Here's my food for tomorrow's workout:
1 small banana
2 fig bars
raisins
almonds
2 tbsp cinnamon peanut butter
I'll also be drinking my water with Nuun tablets.
This might be more food than I need, but my goal is to finish the bike feeling fueled up, and finish the run not hungry. I tend to eat too little on long workouts and end up ravenous and cranky at the end, barely making it home without meltdown. I would like to change that.

smoothie bonus

Run 13.5 miles as 5.5 miles hilly out and back with negative split, 2 miles@7:40 pace, 2 miles easy, 2x1200@7:30 pace (0.5 mile easy rec), 2.5 miles easy
[1:48 total]
Long run days are still my favorite day of the week. It's such a treat to be able to just run... no dealing with the swim or bike gear, just the simplicity of going out with my shoes and ipod. This run went well and I feel strong. I sure do a lot of running under an 8 minute pace these days. It's cool how much faster I have gotten and how this pace feels normal. It's also cool how I can whip off a long run like this and then head to work without needing any sort of extended recovery. Heck, I'm not even the least bit sore.

After my run I went to Daily Juice and got myself a deluxe large smoothie. Mo gave me a Groupon for it, so it was totally free :) I got "The Subliminator": blueberries, banana, coconut water, rice protein, peanut butter. Purple and yummy! I sipped on that as I headed over to Pure Austin for my pushups, stretch and roll session, and shower.

Push Up Challenge
18-22-16-16-25
[8:28]
That's 97 pushups!

wheeee!

Bike 1 hour with 2x12 minutes hard
[1:04, 22 miles]
Today I took my tri bike out for the first test spin since getting new wheels, a new basebar, new saddle, and a fitting. Wow, that thing is FAST! Super-dupa FAST! I rode 22 miles in just over an hour and I would only call today's ride a moderate effort overall. Felt DA carbon frame with SRAM Red components and SRAM S80 wheels. I am going to be flying through my races. Wow, I can't believe my setup. I was even comfortable, and more comfortable in aero-position than upright... that has happened to me... um, never.

Dear Felt Tri Bike,

We have had our issues in the past and I almost sold you, but I take it all back. I fixed you up and gave you some love and now I hope we can patch things up. You do exactly what you were meant to do, and you do it well. Here's to some fast racing this year.

Love,

Margo

max workouts in one day = ...

Run 7.25 miles with 2x1 mile, 1x800, 1x400
[1:01 total, splits: 7:11, 7:08, 3:19, 1:30]
This was a very solid run. I was particularly happy to nail the 800 and 400 as the last thing in the workout.

Swim 3500yd
[1:03@ Big Stacy pool]
This was my longest swim of the year so far and my body must be remembering previous training because the distance wasn't a problem at all. My shoulders were a bit sore at the beginning but loosened up.

Pullup-Pushup Challenge
16-21-15-15-25
I'm still doing knee pushups but they are starting to get a lot easier. They are much easier than pullups, even assisted ones with my green band. This was 92 total reps of each and took me about 15 minutes.

Crossfit Nancy
5 rounds of:
400m run
15 Overhead squats

Bomb! After all the other workouts and a full day of work, plus not having eaten enough, I was on empty and had no energy for this. I slogged out the 400s on the track and used PVC pipe for the overhead squats. My body is getting less flexible as I ramp up the swim-bike-run and my range of motion on the OHS is awful. I felt like I cheated by going slow and light. I probably should have just gone home to rest instead. Oh well, the key workouts of the day were good and that's all that matters.

Dinner
quinoa
4 oz lean beef cooked on foreman grill
cabbage, carrots, and garlic
avocado
a lot of hot sauce
blueberries and cherries

Sunday Ride

Bike 3 hours: 45 minutes warmup, 60 minutes steady Z3, 90 minutes steady
[48 miles, 3:04]

I rode the Mansfield Dam loop. It was a good strong ride until I started to get hungry...
Nutrition: 1 scoop Clif shot + Nuun, 1/2 bottle water, raisins and dried apples
This was not enough food and I was starving by the end. I added on a 10 minute run because I know I need brick practice, but it sucked the whole time. It was raining by then anyway and I was ready to go home. I got the work in and was done by noon on Sunday.  Week 4 done.

Some days I'm not in the mood for meat, but today I was.. I got dinner at Torchy's Tacos and had one taco with chicken and one with skirt steak beef (!).

Epic day

Run 8 miles with 5k race
[61 min total]
5k result: 21:25 as 6:59 (mile 1, gradual incline), 7:22 (mile 2, hilly), 7:04 (mile 3.1, gradual down, average HR 161, max HR 170.
 
I did a 2.5 mile warmup jog with some pickups to get my legs moving, then jumped into the Texas Independence Day 5k for my week 4 run time trial. The course was an out and back on Congress Ave with some hills around the Capitol building. I started out hard, went hard in the middle, and finished hard :) I was the first female finisher!

Although it feels like less of a victory since the competition wasn't too great, it was my first experience of being the first finisher of a running race. I was first for the entire second half and people were cheering for me "go first woman!" along the course. I felt fast and focused, and imagined that I was first in a big race. I imagined a close competitor trying to chase me down and pushed myself to the limit to stay in front. I couldn't have asked for a better scenario for my run test. After the race, I cooled down with 2.5 miles on the trail, happy and satisfied at the work done this morning.

Swim 1 mile
[29 minutes]
Moderate pace continuous pool swim. This swim wasn't on the training plan but I want to get more accustomed to swim volume so I added it. No big deal, just time in the water.

Pure Austin Fitness Expo
- Kettlebell class
- Agility and conditioning class (plyometrics) with ex-pro football player
- TRX System class
- Hip-hop dance cardio class

I look forward to this event each year because Pure Austin offers a sampling of back-to-back classes and workshops all day long, with free food and prizes. It's a fun time to hang out with all my gym friends, try some new things, and meet new people and instructors. The morning started off with a turkey and egg breakfast burrito which was perfect after my run. I had two cups of coffee, which I normally don't drink, so I was super pumped up and caffeinated all day.

The kettlebell session was more like a demo than a class, but I learned proper technique on KB swings and turkish getups. I asked the trainer about my KB clean form after the class and he proceeded to bash Crossfit for the way they teach people to do it. Arg - never can get away from the controversy of that place.

The conditioning class was a good workout - lots of jumping exercises, squat holds, burpee broad jumps, high knees running - the type of stuff that is bread and butter Crossfit warmup.

Next up: TRX class. The TRX is essentially a strap with handles attached to a fixed overhead anchor. You hold the handles and do a series of upper body and core exercises on it. It's all body weight, so it gets hard quick but everything can be scaled based on the angle that you hold yourself. I learned some new exercises in this class and look forward to incorporating these into my strength workouts. I won a free session with the TRX trainer so I will personally get my butt kicked on this stuff.

Danielle convinced me to try the hip hop dance class with her and I agreed. I secretly admire hip-hop dancers and have been thinking about taking a class anyway. I'm a bit uncoordinated and clumsy about body awareness so I have some fear about it. I decided to go in there, stand in the back away from the mirror and just have fun. It was outside my comfort zone for sure, but it wasn't as scary as I thought and now I feel like I want to give dance another try.

This was an epic day. It was not an epic day as in a painful 8 hour Ironman training brick where I come home dead and grumpy. It was an epic day of 5k victory, running fun, random fun, friends, new exercises, and free food. Days like this renew my love for all things fitness.

Stelvio Pass

Swim 3200yd
- 300/400/300 w/ 20 sec
- 8 x 100 at 1:30 w/ 20 sec
- 6 x 50 as 25 fast/25 easy
[1:03]
Early morning outdoor swim today with pink sunrise and steam rising off the water. This is life in Austin. My arms were screaming since hardly 12 hours had passed since my hard swim last night. My warm oatmeal and hot tea tasted extra yummy this morning.

And this is life in northern Italy... Stelvio Pass... 22km with 7.5% average grade and stunningly beautiful! I am thinking about going to bike this after the Ironman training is over.

Swim TT+

Swim 3000yd with 1000yd time trial
[54 min total,
1000yd in 15:03 as 7:29/7:34
Average 100yd (T-pace) = 1:30]
I was really happy with this time trial! My upper body feels so strong and my stroke felt clean. I have so much more upper body muscle from Crossfit, I know this has to be helping me. I started to get foot cramps at the end and was able to relax through it and not let it affect the test. I sometimes get these if I am dehydrated going into the workout, and sometimes they are worse than other times. My pace during the TT was equal to a 1:04 Ironman. I was going hard, but I know I could have maintained this for longer. After today, I feel great about where my swimming is at.

Crossfit
14-19-14-14-19
Pushups
Assisted pullups
[13:28]
80 reps of each of those is no joke. Nice job Margo.

massage day

Run 5 miles easy
[43 min]
Out of bed and out the door for an easy wake-up jog around the Shoal Creek/Great Northern loop. I wasn't too sore from that killer Crossfit when I woke up but got more sore as the day when on.  I was very grateful that massage day had come around and I would be on the table later in the afternoon. Ouch glutes, ouch IT bands.

bike tt + marley

Bike 75 minutes with 40 minute time trial
[1:25 total riding, 24 miles,
WU: 10 min easy, 3 x 30 sec hard (1 min), 3 x 2min hard (1 min), 3x1 min hard (1 min)
MS: 40 min time trial (12.5 miles=19.5avg, HR 152)
CD: 10 min easy]
The purpose of this time trial was to get my lactate threshold heart rate. 152 seems a bit low to me, but I'm not sure how accurate HR can be in a test like this. Without a competitive race to do this, how can I be sure that I really pushed myself to the max for all 40 minutes? Two years ago when I raced an Olympic distance triathlon I remember my average HR on the bike being 162 for 25 miles. When I was climbing during the TT today, my HR was up around 168 but when I was going all out on the flats it would drop back to the high 140s. Maybe my LTHR has dropped a little since two years ago but I'd say it is more like 157 based on what I observed on my watch today.

Pushup Challenge
12-17-13-13-20

Crossfit Marley
100 hanging leg raises
100 squat jumps
100 KB swing with 25lb
100 burpees
[35:02 (12:48 for burpees)]
The hardest part of this workout was gripping the bar for the hanging leg raises. My hands hurt more than my abs. The second hardest part was doing the burpees after my arms and shoulders were already toast from the KB swings. A few times I got stuck laying face down in the dirt, arms hurting too much to push myself back up. I feel good for making it through this.

what should i name her?

week 3 done

Bike 2 hours
[1:55, 31 miles, mostly flat]
I went on the Jack & Adams sunday morning shop ride. I know group rides are good for me if I want to get faster, but they are my least favorite type of workout. I am not going to talk about why I don't like them because I would rather remain positive and think about how they help me get stronger by forcing me to push myself to keep up with the pack. Yep, another group ride. Check it off. As I was getting back to town, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous of all the people doing their long runs on the trail...

Week 3 of IM training is done. I feel great. Thank you fish oil. Thank you extra sleep.

sun sun sun

Bike 3 hours with 2 x 8 min hard, 1x12 min hard, 2x20 min hard
[~50 miles, Mansfield Dam Loop]
The scenery is beautiful on this ride.... too bad I had my head down hammering those intervals for so much of it... it was no joke on those, that is for sure. I just did the same ones on Wednesday but this time I also had 2x20min and 2 additional hours of riding. I was strong for most of it but lost focus on the last 20 minute interval.

I lost my game in the last hour. I wasn't even that tired, just sort of bored and unfocused. I had to add time to the loop by adding extra miles and I got a little lost so I spent mental energy trying to find my way back instead of pedaling hard. I think I'd be better riding for miles rather than time so I have an incentive to get it done faster. I am a bit disappointed about not nailing this ride but I'm moving forward. At least I got in the time.

Brick Run - 30 minutes with 15 min easy/15 min@marathon pace[28:39 for 3.5 miles (8:11 average pace)]
The run was good. I notice that when I start a run off the bike, my heart rate gets really high at first and my breathing a bit out of control. If I stay with this for about a mile, then walk for a minute or so to get calmed down, I can turn on my running speed as usual. The walking break makes a huge difference for some reason.

During Workout Nutrition-
32 oz water, 2 nuun tablets, 3 scoops Clif Electrolyte, 1 packet Justin's Nut Butter, 100 calorie pack of Girl Scout cookies
I probably could have had more water but this was enough calories to start the run feeling fueled. Breakfast was power oatmeal and an orange.

burpee breakthrough

Crossfit 7's
7 rounds for time:
7 burpees
7 squats
[6:32]
I had a breakthrough in my burpee technique today. Until now I have been stepping back instead of jumping to go down, then jumping to get up. Stepping is a lot slower than jumping so I decided that it is time to stop using it as a crutch. The mind is a powerful thing, and I was able to do it no problem. I kept my legs a little further apart and that made it much easier - less flexibility required. I did all of these sets jumping and it actually made the burpees easier than they used to feel. You know what? I think that I *like* burpees!


Pushup Challenge
12-13-10-10-15
I have realized that my original goal of 100 real pushups in 6 weeks is not realistic for me. I couldn't even do the workouts in the second week. It is now week 3 and am now aiming for 100 knee pushups. That will be an accomplishment itself. After I do that, I can restart the challenge with real pushups.


Swim 3000yd
[57 minutes]
- 150/200/250/200/150 with 20 sec rec, even stroke count [16-17 strokes/25yd]
- 3x150 negative split [2:27,2:23,2:18]
- 10x25 hard on 30 seconds [all 20-21 sec]
It took my shoulders about 20 minutes to get warm and forget about the fact that they had just done 49 burpees and 50 pushups. After that this swim felt good.  Last time I trained my stroke count, I was always around 18 / 25yds. Now, 16 feels normal. I can tell I am more in tune with stretching and rolling on each stroke to take advantage of how far I can go with my long arms. Yay for progress there.

long run, tacos, and sprained toe

Run 90 minutes: 3mi@9min pace (easy), 2 mi@8min pace, 2mi@9 min pace, 3x1200m hard w/ 5 min
[1:38, 11 miles with first 3 miles hilly, 1200's: 5:31, 5:46, 5:30 (~7:25 pace)]

I was totally psyched for this run because long runs are my favorite workout of the week. Unfortunately my body was not as psyched as my mind. I had GI issues in the first two miles (even though my stomach was empty) and had to stop to find a restroom. I had to walk some and this completely broke up the run and my head got lost. After the rest stop, I was able to continue but.... The 9 minute pace wasn't feeling "easy". I was able to hold the 8 minute pace for 2 miles, but it was definitely feeling harder than it should have. The 1200's were pretty much all out and I know I can run those much faster than a 7:25 pace. My legs are not sore, and they aren't feeling a burn of lactic acid buildup. They just weren't flowing this morning. I was starving after the run and rewarded myself for not giving up by getting some breakfast tacos on the way to work: 3 egg and potato tacos with hot salsa from Taco Cabana, 660 calories.

Oh yeah, and it turns out my toe is sprained. I stubbed my fourth toe on a chair on Tuesday night. It wasn't that bad at first but now it's completely swollen and purple. Luckily it's on the top of the toe so I can still run on it.

wednesday brick

Bike 1 hour with 2x8 min hard/3 min rec, 1x12 min hard
[1:05 total with 2x8min: 2.59mi, 2.61mi, 1x12min: 3.59mi (headwind)]
I did the intervals on the Shoal Creek/Great Northern loop which is pretty much flat. There was some wind today. I averaged around 20mph on my road bike and had to work for it. These were fun. I'm getting into the groove here, noticing that all the workouts have intervals so I get used to doing them. I am getting used to putting out a hard effort, which is exactly what I need to be comfortable with on race day.

Brick Run 30 minutes as 15 min moderate, 15 min mod/hard
[1.85 miles out in 16:14 (8:46 pace), 1.85 miles back in 14:28 (7:49 pace)]
The way out felt like torture - tight quads, stiff back, slightly uphill, headwind. Was I even moving? I started to feel normal on the second half and finished strong.

Snow!

Run
5.5 miles with 5x800 repeats (2 min rec)
[Splits: 3:30,3:26, 3:24, 3:24, 3:22]

Crossfit Grace
30 clean and jerk
[50lbs, 5:41]

More strength work...
100 situps for time [4:52 - 38 second PR!!]
5x10 pushups [on toes to failure then knee]
5x7 pullups [lightly assisted with feet on wall]

Swim 2400yd

It snowed in Austin this morning - big fluffy flakes that melted as they hit the ground. It was very wet and I decided to hit the treadmill for my run. Yesterday I took an unplanned rest day, slept a lot, and ate a lot. I think I must have needed that because I was able to nail my run repeats with a perfect negative split. I also felt strong for the Crossfit stuff, and did a huge PR on the 100 situps. 

This is week 3 of my training plan and my goal this week is to get at least 8 hours of sleep per night, and continue to work on getting my tri bike set up so I can ride it. I'm waiting on some parts, then I need to get my new aerobar installed, and get a tune-up and fit. I decided to keep my Felt DA this year rather than selling it even though I'm not a huge fan of the carbon frame or the aggressive position. It's the fastest bike around, and I'm going to make it work. The new aerobar will make it a little more comfortable, and I bought a pair of SRAM S80 race wheels so I can be even faster.

weight gain during ironman training

Bike 2 hours, rolling hills
[32 miles]
It was beautiful, sunny, and 70 today. Wow, what a day! There was also a strong wind - headwind on the way out, tailwind on the way back. My HR monitor battery died so I didn't get HR data but this ride was supposed to be in Z3 most of the time, and I'd say I got a lot of time in at that effort.


Last time I trained for an Ironman, I didn't watch my food intake and didn't ever weigh myself and ended up gaining 10 lbs of fat. Even with 15-20 hours of aerobic exercise per week, I gained all this weight. I think this happened because I often mistook fatigue for hunger, and also because I was putting a lot of stress on myself by worrying about outcomes of my training. The stress hormone cortisol is known to lead to weight gain when elevated. This time around I am not stressed, and actually feel so laid back about the training it hardly feels like I am training at all. Ha!  As for the eating, I am being more careful about portion control and listening closely to signals from my body. Eating an extra snack isn't going to help if what I really need is a nap. If I can keep my weight steady, then I know I am taking care of myself.

3 hours with no gels or bars

Bike 2:30
2x10 min Z5 HR (5 min rec), 2x17 min Z3 HR (3 min rec)

I woke up and was excited to go to a group ride with Austin Cycling Association. I was all prepared with my bike and gear, and stepped outside to find it was raining. Ugh. I hadn't even looked out. I debated riding outside anyway, but wasn't sure I could get all the intervals as planned if conditions were bad. Ok, so change of plans. I headed to Pure Austin for a 90 minute spin class followed by 60 minutes on the spin bike on my own. I got in the intervals as planned. The time went by pretty fast. Unfortunately I was dripping in sweat by the end and had some pretty bad chaffing on my behind from the wet shorts. Check it off.

Run 30 mins as 15 min mod, 15 min harder
[3.4 miles as 1.6/1.8]
This was a brick run on the treadmill immediately following the bike. I was getting to the limit of my endurance at this point but the run felt good.

Workout Nutrition:
Breakfast - oatmeal with protein powder and almonds
During workout - 3 bottles water, 1 nuun tablet, 1 banana, 1 packet Justin's Honey Peanut Butter, 1/4 cup raisins
Post workout - smoothie with 2 cups mixed frozen fruit, protein powder, Hammer Recoverite, water

The nutrition worked... no gels or bars! :) The peanut butter was a little heavy in my stomach because I ate the whole package at once, but it was fine after about 5 minutes. I could have split that up. The raisins worked well and tasted good.

Bootcamp with Biggest Losers

This morning Mo and I drove to Kyle Texas at the crack of dawn to do a 5:30am bootcamp workout with the cast of The Biggest Loser, sponsored by Texas Fit Body Bootcamp for charity. Since that is my favorite show I was excited to get the opportunity to see the Losers in person and also get the chance to workout with them.  Ok, in the back of my competitive mind I also wanted to see how my fitness compares with theirs after they went through the rigors of Bob and Jillian.  Liz, Pete, Sione, Filipe, and Tracey were there.

 

Me with Biggest Losers

Mo and I worked out next to Tracey and Liz, and Mo was on a roll cracking jokes with Tracey.  Both of them are the same height (5'2") so they had a bit of comraderie about that. The bootcamp workout itself was ok, but not particularly challenging. Exercises included jogging, pushups, butt kicks, single leg lunging, reverse lunges, side lunges, side plank, tricep dips, stretching. I broke a sweat in the middle but doubt I will be sore from it. I don't think Liz or Tracey broke a sweat.

All the Losers had gained some weight back since the finale of their season, and overall just struck me as normal people doing a workout. Sione and Filipe came in late, like two high school kids late for class. It was all very low key and fun.

 

Mo with Losers 

..later in the day....

Swim 2300yd, drill focus
[38 min]

good run, not-so-good crossfit

Long Run: 10.5 miles
[3 miles easy, 3 miles marathon pace (8:00), 2 miles easy, 2x1200 hard/800 jog (5:46,5:29)
1:25 total]
My legs felt good and this run was pleasant. I like how Endurance Nation puts the long run on Thursday to save the weekend for biking, and I like how the long run is not just slogging out slow miles. Each part of the run was structured with specific pacing, which made it more interesting and more productive.

Crossfit Chipper WOD
100 jumprope
45 air squats
40 push press (30lb)
35 situps
30 pushups
25 walking lunge (10lb med ball overhead)
20 pullups
15 tuck jump
10 wall ball
5 burpees
[16:06]
All I could do was go through the motions on this. After a long run and full day of work, I just wasn't feeling it. The soreness is building up and my strength is going down. I was feeling irritated with myself about this. The push press and pushups were the hardest. Arg. Some workouts just aren't as good as others.

today vs. age 7

Today was a rest day. I went on a walk around my neighborhood to stretch out after work. I wanted to check out a nearby park (Brentwood) to see what kind of playground equipment they have that might be fun to play around on. It turns out they had lots, including a section for grown up kids to do workouts on: pullup bars, balance beams, parallel bars, upright ladder, monkey bars.

There were lots of parents and little kids there playing. The kids started copying me. When I got on the swings, a 2 year old boy came over looking at me with a big smile and wanted to get on. His mom put him on her lap on the swing next to me. When I was hanging on the bars, a different toddler came over to watch and then grabbed onto a bar and started swinging, and laughing. He had his eye on me the whole time and told his mom that I am big like her.

It's been so long since I've played like that. I wanted to test my body now compared to when I was a kid. Well, it turns out I weigh a lot more, am not as comfortable with body weight exercises, have a weaker grip, am not as flexible, and have a lot more fear. Fear... mostly fear of injury but also fear of what I think I can't do. Crossfit is helping me break that down. Parcours inspires me to get creative. Thinking about being a kid reminds me to play.

Where am I today versus when I was 7?

• Cartwheels - scared to try, lack of hamstring flexibility might make them kinda ugly
• Handstands - scared, not strong enough yet
• Backbends - omg that would hurt.
• Swing across monkey bars - Yay! I did this today. The grip was hard but I've been working on that. I went down and back with about 8 steps each way.
• Hang upside down from monkey bars- Yay! I did this too. It was scary because I thought I might fall on my head, but it felt great.
• Hang upside down from bar and back flip off - I used to do this all the time, but today, um no.
• Stand on parallel bars and walk across - I got up and stood on top, but was scared to move my feet
• Pushups on top of parallel bars - did it today. kids don't care about pushups.

oh fran, why you gotta be so difficult?

Swim 2300yd - endurance focus
[42 min, Main set: 200/300/200, 6x150 all steady mod-hard pace]

Crossfit Fran
21-15-9
Thrusters (45lb bar)
Pullups (green band)
[9:53]


I went to Big Stacy pool after work for my swim today since Deep Eddy is closed right now and Barton Springs is too cold. I forgot how nice that pool is - it was warm and there was hardly anyone there. My swim felt really strong today. My form is good and I can tell that all this work on upper body strength is already helping me pull harder on the water. After that I was famished so I stopped at 7-Eleven for a Clif Builder bar, which I inhaled while driving to the Austin Track to meet Bonita for today's Crossfit WOD.

Fran is always a killer. I think I may have done a partial Fran in the past with dumbbells but gave up before completing it. Today not only did I not give up, I went heavy with the 45 lb bar. I started crying in the middle set because it was so hard and I was failing on the thrusters, but I got it back together and finished. I put aside all concerns about speed and aimed for steady solid effort. My shoulders and quads were screaming the whole way through, and my breathing was just barely on the edge of control.

Best Workout Song Ever: Clubbed To Death

The song Clubbed to Death by Rob Dougan (aka Matrix Theme) is the best workout song ever. At 7 minutes long, it is the perfect length to run a fast mile or to do a long hill climb (bike or run). It alternates back and forth between work/recovery beats, which is perfect for intervals. I am an unstoppable aerobic machine when listening to this song. According to my iTunes, I have listened to it 162 times.



What I Did Today...


Crossfit Baby Bear Complex
3 rounds of 7 x (power clean, squat, push press, squat, push press)
[35lb, 40lb, 42.5lb]

Ugh. This was hard. The real Bear Complex is 7 rounds and I was whipped after just 3. You are not allowed to set the bar down until the round is complete.

Strength warmup
Pushups: 9-11-8-8-9
20 box jumps on 20" box
20 box steps on 24" box
20 burpees

Bike 60 minutes with 2 x (10 minutes hard/5 min rec)
[HR for intervals: 156, 152]
It worked perfectly to do the box jumps and burpees right before I got on the bike. I was already warmed up and I had no trouble getting my heart rate into the work zone. I did this within Danielle's spin class, just doing my own thing and using the music to push me. That's much more fun than trying to hammer the intervals by myself.

Run 30 minutes as brick with 15 min long run pace/15 min marathon pace
[1.7 miles (HR 142), 1.8 miles (HR 150) => 3.5 miles]
I got on the treadmill after spin class and my legs felt fine right away. No brick transition dead legs. I ran at 6.7mph for the first half and 7.2mph for the second half. It was all conversational pace. I wonder if the planned pace is supposed to be Ironman marathon pace or stand-alone marathon pace. There's quite a difference between those two. Today I chose Ironman marathon pace.

I am hardly sore at all after yesterday's half marathon. It's just a pleasant soreness in my glutes and calves but didn't interfere with my workouts today at all. I am not walking funny or anything like that. I think I am still enjoying the benefits of the extra rest and massage I got last week. I'm also wondering whether red meat could be making a difference here.

Whatever it is, I am super-motivated, happy and loving it when I am able to nail the workouts.

Austin Half Marathon Race Report

Austin Half Marathon - 13.1 miles
[1:40:54]
Finished 92nd of 5086 women overall
19th in age group F30-34
Splits and HR data:
7:41(147), 7:46(162), 7:46 (164), 7:13 (162), 7:07 (159), 7:08 (159), 7:45 (159), 7:45 (159), 8:14 (158), 8:03 (159), 7:49 (159), 7:52 (159), 8:02 (161)

The weather was perfect for running this morning: 40 and clear. I feel so lucky to be in Austin when I know that most people around the country are dealing with harsh winters. My pre-race routine went smoothly, starting at 5am with a bowl of oatmeal with protein powder. Parking at the race was no problem and I got there with the perfect amount of time to stretch and relax my mind. I could tell my quads were a little sore from all those squats yesterday but I wasn't going to dwell on that. I run sore all the time.

The first three miles were mostly up hill. I didn't push too hard yet but my quads were already burning. I knew it was just a matter of sticking with it because there would be a lot of downhill coming up. Miles 3-6 were mostly down. The spectators were lively along South Lamar and there were bands along the course. As we got back into the downtown area, the crowds were dense and several people deep for at least a half mile. Around this 10k mark is when doubts started entering my mind, thoughts about walking, thoughts about how I hadn't done my usual mileage leading up to this race and therefore wasn't ready for it, etc, etc. I wasn't going to walk in front of all the crowds so they kept me motivated to just work through it a little longer.

I gave my mind short goals like "just get to the next aid station", "just get to the next mile marker". My legs were starting to hurt a lot and I walked through the aid station at mile 7 while eating my gel. I knew this was going to take a warrior mental effort to stay strong to the end. I felt overwhelmed because I knew we hadn't gotten to the challenging hills yet. I stayed in the moment. I thought about how I enjoy running... I mostly believed that, but it wasn't all that comforting. I thought about how lucky I am to be out running a race with no injuries. I noticed how there were very few women around me, and the ones that were looked very fit and so did the guys around me. I remembered that I worked hard to be in that position in the field and I need to respect that.

The hills started around mile 9.5 and lasted through mile 12.5. Up and down, big rollers, one after another. I cranked up my music and focused. My boss and his family, and Bonita came out to cheer. Seeing them made me smile, which gave me some extra energy and helped break up those hills. The biggest hill was at mile 12, climbing 15th street just as it crosses over Lamar. I walked about 20 steps at the steepest part because I figured a fast walk would be the same pace as a slow run and it would conserve a little energy. That was a good strategy because once I got over the top I was able to turn it back on for the last half mile. I was able to pass a lot of people who were still trying to recover from running the massive hill. The finish took us around the Capitol and down Congress Ave through the finish line. I sprinted that last 0.1 miles and finished strong with a big smile on my face. Mo came to meet me at the finish line, and we had fun watching runners, enjoying the beautiful day, and eating tacos.

I didn't set a PR (it still stands at 1:37), but it was a hard course and my mental strategies were perfectly executed. I stayed with the discomfort and didn't let negative thoughts pull me down. I learned where my fitness is at today, and I couldn't have ran a stronger race.

Pre-race day

Crossfit WOD (with Saturday Tribe)

3 rounds of:
10 burpees
20 lunges
30 squats
[7:07]
Added a little running to warm up my legs

Swim 1700yd with 10x100
[100s- 1:21,1:23, 1:25,1:25,1:25, 1:27,1:27, 1:26,1:25,1:26]


Thursday I got a massage and yesterday was a complete rest day. I felt super fresh today and am really ready to go have a fun race tomorrow. It feels great to be in good form and injury free going into a race. Coach Bonita told me that I should skip my run today and replace it with a crossfit workout to wake up my legs, and then stretch it out with a swim. Initially I was nervous to not run, but the workouts I did today worked my body in similar ways while keeping my run muscles as fresh as possible. The times on those swim repeats show that I am fresh.

I took a 3 1/2 hour nap this afternoon, had a good dinner (turkey, broccoli, sweet potato, avocado, raspberries), and have all my stuff laid out for the morning. I am going to dream about running a perfect race.

sweet spot

My off-season culminates with the Austin Half Marathon tomorrow, then I begin to transition into the triathlon season. I am looking forward to a fun year ahead and go into it with a renewed positive attitude. Here's what's new this year:

1. Nutrition: Primarily vegetables, fruit, meat, and nuts, but laid back about also eating grains and beans if I want to. I take a balanced approach so I enjoy my food and never feel restricted. All meats are on the menu.

2. Fish oil. This has made a huge and unbelievable difference in reducing post-workout inflammation and helping recovery.

3.  Reduce sports foods. As much as possible, I am replacing gels and bars with real foods like raisins, dried fruits, dates, nuts, bananas, pb+j.

4. No more workout volume just for the sake of it. Weekly volume will be kept down and all workouts will have some component of intensity. Slogging out miles puts needless wear and tear on the body.

5. Keep up regular Crossfit workouts throughout Ironman training. Lower endurance volume should allow me more space for this.

6. No time goals and huge expectations placed on myself. I am going to train as hard as I can and see where I can get. It doesn't matter to me what other people are doing because I know that all this trial and error has led me to a sweet spot in my training (and in life). I will focus on making each workout the best it can possibly be and I will always make sure I keep it fun.


Endurance Nation coaches say that the best part of all this training is that it allows you to do cool stuff with your high level of fitness. Right on! I am looking forward to going on new rides, seeing new places, lifting more than I ever thought possible, and pushing myself beyond my limits in the weeks and months to come.

embrace it

Bike 2:30 with 3 x 8 min hard (4 min rec), 2 x 12 min hard (6 min rec)
[HR averages for the intervals: 144, 145, 144, 142, 144]

Massage 60 minutes of lower body

---

It was cold and rainy today and since I am running on Sunday, I needed to get my long ride of the week in today. No choice but to take this inside to Pure Austin. I joined a spin class as a warmup, then hit the intervals on my own. It took at least 30 minutes for my legs to get moving. There was a lot of junk built up in them. The intervals were all supposed to be zone 4, which I usually consider to be in the mid 150's. Obviously I was quite a bit below that... even though my legs were burning. I had trouble pushing big gears today since my legs are tired and ended up spinning easier gears at a high enough cadence so that I was still working hard. Based on perceived exertion I'd say I worked hard enough. Nevermind the mental challenge of being on a trainer the whole time!

These workouts are a mental challenge every day. It is constant practice of learning to break down and work through hard moments. I am embracing it because it takes discomfort to have growth.

@lululemon said today:  Remember, race results stay in Google forever. Can you push yourself a little hard?

extra lean ground beef

 Run 45 minutes with 2x1 mile hard
[miles@7:14,7:11]
I ran in shorts and it was in the 30s. I could hardly feel my legs. I was fatigued (but not sore) in my lower back from yesterday's crossfit and that was a factor today.

Swim 1800m
[about 37 minutes]
I forgot to write down the planned workout before getting to the pool. I guess I'm still working on the life organization aspect of the Ironman training. It was freeeezing to swim outside today. There was so much steam coming off the water I couldn't even see halfway to the other side. Not the most pleasant swim but I made it. My upper body was tight to start but once I got going I felt like I had a little extra muscle to put behind each stroke. It's been almost a month since I have been in the pool.

Pushups
[challenge week 1/day2= 6-8-6-6-7]

Today I bought red meat for the first time EVER. I haven't eaten red meat since high school and at that time my mom was making the dinner choices and doing the shopping.  I wanted to get bison but they were out so I settled for extra lean ground beef. It feels like I have crossed over a big bad line with this. I have mixed feelings but I'm just giving it a try. Here's the evidence. This stuff better go straight to my muscles and iron stores.

randy and red meat

Bike 2 hours (always pushing, zones 3-4)
[1:41, avg HR 123]
I did this ride outside at 7am. It was cold and windy and I could not get my heart rate up. My max heart rate for the whole ride was 140, even with pushing up hills into wind. I'm not sure what was going on. Part of it may have been that I had trouble getting my mind around grinding hard for that long, and part of it might have been tired quads or dehydration. Even though I was happy with myself for getting it done early before work, I need to do better if I want to ride faster.

Crossfit Randy
75 snatches
[15:45, 30lb bar]
I had fun with this workout. It sounds dirty, huh? I thought I would hate this workout but I actually liked it. The infamous snatches. They are hard for me because I am just not flexible to get low into an overhead squat position...yet.  Bonita and I worked on form first using PVC. The goal is to keep the bar close to the body the whole time, shrug and transition at the perfect moment, and not let the bar go forward from your body. It's supposed to scrape your quads, hit you in the pelvic bone, and then scrape your stomach on the way up. I took this workout at a steady pace and did 3 sets of 25. My form started to degenerate around #65 and my shoulder started to hurt. I freaked out. Then I calmed down and ripped off the last 10 with my best form of the day. I like snatches now. Just gotta practice more so I don't forget that.

And...
I ate bison meat for the first time today and liked it. Bison in spaghetti sauce with spinach pasta. Could red meat help my performance? Stay tuned.

Day 1

Brick Workout
-Bike 1 hour with 3 x (8 minutes hard/2 min recovery)
[I did this inside on the trainer. Interval heart rates: 157, 154, 154]

-Run 30 minutes as 15 min easy/15 min mod
[1.6 miles/1.8 miles]

Strength, etc.
Day 1 of Hundred Pushups Challenge (hundredpushups.com): 6-6-4-4-5
1-rep max power clean: 45, 55, 65, 70, 75 (fail)
Farmer's walk: 3 x 20 steps with 40 lb kettlebell in each hand - grip workout
20 burpees

This was the first day on the Endurance Nation Ironman training plan. Nice brick there. Taking the pace down in the last 15 minutes of the run was challenging and UNcomfortable.

This was also the first day of the Hundred Pushups Challenge. The 5 sets were pretty easy to crank out. I could have done more sets but not more reps within each set. That was fun.

half marathon preview run

Run 8 miles, hilly on Austin Half Marathon course, with last 2 miles at half marathon effort
[1:03 w/ last 2 around 7 min pace]

I had springs in my legs today, which was a complete surprise after yesterday's 250 air squats. The hills flew by and I had no trouble cranking out those last two miles at a hard pace. Amazing!

Next Sunday is the Austin Half Marathon and it will be my key race of the "off season".  I would like to set a new PR or at least tie my old one (1:37). All systems are ready, now a week of taper, a pre-race massage and I should be set.

Run+Barbara+

Run 5 miles easy
[about 42 min]
A nice warmup jog around Town Lake to start off the morning, joined by Crossfit rockstar Bonita.

Crossfit "Barbara"+
5 rounds with 2 minutes rest between each round:
400m run
10 pullups (assisted)
20 burpees
30 kettlebell swings (25lbs)
40 sit ups
50 squats
[10:47, 10:52, 11:16, 10:44, 10:21]

Today was my third time joining the Saturday Crossfit Tribe Workout at Austin High. We never know the workout until we get there so it could be anything. They are all hard. This was the longest duration Crossfit workout I have done, and lasting about an hour, it was a complete mental game. The goal was to have a consistent time for all 5 rounds.

In rounds 1 and 2, I had my doubts that I could even do the whole thing. Round 3 was the hardest for me to break through, mentally and physically. I was getting grumpy and irritable, but then I turned on my super focus and cranked out the last rounds with determination. By round 4, I was starting to feel good and after the last round I realized I had more in the tank. I probably could have done a few more rounds at the same pace.... not that I wanted to. I am definitely going to be feeling those 250 squats in my legs tomorrow.

perfect morning

Run 10 miles as 7 miles easy, 3 miles mod/hard
[Town Lake trail, 1:25]
I got up and out early again this morning and was treated to an idyllic sunrise run at Town Lake. The sky was cloudy but pink and purple light peeked out as the sun was coming up around 7am. It was cool and calm. My legs were tired but not that tired. My upper body was very sore but not sore enough to break down my form. I felt like I was gliding along.

I am so grateful to be back from injury and able to run again. As I was rocking out to my ipod, enjoying the morning, and feeling strong, a few tears of joy filled my eyes. This was a perfect way to start the day. The only thing that could make it more perfect would be...

Breakfast at Casa de Luz!

Yummy! Homemade corn tortillas with greens, veggies, and tahini sauce, amaranth porridge sprinkled with homemade granola, vegetable miso soup, kukicha tea.

Misty morning on the trail

Run 7 miles with 4 x 1 mile fast
[Town Lake loop, 1:01 total, 4 x 1 mile@7:07, 6:59, 7:25, 7:35]
It was cold and misty this morning, and the trail was conspicuously empty. The lake was beautiful and peaceful and relaxing to look at. I warmed up for 3 miles and then did the mile repeats with 2 minutes rest between each. I really died in the second half. My sore quads were the limiting factor there (thanks DT) - I was working under my lactate threshold but my legs just wouldn't move any faster. The small rollers on the trail took everything I had. I was trying for even splits on those, but I did average about a 7:15 pace which isn't too bad.  Song that helped me push myself today: Beyonce, Ring the Alarm (Freemasons Club Mix)

Bike 55 minutes - recovery ride (spin class)
After the run this morning I really needed to spin out the soreness in my legs. I went fairly easy.
Pure Austin Ryon is always entertaining.

Strength and Stretching
3 x 10 overhead arm rotations with PVC (working on shoulder mobility)
20 hanging knee to elbows (not quite able to lift my legs that high yet but trying)
3 x 10 floor wipers with 45lb bar - My first attempt at this exercise. I like it.

Crossfit DT

Crossfit "DT"
6 rounds of:
12 deadlift
9 hang clean
6 push jerk
[17:40 with 50 lb bar.  The deadlifts were easy. The hang cleans got to be a challenge at the end and ripped up my thumbs. The push jerks were a challenge on all sets. I was not fast but I completed it.]

Then... 
Hundred Pushup Challenge Initial Test:  8 pushups from toes.
3x10 knee pushups
3x10 box step ups on 24 inch box
3x10 body rows

I was also planning to run today but it didn't happen. I have been having trouble sleeping lately and I didn't get to bed until 2am last night and then overslept until 8 this morning. I was planning to go out in the morning early but this was too late, plus it was cold and rainy. I put the run off until after work to do on the treadmill. The workout was supposed to be 7 miles with 4 x 1 mile repeats, a workout I love doing outside on the trail. After work I just wasn't feeling in the mood at all and couldn't wrap my head around the treadmill. Getting the run done early is always best because anything can happen during the day. I'm going to attempt to get this done tomorrow ...  early this time.

Glorious Rest Day

I usually have one rest day per week, and this week I really needed it. I have had some HARD workouts in the last three days. This rest day was like eating a delicious meal when starving, all the flavors were richer and more alive. A perfect rest day to me is not just not doing a workout - it's also about doing all the extras that help recovery. These are things like getting extra sleep, stretching and using the foam roller, drinking a lot of water, and eating extra nutrient dense foods. I also spent some time today getting ready for the upcoming week of workouts, doing things like downloading new songs for my ipod, researching Crossfit technique, and reviewing recent progress. It's been a good day.

Here's what led me to this rest day:

Saturday
CrossFit 1/2 "Running Eva" -
5 rounds for time:
400m run sprint
15 kettlebell swing
400m run sprint
15 pullups
[32 min w/ 400s@1:40-1:48]

Bike 45 miles of hills (some super steep and with wicked wind!) [3:15]

Sunday
Run 12 miles easy [1:46] - legs were heavy after saturday

Monday
Bike - 70 minutes with 35 minute time trial on trainer [15.5 miles] - omg this was MAX effort.

Ironman Round 3

Ironman Coeur d'Alene, June 2010. I've been signed up for 6 months but it's been just in the last two weeks have I made the final decision that I am going to commit myself to the training and do it. I have gotten a bit burnt out and have been struggling with nagging hip pain from training exclusively as a higher-mileage runner and am switching back to Ironman as my path to endurance bliss.

It will be my third Ironman and I think I have come to a point where I will be able to approach the whole thing in a more balanced and joyful way than before. My first IM was about finishing, my second one was an attempt to make dramatic improvements in speed (which I didn't do because I tried too hard). It has taken me over a year since that last Ironman to recover mentally and physically and be ready to do it again. My poor execution of race week and the race itself was a huge disappointment after all the work I put into it.

This one is going to be about enjoying the process and finishing happy. I am going to train hard but I am not going to make any time goals. I am giving myself the freedom to simply run with my heart.

For training, I will be using a 20 week program from Endurance Nation. EN focuses on intesity over volume, and the biggest weeks are only around 16 hours, with just 12 hours most weeks. I also plan to add on 2-3 Crossfit workouts per week to maintain and build core strength.

Thanks to all the work I've done this winter, my nutrition is dialed in and I've got a strong running base. I have a good supportive community around me to keep motivation high and make things more fun. The training officially starts in a week on Feb 8, 2010 and I am ready to rock!

Coconut Cashew Bites

I ate a particularly delicious energy bar the other day that I picked up at the mini-grocery store across from my office. It was so good that I saved the wrapper so I could look at the ingredients and recreate it myself. I think my version is almost better than the original. Here is the recipe. I didn't measure anything, just put in amounts that seemed right.

Put in blender and blend until powdery:
Flax seeds
Shredded coconut
Raw cashews
Raw almonds

Whole dates - chop these into small pieces

Add the dry powder to the dates and work it together with your hands. I needed to add a few drops of water to make it all stick together. Once you have a big ball, make it into bite-size pieces or bars, or whatever shape works for you.

Done. Paleo and vegan! Raw! Super delicious!  but.... not low calorie, discipline required.