Duathlons Suck

Yep, I said it, I am not a duathlon fan. The whole concept of run/bike/run just seems wrong to me. Could be that running is so not my talent. But, alas, last Friday I felt the draw of an awesome workout and hanging out with friends and decided to attempt this duathlon thing. Worst part is that I kept thinking that it was going to be a piece of cake since there was no out of water transition involved and much less gear. Um, I forgot about the fact that I was still going to have to run and ride my bike and then, oh, run again.

The morning started out great. I was very wise and decided to load my bike and gear up the night before and had so much less to worry about in the morning. I am definitely going to do that again for my next tri. I had to drive about 45 minutes to the race location and tried to get there a few minutes early since I wasn't even registered yet. Luckily it was a very low-key, small event so registering and transition set up and such was very easy. I was still snacking on an apple and banana as I wandered around with friends. A kid's race started at 8:00 am and it was the cutest thing ever. Watching kids on tricycles race made my whole day. I can't wait to be able to get my kids out there. Then, finally, after numerous potty breaks we were ready to run at 8:30.

Figures it would be unseasonable warm on this particular day. Unseasonable warm in spring in Southern Arizona = hot. The race distances were 2 mile run/15.5 mile bike/ 2 mile run. The first 2 miles were uneventful, the coure seemed long and I could not settle into my pace. A friend ran up behind and told me that, according to her Garmin, we were running 2.5 miles. Say what?? Back to transition, chugged water (did I mention it was hot?) and then off on the bike.

My legs were so happy to be spinning. Yep, it was ecstacy until I got the on the actual road and found the wind. Say what?? Rode right into a headwind for about the first 7 miles, turned away from the wind and onto a crappy bumpy narrow road. I could not get my legs under me, I felt like I was the last person on the road and could not find a decent pace. Finally got to some nicer road with a substantial shoulder and my knee started talking to me. I have a bad knee. Back in 2001 I was training for a marathon and on a training run managed to tear the mensicus in my right knee. I didn't think much of it, I think it happened on Tuesday, and I tried to push the pain/irritation away since I was scheduled to run a half marathon that very Saturday. I ran the half marathon on a torn mensicus. After about the fourth mile my knee had just gone numb from pain and I didn't feel it again until the moment I stopped running. Two years and two surgeries later, my orthopedist said I would never run again. Nope, I am not a runner.

So, back to the du. My knee has been giving me signals that is unhappy with my attempt to increase my running speed. It had never bothered me on the bike until this duathlon. It wasn't exactly painful but more like unresponsive. I felt like I was working harder then my knee was allowing me to push. I overcompensated and my upper quad started yelling at me to. I was done and ready to stop. I couldn't stop though, the only friend I could think of coming to get me was well ahead of me and probably wouldn't be checking her phone anytime soon. My dear husband was at least an hours drive away and taking care of my kids. I kept going. My mind drifted off to the chant, "there is no glory without pain." Sounds a little sadistic in hindsight. I turned the last two corners and the end of my pain/frustration/ordeal was in sight. My legs would not turn over and I could not find any speed to finish the ride.

I wobbled off the bike and doubled over grabbing my upper quad. Oh wait, I still have to run two mile. Shit. If not for peer pressure I would have loaded up my car right then and there and driven home but I knew my friends would be waiting for me. I grabbed a bottle of lukewarm water and set off on my run. Did I mention it was hot? It was only about 10 am at this point and the air temp had to be at least 90 degrees. It was miserable. I think I ran about the first quarter mile before I started doing this pathetic run/walk routine. I managed to cross the finish line in 1:58 with 2:00 being my goal so my time wasn't as bad as it could have been but I felt broken. Self-doubt and a little self-loathing snuck up on me. Of course that means I made a beeline for the food at the finish. I promptly downed a slice of Hawaiian pizza and a cupcake. I promptly felt sick to my stomach. As I made my way to my car to load up my bike I didn't even bother to say any goodbyes. I was done and exhausted and probably even a little delusional.

I cried a good portion of the way home but felt better once I was made it to my house. Where do I go from here? I refocus. I am determined to increase my run speed and have started doing weekly track workout and plan to sign up for as many road races as I can in these cooler months. I am also trying to settle back into my low sugar diet. My ultimate goal would include losing about 15lbs before my May 22nd triathlon. I must be disciplined though and that is so hard for me. Will I attempt a duathlon again? Of course! I can't let the damn thing beat me down.

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. ~Edmund Hillary

Yes, I Do Triathlons

Wow, I have truly neglected this blog. I think about it often but rarely take the time to sit down and do anything about it. It seems like I can get plenty of wasted time on the computer but if I actually intend to get something accomplished by kids sense it and start circling.

A lot must have happened since last December. Yes, life and focus got caught in a tailspin when my grandfather, Tata, got very sick in early December and ultimately died on January 20. I come from a very close family and while I certainly did see my Tata everyday, he was a very important part of my life. I will miss him dearly but am grateful for everything he did for us and that my children had the opportunity to know him.

Back to triathlons. I tried to take some downtime in the winter but was not very successful. Seeing as how training is my outlet to avoid mental breakdowns, too much time off makes for a very unhappy mother and wife. I don't remember much of December and early January but I know by the end of January I was back in full training.

In February, Jamie (my husband) and I competed in the TriCats Splash and Dash. I splashed and he dashed. We finished in the middle of the relay group and had a really good time. I love it when he watches me swim, I can tell he is proud of me. I love that he is a good runner even if he is down on himself after nearly every race for not being fast enough. Geesh.

In late February I finally, finally, finally got a new road bike. I love it. Here is a picture of the beauty.

My speed on the bike increased almost instantly once I was riding something that actually fit my size and was professionally fit for me. I am finally able to keep up with other riders.

My swim times have also been improving nicely. As part of my weekly training I force myself to swim a semi-timed 800 yards. This has helped me learn to 1) count laps and 2) acclimate my body to swimming for that long. I really think this has been very helpful. For my swim class midterm I was able to swim 800 yards in 14:56 which is a huge improvement from last October's 16:41.

Finally, I did my first tri of the year on March 2o. It was the Tri for the Cure in Chandler, AZ. This was an interesting weekend since Jamie and I left the kids with my parents and were alone for the first time in two years. It was strange and not as relaxing as you'd think. We raced to Scottsdale on Saturday afternoon for packet pick-up. For big races I am used to big expos so I was excited to get there early enough to check everything out. Apparently expos for tri's are very different than expos for marathons and even half marathons. Basically, there was no expo just packet pickup. Since I had only done one triathlon up to this point, I still feel very much like a newbie. I was still shocked, though, when some woman asked during the mandatory course meeting where in the pool it was okay to stop and rest. Say what? It is a little 400 m swim. With this information I knew I was appropriately trained and ready to go.

I had registered for the Athena division and so I lucked out and got a really early start time. I need to work on getting a decent breakfast in before I race. I had a great plan for this race but that all fell apart when our hotel room did not have a fridge or a microwave. What is up with that? My frozen breakfast sandwiches completely thawed by Sunday at 4:00 am and the only microwave available was in the hotel lobby. Holy inconvenient! Needless to say, I was starving when I started racing at 7:20

The swim went well. There are pros and cons to the serpentine swim. No lap counting is nice and going from point A to point B rather than back and forth was pleasant as well. Getting stuck behind slow people sucks. Having to pass is also a pain in the butt. I was coming up fast on the girl in front me and so at about the 200 m point I turned on the after burners and took off. Little did I know that right in front of her was another woman so I had to pass them both. I would have liked to take a little breather but the first girl I passed wasn't too pleased with me. I swear she chased me down for the rest of the swim. I jumped out of the pool and ran the very

long route to my bike.

My ride was awesome. My legs felt strong and I passed everyone in front of me and did not get passed once. I know I out there with the bigger girls but still thought is was pretty amazing that I was able to maintain my speed. I thought about slowing down a couple of times to reserve something in my legs for the run but the adrenaline pushed me to keep going. It was awesome.

The run hurt. Can't lie. Jamie was yelling at me to run hard but my legs felt like some strange combination of jelly and tree stump. Couldn't quite control them and they felt so very heavy. My ultimate goal was to finish the race in under an hour. The thought was in the back of mind but didn't seem like reality until about a mile into the run. I realized that if I maintained my pace or even pushed it a bit I could get it done in under an hour. It felt like time was standing still while I finished my last run around the track toward the finish line. I finished in 59:38. Yay!!

Not only did I reach my goal but I actually placed 3rd in the Athena Division. Woohoo! I'm still waiting for my award to show up in the mail. I'll be adding a picture once it arrives.

So, what am I up to now. Still training with my sights set on improving my October time in the Tucson Tri on May 22. I have started working on improving my run time and hopefully it will pay off. Also, I am seriously working on improving my nutrition. I've noticed that my body does not respond well to sugar and I have cut back significantly. Just by doing this and keeping up my training, I've lost 15 lbs since October and 10 just since February. I would like to lose another 15 lbs before the May race but it is going to be a super human feat to achieve. I'm up for the challenge. :)

Tired for now. The kids are circling. Must be better about my updates.

Life Upside-Down

Life always manages to throw us curve balls. I'm living through one of those times this week.

I'll be back to my tri life soon. For now I have bigger fish to fry.

Off and Running

I've taken on a new challenge. I need a new challenge as I have fallen into a training/off-season rut. I'm not even sure I qualify for an "off-season" yet but my mind is enjoying it. I think my body would prefer that I keep pushing it hard though.

I digress.

I have taken on a December Runathon challenge. Each day in December I will run at least 2 miles. This fun little adventure is organized by the Tri Girls and so, a whole slew of us are off and running. We report our mileage as well as successes and obstacles each week. Apparently there is also some sense of competition to see who can put in the most miles. Competition makes me crazy. Usually it is a good crazy.

Today I managed to squeeze in a 2.25 mile run between teaching and picking up the kids. I have a feeling that many of my short runs are going to be crammed between obligations/responsiblities or in the dark. Last night I hammered out two miles in my neighborhood just as the sun was setting. I can see that a benefit of this runathon is going to be enjoying the Christmas lights in the neighborhood. Yay!

You'd think that attempt to run every day would be enough of a challenge but I've decided to put down a few goals as well.

1. To add speed work to my runs.
2. To drop 3 minutes from my 5k time.(currently 34:40)
3. Add core work to my workouts at least 2 days a week.
4. To keep it all fun and remember that is it an opportunity and not a chore.

I've also started back on Weight Watchers. I've got these pesky 30lbs weighing me down and holding me back. I want them gone. It seems to me like I should use my training down-time to focus on eating better. Two days into it and I'm feeling okay. I need to hide the scale from myself though. It can be my worse enemy.

And, so, I am off and running. I'm excited and energized.

On a side note: I've only been on the bike once in the last month. I removed my pedals and I'm riding in running shoes again. I have little interest, no motivation, and I still hate it. Enough said.

Crash!...again

Since I started my "official" triathlon training in May, I have crashed (on my bike) a total of three glorious times. The first was minor but left me with an injured leg, the second (1 week later) was more dramatic. My second fall left me with a very sore and useless left hand. Last Saturday I had my most serious accident and, hopefully, I will never have one worse. I took a right turn too close to a truck, bumped the truck, lost my balance and crashed onto my left side, mostly upper arm and shoulder but did manage to bumped my head. Thank God for my helmet. I am also beyond thankful that the other drivers at the intersection were paying attention. For the very few seconds that it took me to figure out where I was and quickly jumped up and out of the road I was totally vulnerable. This all happened at about 8:30 am. I assured everyone that stopped including the guy that I bumped into, the nice people in the cars who stopped to check on me, and the two police officers to stopped to help, that I was alright I got right back on the bike and pedaled back to my car. It was only about a mile away. I also have to say a huge thank you to my wonderful mother. She sat in urgent care with me while I waited for x-rays, kept me warm as my body froze from the trauma, and didn't say one negative thing about my biking. She is an amazing mother, I am blessed.

My arm is still not functioning properly. I couldn't even lift it at first but now I just don't have full rotation. It is achy and sore. Luckily, all my other hurts were minor. But...

I was supposed to race yesterday. I have been diligently training since May and managed to compete in one whole triathlon this year. I kept an open mind throughout last weekend that the muscle in my arm was just sore and needed to loosen up and I'd be fine for Saturday. By Tuesday my hopes were dwindling. I had tried to swim on Monday night and it proved to be a complete failure and a total mistake. It just added to my soreness. By Thursday I was feeling moderately better, again. So I tried the pool. I managed to swim 400 yard and did it in about 9 minutes. I was seriously considering racing. But, now that my arm was feeling a little better I had to face the grim reality of getting back on the bike...

My arm was incredibly sore from the effort on Thursday and I could barely move it again on Friday. Also, on Friday, both of my cars ended up in the shop. One for a flat tire and the other for a bunch of brake warning lights popping up. The universe was conspiring against me traveling out of town to race. With the cars out of comission and the fear of huge repair bills my weekend race was out but I also felt like continuing with my sport was just a selfish money sucking activity. I was feeling really, really low.

Back to the bike. My bike and I have a hate-hate relationship. I hate my bike and it knows it. It apparently hates me as well. I like the idea of a riding a bike but I hate the reality of my bike. It is too big for me and I have never, ever felt secure and confident while riding it. I have always felt out of control and at the mercy of my inept coordination to deal with anything the road might throw at me. I fell the first two times trying to figure out my damn clipless pedals. I finally felt like I got that down but in the back of my mind I always worry about having to stop suddenly and get my foot released fast enough to catch myself. This fall was just about stupidity. I should have stopped behind the cars at the stop light and waited for the green and all the cars to turn. I would have had a wide open road and no problem. Instead I got too close to the stinkin' truck and with the slightly bobble was completely out of control. I hate my bike. I should probably be suffering from some self-loathing. But, honestly, I have that area covered and adding more would just seem like over-kill. I want to blame the bike. I have lost all interest in riding. I shudder with anxiety at the thought of getting back on it. I am even hestitant about using the trainer in my garage. I should probably seek some professional help on this one.

Sometime, this week, I will find the courage to get back on my bike. It might be with my old, standard pedals and I might be moving very slow but I'll get back on it. Around here we say that we "never give up" and I won't. But I won't be happy about it. I have work to do. Times to shorten. My first tri of the 2011 season is only 4 months away. I will be ready. I have to defeat my bike. (I hate that thing).

“If you worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on.” Lance Armstrong

I DID IT!!

Yes, I successfully completed a triathlon. Does that make me a triathlete?? I like to think so.

I could not sleep much the night before (as expected) and woke up for the day at 2 am. I laid in bed for an hour and half and then got up, sat on the floor and did some light stretching for an hour. I felt eerily calm. At 4 am, I started getting dressed, loading up my equipment and was out the door by 4:45 am. I managed a eat a granola bar on the way an had plenty of fruit to snack on up to the 2 hour before mark.

I was pleasantly surprised to run into a friend on my way to the transition area. I got everything out, organized and ready to go, ate and apple and wandered around. I made many unnecessary bathroom visits and checked out the pool. I wish I had taken a camera to get a picture of the big electronic screen all lit up in the early morning hours. I could hardly believe I was taking part in a event that included a big, electronic screen. Before long it was 6:30 am and first wave of swimmers was in the water.

I was in the third wave so once the second wave took off I jumped into the diving/warm up pool for a couple of laps. Everything felt good. I was ready to go.

I took off fast...maybe too fast. I felt dehydrated (dry, cotton mouth) right as we were going. I quickly lost track of laps. The only problem during the swim happened to be a fairly significant one. My goggles fogged up. They also happened to be tinted goggles and so I was screwed. There were a few laps where I was feeling for the wall because I could hardly see it. I finally had to just stop and clear them. Since I had lost all count of my laps, I ended up slowing a bit to ask the counter how many more to go. After some confusion, I was told six more laps. No problem. I was one of the first in my wave out of the pool.

I dragged my behind out of pool. It was a serious challenge and one of the moments I dreaded most. It was over fast enough and I was wobbling back to the transition area. Apparently, lack of oxygen and an adrenaline rush is the equivalent of hauling down a Margarita.

I took off on the bike and, as usually, I was moving slow. I got past right away but just wanted to get a feel for the course when I took the first of three laps. Halfway around the course, on my first lap, the "bib" number on my bike flew off. I had no idea what the procedure was for this and so I stopped my bike as fast as I good, ran back to pick up the paper and then reattached it to the bike. I want to believe that this all took five minutes. Maybe the extra time is the cause of the slow bike time. On the second lap, I downed a quarter of a banana and chugged at my water bottle. On the third lap, (oh sweet third lap) I ate another quarter of a banana and finished off my water bottle. I started to cramp a little bit but was just so anxious to start the run and see how my legs felt.

My transition to the run was good. I defnitely did not waste time and thank goodness I managed to remember everything that I needed to take off and leave and put on to take. I had another water bottle for the run. I fear cramps. The course was so lonely, I saw three other runners the entire time I was out there. I felt like I was barely moving and I was convinced I was losing tons of time. When I pasted the 2 mile marker and could see the last turn to the finish line I was overcome by a huge second wind. I felt like I could go forever. I turned the last corner and my husband was nearby and he encouraged me to finish strong and even kind of ran a few yards with me. It felt so good to have the support. I crossed the finish line, grabbed my free t-shirt and got a big hug from my husband and father.

Interestingly enough, the end was kind of bittersweet. So much time was spent training and the whole race only lasted 1:43 minutes. They say this sport is addictive for a reason. I can't wait to race again.

Holy Anxiety

Race is tomorrow. Twenty-four hours and it will be all over. I hope I make it into the water without losing my breakfast to anxiety. I am already fumbling over myself.

Good thoughts, positive energy. I'm ready.