New Fork, Nice Ride

Yesterday's ride was really good. I think it was the new fork! HA!

No, not really, but I do think watching IMLP really hit me hard, in the emotional way. And that has helped me refocus so I can do better these last 6 weeks. So, I decided to go to Columbia for a few laps. Becky told me riding the course backwards was really good training for Wisconsin. So, I did one backwards, one the regular way, and finished backwards. Backwards is MUCH harder than the regular course, so I was happy I did that, twice. Also, the first 2 laps were great because there was cloud cover. The last lap was a bit harder as the sun came out, and my body did not like that. But, I was really happy with the day. I couldn't run after, but manged to power walk a good 20 minutes.

I then sat in my car for 10 minutes with the AC on high to cool down.

Since I don't have any fun pictures to post from the ride, I thought I would post some from the Columbia race. Thanks to Sandy for the pictures and Carolina for taking them!
I almost look scared to start the swim... I never see the people taking the pictures on the bike! Start of the run with my "jazz hands". Yup. I CRUSHED that race.

Blain Update!

Friday's Post

Remember my last Blain update when I said "First of all, Blain is fine"? Well, I can't start this post in the same way.

On our way home from a fantastic trip to Lake Placid, some $*(Q^%(*U@( guy decided he didn't need to pay attention to the road on 495, during rush hour, and rear ended SWC's (I am going to leave names out of this one, just in case) car. Luckily, we were all fine. As was he. Both cars were drive able and we know it could have been a lot worse. However, the bike were on the back of the car and took the brunt of the hit.

At first glance, the frames looked okay, all but the fork. The CARBON fork. Knowing I didn't have much time to mess around, I decided to work from home on Wednesday so I could head to the bike shop right when they opened at 11. B was there and his full carbon-framed bike was actually fine. Mine, not so much. But luckily, it was just the fork. And because Fresh Bikes is awesome, they found me a black fork (at first they only had a white one and it would have been 2 weeks for a black one - so Blain would have looked a tad funny). When I told Coach, he was happy we were all okay, and said "The Ironman Wisconsin bike course doesn't know you have a white fork". Thanks Coach, thanks.

However, Friday night, I headed to pick up Blain and he looked good as new.

A little extra stress but all seems to have worked out. Now I just need the $*(Q^%(*U@( guy's insurance to send me a check! Carbon forks are not cheep!

My Friends Are AMAZING!

Monday's Post

What a day yesterday was!!!

I can not even put into words how fantastic everyone of my friends are and what they accomplished. I am not going to go into too many details, but trust me, it was AMAZING!

The day started off nice and early with everyone getting to the water on time.
We kicked off our shoes and got a prime spot to watch the swim exit. It was perfect because I got to see most people come out of the water with HUGE smiles on their faces.

Since we all had bikes, we decided it was best to go somewhere most people weren't. There are 3 big climbs at the end of the 56 mile loop. A huge crowd was at the last one (Papa bear), so we went to the middle one (Mama bear). I don't want to play favorites with my totally awesome friends, so I will post this picture where I tried to show the difficult beauty these athletes conquered. Twice.
Again, this was a prime spot as we got to see almost everyone TWICE!

After about 7 hours on Mama Bear, we headed to the finish. I kept crying because of moments like thisSo I headed to the run course to cheer on everyone else I could find. And cheer I did until everyone finished.

To Phil, Janie, Bryan, Travis, AJ, Mike, Toby, Alejandro, Sue, TJ, Ryan, Emily, Dirk and Karen - thank you for reminding me why I will continue to train harder than ever for the next 6 weeks. You have each inspired me in a different way, which has now motivated me more than I can put into words.

PS. Alejandro found this video. It pretty much sums it up in 9 minutes and 29 seconds (and you can see Toby and Karen!)

70.3 Plus 1 Minus 5

I have to say, Lake Placid is beautiful.

Sandy and I made it up here on Thursday with an uneventful drive. Well, Sandy let out her inner Jersey with a bump it, but that was about it. We headed right dinner and realized that it was not much cooler or less humid up here. Not 119 heat index like DC, but still, 90 in Lake Placid is HOT.

The first thing I did Friday was go the Mirror Lake for a swim. And it was beautiful. The swim course is known for being fast, largely due to a cord under water that you can see while swimming. This way, sighting is not a problem, and it's basically swimming with a lane line. And my swim was FANTASTIC. It almost felt like I had flippers or a sail.
The rest of the afternoon was spent prepping some cookie dough and making a full on carbo loading dinner for 22. Yay Sherpa-ing!

And today was my half. Lake Placid is a 2 loop Ironman. In other words it's a 1.2 mile swim, twice; 56 mile loop, twice; 13.1 mile run, twice. So, I decided to do my own half. With Coach's permission of course.
This morning, at 7 am, I got a ride with Alejandro to the lake and swam my 1.2 miles. And it felt great! 36 minutes and 10 seconds. If that was 'real', it would have PR'ed my 1.2 mile swim (Augusta doesn't count as it was point to point and faster than some of my Oly swim times!).

I walked the mile (the Plus 1) back to the house and quickly changed into my bike stuff and rolled out with Sandy, Laural, and Katie. My goals were to not get frustrated with myself on the hills (mountains), not let the fact that the other ladies were faster, and just spin.
For the most part, I was successful. I did take off early from the refuel stop, knowing the hills that were coming and they would catch me (which they did), but overall, it wasn't as bad as I expected. Whenever I thought about taking a break at the top of a hill, I finished (56 miles) and thought "that wasn't so bad", and kept going.
And the best part, the scenery. It was beautiful. I wish I could have taken a few pictures, but I was either going down the mountain, fighting wind, trying to shield from the sun, or going back up. Not the best time for me to take a picture. But trust me, it was gorgeous.

I made it back to the house, changed, washed my salt filled face and headed out for my run. I was immediately concerned when I went through my water in under 30 minutes. I filled up at a gas station and that hardly lasted either. And the run wasn't feeling good and I started feeling sorry for myself. Then something happened. I told myself "Amanda, SUCK IT UP! You ARE an Ironman, and you will be AGAIN!" And I stared power walking. I was still out of water so I changed my course, and started walking with a purpose. I made it to a corner store, got a Gatorade and water, and had a Gu. 5 minutes later I was on my way with a very slosh-ie stomach. Oops. I know better...
So I did the best I could with power walking, running when there was shade, and keeping my stomach semi-happy. I also decided that 13.1 miles probably wasn't the best and headed back to the house. I am 100% confident that I made the right decision. I was 5 miles short of my goal but super happy I even went out in the first place.

I rewarded myself with a large glass of chocolate milk and a long shower, until the warm shower, until the hot water ran out.

Now tomorrow, I get to sherpa and I am so excited. Karen, Alejandro, Dirk, Bryan, Janie, AJ, Toby, Travis, TJ, Phil, Emily, Sue - and everyone else, have fun. To quote something I saw on a car window today:
Swim like a fish
Bike like a train
Run like a Kenyon

CRUSH IT!

Quick Post

Workouts have not been good this week for a few reasons

1. Work is making me do work again. And it's not fun


2. It's hot. Just as it is in most of the US


3. My friends doing IM Lake Placid are tapering and I like to support my friends, so I am tapering too.

Actually, there is where I am headed, LAKE PLACID! I will try to post from New York, but you know, I have to get my Sherpa on.

Great Weekend, BUT Today Was A Monday...

It was pretty nice to have the weekend off of a long ride. It does make me a tad nervous, but as Coach reminded me "One workout, done or not done, does not make an Ironman". Fair enough.

Saturday was my long run and it was by far my best long run to date. The Personal Cook planned out a route, including a water stop at the hour mark. And only once was I not paying attention that I missed the fact he turned and I went straight. That's progress :-) But it felt good, my body position felt good, my cadence felt good. I was very happy. Of course I would have wanted those 2 hours to be at the same pace as my 30-45 minute runs, but I am realistic. Or at least trying to be more realistic.

Sunday was only a 90 minute ride. To do something different, the PC drove my car to his place and I biked there. It worked out pretty well, except I was going into the head wind and with a point to point, you never get the wind at your back. But I felt super rested and even though it was in the middle of the day, and hot, I didn't feel drained. I had more than enough energy to cheer during the nail bitter of a soccer game.

And now it's Monday. I was supposed to be at a show tonight, but it was cancelled. Silly lead singer who can't talk! Whatever!
My new running shoes don't fit AT ALL. So much for the same style but new model. I hate that! Now I need to scramble in the next 2 months to find the right pair.
And as I was about to walk out the door from work at 5:45 to go to the pool when I got called into a meeting. Which went to 6:30. To be continued at 8 in the morning. With a follow up conference call at 9. My job as been more than accommodating during my training so I really can't complain.
But I am complaining anyway. I decided to flip my swim from tonight to bike on the trainer and hop on the treadmill for my brick. Hopefully I can make it to the pool after my foot doctor appointment tomorrow. I hate change especially when I have a plan. But I should still find time to fit everything in the evenings. So much for being a morning person!

I Don't Look Good In Polka Dots Anyway

This morning was hill day and it started off with 15 minutes on the trainer to warm up. Of course, I watched the tour for inspiration. I then hopped off of Carlos, grabbed Blain, and headed to Tilden for some hill repeats. 6 of them.
I made it up each time, without too much trouble and that made me happy. As did the fact that I climbed over 1000 ft in under 40 minutes. It wasn't fast, I have some work to do on shifting and cadence, but there is no way I would have been able to do this workout 3 years ago. I was even more happy when I saw how well my heart rate dropped after I got to the top, turned around, and went back downhill (red line is heart rate and the green line is elevation). AND, I never got into my high zone rate (over 180). Yay!

After my last long ride of frustration, my Personal Cook tried to lighten my mood by saying "No Polka Dot Jersey for You!" in the "No Soup for You" Seinfeld voice. It did make me laugh. We have spent a lot of time watching Le Tour and it was confirmed this morning. I could only keep my cadence around 50 rpm, not 100. I only maxed out going downhill at 23.6 mph, not 61. So, I guess that means no polka dot jersey for me. But that's okay, I look better in green.

It's too bad I'm not a sprinter either...

And Went Tonight

For workout #2 - a swim.

It was supposed to be 500, 3x5x50, 800. Well, I hate 50's, especially since I swim in a 50 meter pool. So, I did some bad math and after the 500, I started with 3x6x100 - and thought that was would be just a bit over what was on the schedule. If you just did the math, you know I was WAY off. I realized this after the first 4 100's and adjusted as needed.

Overall, I felt really good in the water. Good body position, strong pulls, nice body roll. The last 800 felt awesome - until the cramps started. Right pinkie toe went first, so I over compensated with my left foot and got a cramp in the arch of that foot.
But did I stop? Of course not! I am sure the women behind me thought I was doing some sort of weird kicking drill, but whatever. I finished and felt really good.

Tomorrow morning, hill repeats...

Still Went Early

After another round of massive thunderstorms yesterday afternoon/early evening, the humidity finally broke. A tad. It was only a high of 84 and not much humidity. I knew this, but still chose to do my 40 minute easy run in the morning. I am not becoming a morning person, but my body clock is. Fail.

And I actually had a decent run. I managed to only stop/walk at the stop lights and a minute when I turned around. I was happy to not be looking at my watch to figure out when I could walk again.

Also, I haven't loaded it into Connect dot Garmin, so I can't get disappointed. I am just going to go with the "that wasn't too bad" feeling.

So, what does this mean? I am getting really good at 'running' for 30-45 minutes. Too bad I can't run 26.2 miles after swimming 2.4 and biking 112 in 30-45 minutes. That would be awesome.

Yet Again

I know why I keep going back to Coach. Well, if you mean twice...

Anyway, I think you have probably learned I can jump on the Crazy Train with the best of them. Some of you (*cough*) may know this a tad bit better than others. So I am sure it's no surprise that my emails to Coach may sometimes (*cough* often *cough*) tend toward crazy and rambling. And instead of editing my super long and over detailed emails, I just hit send. He is used to reading what he needs to and tells me what to do.

Well, the same thing has been happening the past 3 days. He wants me to take the weekend off of a long ride and only do a long run. THE HORROR! I KNOW, Right!?!?! Anyway, I was okay with this until I realized that next weekend is the ASLP HALF (Amanda/Sandy Lake Placid half - more on that later)! That would mean 2 WEEKS with only 90 minutes and 56 miles of riding. AHHH!!!! Remember, Ironman Moo is less than 2 MONTHS AWAY!! Hence the most recent Crazy Train rambling email.

His response "I like your crazy e-mails! When i sign on and see all kinds of athletes e-mails, If i see one from you, I open it first. :)" And this is why he continues to be my Coach.

Oh, and this morning I made it back to Hains Point. For a 2 hour ride. And 30 run around the Tidal Basin. And it was 91 degrees when I got back in my car at 8:52 AM. Yup, it was warm. But the bike/run felt okay - considering the heat. So, yay! Tomorrow, run and swim.