Well, just got home from Lake Placid. What a surreal week this has been. It all started when we got there on Thursday afetrnoon. i was in a pretty bad mood as we got there at 4:15 an registration closed at 4. I would have to wait until the next morning. When we got to the cabin Hugh and Denise were already waiting inside and I got a phone call from my cousin that she was stuck in a storm outside of Albany and didn't know if she was going to make it up. We had dinner and I laed down to ice my left knee which had been quite sore. The next morning I met my ironpals Kitima and Dana and we swam at Mirror Lake. That was very relaxing and got my spirits up again. Finally at 10 am, I was able to register. Spent the rest of the day knitting and icing my knee.
Saturday morning was a repeat of Friday, swam at 7 am and the knitted and iced the knee. I packed all my bags rode down the bike and transition bags and went to bed around 8:30pm.
Sunday, I woke up around 4:00am and by 4:10, was ready to go. Got to transition around 4:50 and checked on my bike and added my nutrition and checked the bags. Walked down to the lake around 5:45 and sat ona bench talking to a guy who was there to see his buddy do the race. We talked until about 6:35. Walked to the lake and ran into Jeremy, Glen, Rich and I think Kevin and maybe Doug were there too. I started crying, which seemed to be the order of the day. Walked into the shute and saw Kara and Brock. Talked to them for a little while, then ran into Jay C. After I heard Kevin C. calling me from shore, he was pointing me to where Kitima and Dana were. I really needed to see them. We did a final "Buttscratcher" chant and then the cannon. I felt very calm. I immediatly found the bouy line and just pretended I was at Canandaigua. Very relaxing. The swim was over in 1:33.
T1 went well, wow, the volunteers are amazing, they really go all out
The bike started and the I felt good. My average on the first loop was 14.4. I was taking it very easy since I wanted to protect my knee. On the second loop I strted to feel a little off. It was very hot and my stomach was starting to act weird. I backed off the carbo pro and stated doing more gels and water. My pace had slowed down a lot. The bike almost over. As I pulled up behind the oval to leave my bike an older gentleman who I had seen on the course was also finishing. He told me he had done this race 5 times. He always finished the bike around 5:00pm and he had always finished the race. I must have looked pretty down since I was already convinced I was not going to finish. It was so late. He told me not to worry, relax and walk. As we parted ways, he just said: congratulations kid, tonight you will be an Ironman. That made me feel a little better and got me through into T2.
Then the run started, I was feeling ok and was running and walking the aid stations. I did that up the aid station #4. Then, the walks got longer. My stomach was not ok. I tried eating, it was bad. I tried gels, it got worse. I stopped consuming anything. I just walked. I was great to hear my name called out by people on the race, spectators and specially the TT people. I ran again. Then the second loop. It was really bad now. Tina's dad and mom saw me on the course and new I was in trouble. They ran with me down the hill and told me Tina was waiting at the bottom. I saw Tina nd she started to run along my side. She told me she would stay as long as I needed her. We would run and walk, then we saw Denise, she joined us and also ran along my side. It was night time now and the clock was ticking. Then the power went out on riverside road. It was now pitch black. We kept watching landmarks on the road. Then, I started to vomit. That actually made me feel a little better. I should have made myself vomit earlier. I could only keep coke down. All of a sudden, there was Glen and Jeremy. They joined our gruop. Then Tina's parents joined us and we all trtoed along. Then Rolando, and my sister Tita and my cousin Sandy joined us as we ran along. Coming up the hill I heard a voice say into a megaphone: "is that marian down there?" I sawMary and Rich at the top of the hill. Once we did the final mile it was over. Denise told me: "I don't care how you feel, you will run in the oval, now fix your hair and wipe the boogers of your face". And so I did. I could hear the people screaming and my name beign called out. And then, the uncontrolable crying. It was over.
16:34:33
As I sit here with my feet bandaged up and my sore muscles I feel so greatfull that I was able to share this whole year with teh entire TT team and my family and friends. Mary, you are the best coach ever. Kitima and Dana, I love guys, we will always be the Title 9 Tea Party. Tina, Glen, Jeremy, thanks for the push. Denise and Roalndo for taking care of me all weekend long and all the advice. The rest of TT, both on the course and on the sidelines. I really needed the words of encouragement. Tita, Sandy,a nd Joel, thanks for putting up with me, sorry I was so cranky and emotional.
Until next Ironman, thanks for reading,
~marian
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Jackie D - RACE WEEK
Week 44 - starting Monday 16 July 2007 - Race Week
Original Scheduled hours: 2hrs 55 mins
An easy bike on Monday, a short easy run on Tuesday, day off on Wednesday and then up to Lake Placid on Thursday.
I was supposed to bike the run course on Thursday but it was pouring with rain so I abandoned that - not too guilty as my bike needed to dry out from the trip up and I wasn’t going to gain or lose fitness now!
We stayed in the most fantastic place for families which we rented with coach Mary and her family. It was about a half hour drive into Placid but that was more than made up for by the cottage. It was on the edge of a pond which was clear and safe for swimming. The cottage had a dock, a campfire area, a raft on a pulley system to get out a bit further into the pond, paddle boat, kayak, canoe, sailing boat - it really was a kids paradise
I swam a loop of the course in Mirror Lake on Friday morning. I am glad I did as it is a little nervy/ strange swimming in a new open water place for the first time. It was quite murky which I guess was partly due to lots of swimmers and the tremendous rainfall the previous day. It got deep very quickly which was good because I don’t really like feeling weed around my legs as I swim. After breakfast it was back to the cottage and a day out with the family exploring chasms and forts and things.
On Saturday I was supposed to swim another loop of the swim course but I decided it would be just as good to swim in the pond on the doorstep. However, after my short run around the pond I decided the air temperature was too cool and a hundred other excuses and I just didn’t get around to it. It was bike and bag check in day so we headed in to Lake Placid and after checking stuff in we went out to the Olympic training centre to watch the ski jumpers practice by flying off the end of a training jump into a pool of water. Then headed back to the house to chill out. Mary and I had an early night whilst the rest of them had a campfire and toasted marshmallows. I’m told the only one that liked them was the dog that wandered over from a neighbouring property! Although I went to bed at about 8.30pm I didn’t fall asleep till after 11pm.
RACE DAY
OK this is deliberately going to be in fine detail for my memory purposes - I want to remember this forever.
I set my alarm for 2am with the intention of eating a bowl of cereal and then going back to sleep for a couple of hours. The alarm didn’t go off (no idea why, it worked the previous morning) but luckily I woke up at 2.40am anyway. So, I crept down the creaky stairs (sorry Tom and Hannah who were sleeping on the sofas - the stairs really were noisy), had my cereal and creaked back upstairs. Of course I didn’t get back to sleep after that, partly because I was worried about the alarm but I convinced myself I was resting. So, up finally at 4am to start drinking some Gatorade. I was still full from my earlier breakfast so I grabbed a banana and a power bar and we were off well before 4.15am. Tom kindly drove us in AND helped us carry our bags up the hill from where we parked.
We were not first! There was no queue for body marking (which was out on the street) so I did that and then they opened up transition shortly before 5am. No queue for the bathroom so made the most of that. Two hours has never flown by so fast. It was eerily calm and quiet despite the huge numbers of people around, just going about their own thing, preparing physically and mentally. It was dark but there were floodlights over the oval. By the time I had checked bike tyres, loaded it up with nutrition and got into my wetsuit it was time to head down to the start. One last (20 minute this time) queue for the bathroom and then into the water.
After paddling around the edge for a few minutes I took the plunge and swam out to one of the floating rafts and sat on that for a while to view the scene. The area gradually filled up and when the 5min to go announcement was made it was time to choose my place. I decided in the middle about half way across the starting line, half way back.
The Swim (1:07:22)
The horn went off and we were off. This swim was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. There were people everywhere thrashing about. I didn’t try and sight for at least 10 minutes because I was just concentrating on finding enough water to put my arms in to pull. If a little gap appeared in front I would aim for it - but so did half a dozen others so it soon filled up. The gentlemen don’t treat us ladies any different in this fight for space I can tell you. At one point (actually several times) I got so fed up with someone swimming on top of my legs persistently I just tried to kick him off. Arms were a flailing, whacking me on the head and it was just a big fight for space all the way around the first loop. Part of it I think was my own doing (not intentionally) because at one point when I looked up to get my bearings I found myself right next to a buoy so I was on the inside, busy track following the underwater line up the course. I’m a pretty confident swimmer so I knew I could hold my own but it wasn’t easy. It’s funny what thoughts go through your mind as you swim along. I was watching other peoples strokes and analysing them and looking for the divers (didn’t see any) which they had told us about (“don’t be startled by bubbles and divers in the water”). Also just telling myself to reach and pull, slowly and smoothly. According to my watch I did the first loop in about 32 minutes which is amazingly fast for me - I think I just got sucked around! The second loop was a bit clearer but still plenty of people around and bumping into each other. I just kept swimming and trying to find some feet to draft on which sometimes worked and sometimes I was on my own. My swim time was 1:07:22 which I was thrilled about and it hadn’t seemed like much of an effort at all.
My wetsuit was pulled from me and I started down the carpet to transition. I was surprised to find that the move from horizontal to vertical didn’t affect me - I felt great and was able to jog down and locate my transition bag.
T1 (12:41)
I purposely took my time here, just getting ready, drying myself, applying sunscreen and making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. Minor blip number one was here - having loaded up my back pockets of my bike shirt with my nutrition I found that my race belt didn’t sit easily and on the way out to the bike it tore off so I had to stop and redo that with safety pins. I had to find my own bike (even though they were numbered I went down the wrong rack first- duh!) and then I had to run with it all the whole length of the transition area to the start line.
Bike (6:44:20 (splits 3:09:05, 3:35:14))
There were a lot of people heading out at the same time as me so it was quite hard to find a space to get bike over the mounting line and get on. Patience on a long day I guess. Took it easy - out of transition is downhill and 2 sharp corners. Then I was off. There really were so many people that it was impossible to stay 4 lengths behind anyone on the first climbs. I was told that you can’t really draft at the speeds we were going up the hill though so everyone just got on and did their own thing. By the time we got to the top of the hill it was all a bit more spread out and the USAT referees came along several times on the motorbikes to check no- one was drafting. The first downhill into Keene was awesome. I had to actually brake several times because people were in the way but generally it was good. I love downhills. The flat bit was good - I just kept telling myself it was important not to feel like I was “working” and that I was just out for a “Sunday afternoon pleasure ride“. I remember smiling constantly and thinking “I’m doing an Ironman and this is easy”. My first aid station attempt wasn’t so good. I dropped 2 water bottles before managing to hold onto one and made a mental note to slow down a bit more next time. Even my dreaded hill up to Wilmington wasn’t as bad as I thought - the encouragement of the spectators is truly magnificent. The out and back bit plus the climb back into town weren’t too bad either. I felt strong, happy and was having a great time. The hardest thing was finding a clear enough section on a downhill to pee! (sorry mum, hope you aren’t reading this bit).
The crowds on Papa Bear are amazing and I don’t remember that feeling hard at all. My first bike loop split was 3:09 and I didn’t feel fatigued at all. Round we went again.
My second loop bike split was much slower at 3:35. I didn’t actually think it was so much to do with fatigue because apart from needing to stand up to stretch and get my bum off the seat a couple of times I still felt good. However, the wind going down the big hill into Keene and all the way along the flat bit to Upper Jay was really noticeable against us and I think that was more of a factor. There was this one guy (Declan) who was around the same pace but I was faster on hills and him on flat so we kept passing each other. The reason I know this is that I named him Mr Snotty. I think he must have had a cold or something because he kept snot rocketing every 20 seconds or so with no thought to who was behind. After some minor sprays I tried to keep a bit ahead of him but alas, big groan when he came by me again. In fact I got so fed up with it that at one point when I went past him I said loudly “nice” in a sarcastic voice as he “sniffed” but I don’t think he got the hint!
Another minor blip of the day was when my race number tore off one of the pins and I had to stop and refasten it (again) before it completely flew off.
I felt I had to work a bit harder on the uphill last 11 miles but generally I felt pretty good all the way around. The only noticeable thing was a had a kind of side stitch practically all the way around the bike course which was made worse by eating solid food (my Jaffa cakes) so I stopped eating those and just survived on gel and Gatorade (and water). So, I knew I hadn’t taken in as many calories as ideal but I was still eating when I could and felt OK.
Back into town to the amazing crowds, over the line and just passed my bike to a volunteer and was pointed in the right direction to my next transition bag.
Other notes on the bike course were
(1) Despite what people say there are USAT officials on the narrow out and back course - I know - I saw them
(2) Although I didn’t see a great deal of it, I got really annoyed at a few people (all male) that were clearly drafting. Several times I had to give dirty looks over my shoulder to get some one off my wheel and several times I saw people in front of me blatantly drafting. I guess they have no conscience.
T2 (8:39)
This was a strange experience. I found my bag and waddled along to the changing tent. I just wanted to sit down for a couple of minutes to recharge but volunteers kept coming up to me and trying to help, tipping out my bag, asking me if I needed sunscreen etc. I was really grateful they were there but just needed a few minutes on my own. So, once I was ready they topped me up with sunscreen, I went to the portapotty then off on the run.
Run (5:26:06 (splits 2:21:27, 3:04:38))
Oh it was a good job the crowds were there to start. They were the incentive to get through the first difficult 10 minutes when my legs were fighting me as I was persuading them they could run. But going down a steep hill to start was tough. I knew it would all get better after the first mile or so and those crowds really helped. After that I settled into a rhythm and just walked aid stations to take in nutrition as planned. I could feel my legs were a bit sore so I pretty much knew I wouldn’t be going fast but I felt fine. I watched the clock and at 3 miles and 6 miles I knew my pace was well under 10 minutes (probably around 9:30). I took Gatorade or gel and water at each aid station as planned. Then it all started to fall apart. I started to feel nauseous and by mile 10-11 I was starting to feel dizzy too. I decided to walk more than I planned - I know the rules - slow down and sip water to try and settle nutrition problems. At each aid station I sipped water and then when that didn’t help I tried cola as I heard that can be a life saver. I managed to jog past my family and the crowds on the first bit of the second loop because I didn’t want my kids to see I was struggling so much but Fred had guessed because Dennis had gone into the short out and back behind me and came out way in front. He walked with me (Dennis) for a few minutes as he was on a revised plan too. In fact I think most people I saw in the team seemed to be having a few “challenges“. It was a hard day.
Off on the second loop I plodded. The course was actually strangely quiet considering how many people were out there. Apart from a few words of encouragement made to one another as you passed each other everyone seemed to be in their own world, focusing and trying to just keep going.
I went to a portapotty for a wee so I knew stuff was going through me but boy it was hard to get up. There was no way I wasn’t going to finish and I was scared if I pushed myself I would get worse and be hauled off. At one stage there were “things” floating on my retina and I had to make a concerted effort to walk a straightish line past an ambulance station! I had pretty much resigned myself to walking when at mile 19 Sarah came past me and we walked a while. She was sucking pretzels for the salt and gave me one to try. Sarah saved me! I am so grateful to her. I knew she was finding it tough too but she was there to help me and encourage me. I was salt deficient. I would never have guessed it. I had been drinking Gatorade and eating gels and never needed extra salt on my long runs but eating pretzels cured me. Literally. By mile 20 I started to jog again, and I jogged, sucking on pretzels, just walking any of the bigger hills and aid stations and I started to feel much better. I’m not saying it was easy but it was such a relief not to feel so sick still. After the last aid station before town I hadn’t started jogging again and a man called Tim who I had been playing leapfrog with (no not literally) passed me again and told me I could at least run to the bottom of the big hill - which most people walked up intentionally anyway. He was right, so I did. Thank you Tim. I was a little faster than him but he caught me when I walked and after the hill he passed me again and told me that surely I could run the last mile. He was right I could. Thank you Tim again (I did thank him lots then too- both times). So, I finished strong, with a smile on my face and needed no medical attention at all.
My family were apparently there, even at the finish but I only saw them once on the run. The Train-this support crowd were awesome as were all the strangers yelling my name and encouraging me.
Afterwards and hindsight
I felt OK immediately afterwards - guess that’s what a 7 mile walking break does for you! I grabbed a bit of pizza, sat and eat it and then went off to find people and my bags etc and cheer some people home.
I am elated that I have had this experience and finished and it means so much to have a “team” of supporters out there and that all of our competing team finished. I am so proud of all of us. I can’t say I am not disappointed with my run, but I wouldn’t have guessed a salt problem and at the end of the day what happens is what happens. The time doesn’t really matter because this was a one-off for me, always was, still is! I had no compulsion to join Mary in the sign up queue on Monday morning. I have enjoyed everything about the training and the race experience was awesome but I want to concentrate on a shorter distance now.
The next day I can see I have a couple of blisters on one foot (probably from wet shoes since I poured cold water over me a lot on the run) and my legs feel a bit sore but not too bad at all. I wouldn’t like to go for a jog but I could easily go for a swim. I won’t though, not for a couple of days anyway. I’ve got some chocolate eating to catch up on before my metabolism slows down from lack of ridiculous amounts of exercise.
All my race pictures show me smiling and although I think my natural bike face is a grimace that can be interpreted as a smile it was nice to have comments as I cycled along saying “Nice smile lady“. I think that summed up the day for me. It was fun!
Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading all my team mates race reports too.
Original Scheduled hours: 2hrs 55 mins
An easy bike on Monday, a short easy run on Tuesday, day off on Wednesday and then up to Lake Placid on Thursday.
I was supposed to bike the run course on Thursday but it was pouring with rain so I abandoned that - not too guilty as my bike needed to dry out from the trip up and I wasn’t going to gain or lose fitness now!
We stayed in the most fantastic place for families which we rented with coach Mary and her family. It was about a half hour drive into Placid but that was more than made up for by the cottage. It was on the edge of a pond which was clear and safe for swimming. The cottage had a dock, a campfire area, a raft on a pulley system to get out a bit further into the pond, paddle boat, kayak, canoe, sailing boat - it really was a kids paradise
I swam a loop of the course in Mirror Lake on Friday morning. I am glad I did as it is a little nervy/ strange swimming in a new open water place for the first time. It was quite murky which I guess was partly due to lots of swimmers and the tremendous rainfall the previous day. It got deep very quickly which was good because I don’t really like feeling weed around my legs as I swim. After breakfast it was back to the cottage and a day out with the family exploring chasms and forts and things.
On Saturday I was supposed to swim another loop of the swim course but I decided it would be just as good to swim in the pond on the doorstep. However, after my short run around the pond I decided the air temperature was too cool and a hundred other excuses and I just didn’t get around to it. It was bike and bag check in day so we headed in to Lake Placid and after checking stuff in we went out to the Olympic training centre to watch the ski jumpers practice by flying off the end of a training jump into a pool of water. Then headed back to the house to chill out. Mary and I had an early night whilst the rest of them had a campfire and toasted marshmallows. I’m told the only one that liked them was the dog that wandered over from a neighbouring property! Although I went to bed at about 8.30pm I didn’t fall asleep till after 11pm.
RACE DAY
OK this is deliberately going to be in fine detail for my memory purposes - I want to remember this forever.
I set my alarm for 2am with the intention of eating a bowl of cereal and then going back to sleep for a couple of hours. The alarm didn’t go off (no idea why, it worked the previous morning) but luckily I woke up at 2.40am anyway. So, I crept down the creaky stairs (sorry Tom and Hannah who were sleeping on the sofas - the stairs really were noisy), had my cereal and creaked back upstairs. Of course I didn’t get back to sleep after that, partly because I was worried about the alarm but I convinced myself I was resting. So, up finally at 4am to start drinking some Gatorade. I was still full from my earlier breakfast so I grabbed a banana and a power bar and we were off well before 4.15am. Tom kindly drove us in AND helped us carry our bags up the hill from where we parked.
We were not first! There was no queue for body marking (which was out on the street) so I did that and then they opened up transition shortly before 5am. No queue for the bathroom so made the most of that. Two hours has never flown by so fast. It was eerily calm and quiet despite the huge numbers of people around, just going about their own thing, preparing physically and mentally. It was dark but there were floodlights over the oval. By the time I had checked bike tyres, loaded it up with nutrition and got into my wetsuit it was time to head down to the start. One last (20 minute this time) queue for the bathroom and then into the water.
After paddling around the edge for a few minutes I took the plunge and swam out to one of the floating rafts and sat on that for a while to view the scene. The area gradually filled up and when the 5min to go announcement was made it was time to choose my place. I decided in the middle about half way across the starting line, half way back.
The Swim (1:07:22)
The horn went off and we were off. This swim was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. There were people everywhere thrashing about. I didn’t try and sight for at least 10 minutes because I was just concentrating on finding enough water to put my arms in to pull. If a little gap appeared in front I would aim for it - but so did half a dozen others so it soon filled up. The gentlemen don’t treat us ladies any different in this fight for space I can tell you. At one point (actually several times) I got so fed up with someone swimming on top of my legs persistently I just tried to kick him off. Arms were a flailing, whacking me on the head and it was just a big fight for space all the way around the first loop. Part of it I think was my own doing (not intentionally) because at one point when I looked up to get my bearings I found myself right next to a buoy so I was on the inside, busy track following the underwater line up the course. I’m a pretty confident swimmer so I knew I could hold my own but it wasn’t easy. It’s funny what thoughts go through your mind as you swim along. I was watching other peoples strokes and analysing them and looking for the divers (didn’t see any) which they had told us about (“don’t be startled by bubbles and divers in the water”). Also just telling myself to reach and pull, slowly and smoothly. According to my watch I did the first loop in about 32 minutes which is amazingly fast for me - I think I just got sucked around! The second loop was a bit clearer but still plenty of people around and bumping into each other. I just kept swimming and trying to find some feet to draft on which sometimes worked and sometimes I was on my own. My swim time was 1:07:22 which I was thrilled about and it hadn’t seemed like much of an effort at all.
My wetsuit was pulled from me and I started down the carpet to transition. I was surprised to find that the move from horizontal to vertical didn’t affect me - I felt great and was able to jog down and locate my transition bag.
T1 (12:41)
I purposely took my time here, just getting ready, drying myself, applying sunscreen and making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. Minor blip number one was here - having loaded up my back pockets of my bike shirt with my nutrition I found that my race belt didn’t sit easily and on the way out to the bike it tore off so I had to stop and redo that with safety pins. I had to find my own bike (even though they were numbered I went down the wrong rack first- duh!) and then I had to run with it all the whole length of the transition area to the start line.
Bike (6:44:20 (splits 3:09:05, 3:35:14))
There were a lot of people heading out at the same time as me so it was quite hard to find a space to get bike over the mounting line and get on. Patience on a long day I guess. Took it easy - out of transition is downhill and 2 sharp corners. Then I was off. There really were so many people that it was impossible to stay 4 lengths behind anyone on the first climbs. I was told that you can’t really draft at the speeds we were going up the hill though so everyone just got on and did their own thing. By the time we got to the top of the hill it was all a bit more spread out and the USAT referees came along several times on the motorbikes to check no- one was drafting. The first downhill into Keene was awesome. I had to actually brake several times because people were in the way but generally it was good. I love downhills. The flat bit was good - I just kept telling myself it was important not to feel like I was “working” and that I was just out for a “Sunday afternoon pleasure ride“. I remember smiling constantly and thinking “I’m doing an Ironman and this is easy”. My first aid station attempt wasn’t so good. I dropped 2 water bottles before managing to hold onto one and made a mental note to slow down a bit more next time. Even my dreaded hill up to Wilmington wasn’t as bad as I thought - the encouragement of the spectators is truly magnificent. The out and back bit plus the climb back into town weren’t too bad either. I felt strong, happy and was having a great time. The hardest thing was finding a clear enough section on a downhill to pee! (sorry mum, hope you aren’t reading this bit).
The crowds on Papa Bear are amazing and I don’t remember that feeling hard at all. My first bike loop split was 3:09 and I didn’t feel fatigued at all. Round we went again.
My second loop bike split was much slower at 3:35. I didn’t actually think it was so much to do with fatigue because apart from needing to stand up to stretch and get my bum off the seat a couple of times I still felt good. However, the wind going down the big hill into Keene and all the way along the flat bit to Upper Jay was really noticeable against us and I think that was more of a factor. There was this one guy (Declan) who was around the same pace but I was faster on hills and him on flat so we kept passing each other. The reason I know this is that I named him Mr Snotty. I think he must have had a cold or something because he kept snot rocketing every 20 seconds or so with no thought to who was behind. After some minor sprays I tried to keep a bit ahead of him but alas, big groan when he came by me again. In fact I got so fed up with it that at one point when I went past him I said loudly “nice” in a sarcastic voice as he “sniffed” but I don’t think he got the hint!
Another minor blip of the day was when my race number tore off one of the pins and I had to stop and refasten it (again) before it completely flew off.
I felt I had to work a bit harder on the uphill last 11 miles but generally I felt pretty good all the way around. The only noticeable thing was a had a kind of side stitch practically all the way around the bike course which was made worse by eating solid food (my Jaffa cakes) so I stopped eating those and just survived on gel and Gatorade (and water). So, I knew I hadn’t taken in as many calories as ideal but I was still eating when I could and felt OK.
Back into town to the amazing crowds, over the line and just passed my bike to a volunteer and was pointed in the right direction to my next transition bag.
Other notes on the bike course were
(1) Despite what people say there are USAT officials on the narrow out and back course - I know - I saw them
(2) Although I didn’t see a great deal of it, I got really annoyed at a few people (all male) that were clearly drafting. Several times I had to give dirty looks over my shoulder to get some one off my wheel and several times I saw people in front of me blatantly drafting. I guess they have no conscience.
T2 (8:39)
This was a strange experience. I found my bag and waddled along to the changing tent. I just wanted to sit down for a couple of minutes to recharge but volunteers kept coming up to me and trying to help, tipping out my bag, asking me if I needed sunscreen etc. I was really grateful they were there but just needed a few minutes on my own. So, once I was ready they topped me up with sunscreen, I went to the portapotty then off on the run.
Run (5:26:06 (splits 2:21:27, 3:04:38))
Oh it was a good job the crowds were there to start. They were the incentive to get through the first difficult 10 minutes when my legs were fighting me as I was persuading them they could run. But going down a steep hill to start was tough. I knew it would all get better after the first mile or so and those crowds really helped. After that I settled into a rhythm and just walked aid stations to take in nutrition as planned. I could feel my legs were a bit sore so I pretty much knew I wouldn’t be going fast but I felt fine. I watched the clock and at 3 miles and 6 miles I knew my pace was well under 10 minutes (probably around 9:30). I took Gatorade or gel and water at each aid station as planned. Then it all started to fall apart. I started to feel nauseous and by mile 10-11 I was starting to feel dizzy too. I decided to walk more than I planned - I know the rules - slow down and sip water to try and settle nutrition problems. At each aid station I sipped water and then when that didn’t help I tried cola as I heard that can be a life saver. I managed to jog past my family and the crowds on the first bit of the second loop because I didn’t want my kids to see I was struggling so much but Fred had guessed because Dennis had gone into the short out and back behind me and came out way in front. He walked with me (Dennis) for a few minutes as he was on a revised plan too. In fact I think most people I saw in the team seemed to be having a few “challenges“. It was a hard day.
Off on the second loop I plodded. The course was actually strangely quiet considering how many people were out there. Apart from a few words of encouragement made to one another as you passed each other everyone seemed to be in their own world, focusing and trying to just keep going.
I went to a portapotty for a wee so I knew stuff was going through me but boy it was hard to get up. There was no way I wasn’t going to finish and I was scared if I pushed myself I would get worse and be hauled off. At one stage there were “things” floating on my retina and I had to make a concerted effort to walk a straightish line past an ambulance station! I had pretty much resigned myself to walking when at mile 19 Sarah came past me and we walked a while. She was sucking pretzels for the salt and gave me one to try. Sarah saved me! I am so grateful to her. I knew she was finding it tough too but she was there to help me and encourage me. I was salt deficient. I would never have guessed it. I had been drinking Gatorade and eating gels and never needed extra salt on my long runs but eating pretzels cured me. Literally. By mile 20 I started to jog again, and I jogged, sucking on pretzels, just walking any of the bigger hills and aid stations and I started to feel much better. I’m not saying it was easy but it was such a relief not to feel so sick still. After the last aid station before town I hadn’t started jogging again and a man called Tim who I had been playing leapfrog with (no not literally) passed me again and told me I could at least run to the bottom of the big hill - which most people walked up intentionally anyway. He was right, so I did. Thank you Tim. I was a little faster than him but he caught me when I walked and after the hill he passed me again and told me that surely I could run the last mile. He was right I could. Thank you Tim again (I did thank him lots then too- both times). So, I finished strong, with a smile on my face and needed no medical attention at all.
My family were apparently there, even at the finish but I only saw them once on the run. The Train-this support crowd were awesome as were all the strangers yelling my name and encouraging me.
Afterwards and hindsight
I felt OK immediately afterwards - guess that’s what a 7 mile walking break does for you! I grabbed a bit of pizza, sat and eat it and then went off to find people and my bags etc and cheer some people home.
I am elated that I have had this experience and finished and it means so much to have a “team” of supporters out there and that all of our competing team finished. I am so proud of all of us. I can’t say I am not disappointed with my run, but I wouldn’t have guessed a salt problem and at the end of the day what happens is what happens. The time doesn’t really matter because this was a one-off for me, always was, still is! I had no compulsion to join Mary in the sign up queue on Monday morning. I have enjoyed everything about the training and the race experience was awesome but I want to concentrate on a shorter distance now.
The next day I can see I have a couple of blisters on one foot (probably from wet shoes since I poured cold water over me a lot on the run) and my legs feel a bit sore but not too bad at all. I wouldn’t like to go for a jog but I could easily go for a swim. I won’t though, not for a couple of days anyway. I’ve got some chocolate eating to catch up on before my metabolism slows down from lack of ridiculous amounts of exercise.
All my race pictures show me smiling and although I think my natural bike face is a grimace that can be interpreted as a smile it was nice to have comments as I cycled along saying “Nice smile lady“. I think that summed up the day for me. It was fun!
Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading all my team mates race reports too.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Marian, July 17th, 2007
Well, Ironman is just a few days away. Who would have though, the time actually flew by. My left knee has been quite sore. I tried doing a 45 minute bike ride and had to stop at 20 minutes. I will get ART on it Thursday before i leave and hope it holds up for Sunday. I'll probably take some Advil on the bike with me.
I've been having the strange dreams of things going wrong like there is no more Gatorade left at Wegmans and I end up paying 7 dollars a bottle for Gatorade out of some back room in a dirty gas station. The other one was of getting to lake placid and realizing I forgot my helmet and camelback. Other dreams are of running through kids park, swingset and all. Don't know what that means.
I'm very nervous about my stomach not holding up all day. I'm in constant state of anxiety which is making things worse. I need Sunday to be here sooner.
I've been having the strange dreams of things going wrong like there is no more Gatorade left at Wegmans and I end up paying 7 dollars a bottle for Gatorade out of some back room in a dirty gas station. The other one was of getting to lake placid and realizing I forgot my helmet and camelback. Other dreams are of running through kids park, swingset and all. Don't know what that means.
I'm very nervous about my stomach not holding up all day. I'm in constant state of anxiety which is making things worse. I need Sunday to be here sooner.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Jackie D - Week 43
Week 43 - starting Monday 9 July 2007
Original Scheduled hours: 5hrs 45 mins
Actual hours: 5hrs 40 mins
Week 2 of taper and finally towards the end of the week it actually started to feel easier. After the hard time I found it last weekend, coach changed my schedule and gave me a surprise day off on Monday. Other than that I had 2 shortish race simulation bricks, 2 open water swims and a short aerobic bike.
The first brick was hard. Partly I think because I did it in the heat of day (said 90F when I got back) and partly because I was skimping on nutrition a bit - trying not to overeat in these last weeks. Anyway, the bike felt good and I you don’t really feel the heat when you are pedalling along but it really hits when you stop. I had a 30 min transition run afterwards with last 15 minutes supposed to be harder. Well wow, my HR started way up and I don’t think ever went down (I didn’t actually wear my HRM but my breathing told the story). At about 25 minutes, going up a hill I just couldn’t catch my breath anymore and I had to stop and walk for a few minutes. After that I just jogged slowly for the remaining 5 minutes. Of course lots of doubts then start cropping up - if I can’t even run for 30minutes how on earth am I going to complete 26.2 miles?!
Luckily, later in the week the second brick went well. The run was again 30 minutes and at last a run where it felt I could have gone further. Phew!
Both swims this week were in quite wavy waters which is fun although not so good for practicing long smooth strokes. There were even white caps on some of the waves on Friday. Once when I rolled to the side to breathe the side the waves were coming in, they nearly flipped me onto my back. Ooh what fun! I do miss the ocean where I grew up.
I had my bike checked over one last time at my local bike shop. I am glad I did because I did have a bend in part of the rear gear mechanism.
Most people I know doing this event are changing over to race wheels but my bike is what it is and has one set of wheels! I had decided to buy new tyres in the hope of minimising flat tyres and I have become just that little bit more knowledgeable now. I now have a slightly smaller width tyre on (23 rather than my 25s) and I am going to call them my race tyres! They are bound to make me go fasterJ
I am still deliberating and changing my mind to and fro on what to take on the bike. My current debate (with myself of course) is whether to use the aero bottle or not. It’s not so much the weight (or the annoying rattle!) but whether I can refill it whilst moving or more to the point, since water and Gatorade are available at aid stations whether I really need to as I have 2 bottle cages. I have used the aero bottle on training rides because I have needed to take as much nutrition and hydration with me as possible. Decisions decisions. I am also coming closer to deciding what I will wear as well, although not set in stone yet and probably won’t be ‘til next week.
Next report will be race report. Yikes or Yippee! I’ll also try and write for a couple of weeks afterwards because I want to be able to remember what it feels like afterwards and how long my body takes to recover.
1 WEEK TO GO
Original Scheduled hours: 5hrs 45 mins
Actual hours: 5hrs 40 mins
Week 2 of taper and finally towards the end of the week it actually started to feel easier. After the hard time I found it last weekend, coach changed my schedule and gave me a surprise day off on Monday. Other than that I had 2 shortish race simulation bricks, 2 open water swims and a short aerobic bike.
The first brick was hard. Partly I think because I did it in the heat of day (said 90F when I got back) and partly because I was skimping on nutrition a bit - trying not to overeat in these last weeks. Anyway, the bike felt good and I you don’t really feel the heat when you are pedalling along but it really hits when you stop. I had a 30 min transition run afterwards with last 15 minutes supposed to be harder. Well wow, my HR started way up and I don’t think ever went down (I didn’t actually wear my HRM but my breathing told the story). At about 25 minutes, going up a hill I just couldn’t catch my breath anymore and I had to stop and walk for a few minutes. After that I just jogged slowly for the remaining 5 minutes. Of course lots of doubts then start cropping up - if I can’t even run for 30minutes how on earth am I going to complete 26.2 miles?!
Luckily, later in the week the second brick went well. The run was again 30 minutes and at last a run where it felt I could have gone further. Phew!
Both swims this week were in quite wavy waters which is fun although not so good for practicing long smooth strokes. There were even white caps on some of the waves on Friday. Once when I rolled to the side to breathe the side the waves were coming in, they nearly flipped me onto my back. Ooh what fun! I do miss the ocean where I grew up.
I had my bike checked over one last time at my local bike shop. I am glad I did because I did have a bend in part of the rear gear mechanism.
Most people I know doing this event are changing over to race wheels but my bike is what it is and has one set of wheels! I had decided to buy new tyres in the hope of minimising flat tyres and I have become just that little bit more knowledgeable now. I now have a slightly smaller width tyre on (23 rather than my 25s) and I am going to call them my race tyres! They are bound to make me go fasterJ
I am still deliberating and changing my mind to and fro on what to take on the bike. My current debate (with myself of course) is whether to use the aero bottle or not. It’s not so much the weight (or the annoying rattle!) but whether I can refill it whilst moving or more to the point, since water and Gatorade are available at aid stations whether I really need to as I have 2 bottle cages. I have used the aero bottle on training rides because I have needed to take as much nutrition and hydration with me as possible. Decisions decisions. I am also coming closer to deciding what I will wear as well, although not set in stone yet and probably won’t be ‘til next week.
Next report will be race report. Yikes or Yippee! I’ll also try and write for a couple of weeks afterwards because I want to be able to remember what it feels like afterwards and how long my body takes to recover.
1 WEEK TO GO
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Jackie D - Week 42
Week 42 - starting Monday 2 July 2007
Original Scheduled hours: 10hrs 30 mins
Actual hours: 10hrs 30mins (I hope)
Well this was the first week of the taper but to be honest it didn’t really feel like it. Frequency of workouts was same and pretty much all same length as usual except long run and bike - these were scheduled for end of week so I didn’t really notice a difference in volume til the weekend. Of course that is my way of justifying that I can still eat the same amount as I am used to. I must watch that next week as the volume really drops.
Swimming was all in the lake this week but this time with more of a purpose. One swim was doing fast/slow intervals between the buoys and the other was steady aerobic pace with sighting practice so I stopped as little as necessary. I even managed to get up early for both of them. I got back home from one of my swims and found the bath had been run…….to digress for a second or two - there are 2 things that I take extreme, neurotic care about and won’t let my family touch - my bike and my wetsuit. Fred jokingly called my bike “Precious” once as I get so upset if anyone goes near where it is hanging in the garage (what can I say, I have 2 boys who think kicking a ball around a garage or shooting nerf guns is fun!). Well my bike is now “Precious 1” because it has been noticed how I soak and rinse my wetsuit, hang it carefully in shade etc etc etc - it is now “Precious 2”…..
So… when I come back from my swim and the bath is run and ready I say to Fred, “Oh thanks you have run a bath for Precious”. “NO! “ he says jumping in “This bath is for Precious 3!” So, there now seems to be a hierarchy in our house.
I think it may have backfired a bit though, ‘cos one of my sons has so far been banned from having dessert for 23 years for touching Precious 1 and 2.
The workouts have seemed hard this week. Even the “easy” stuff has seemed like more effort than I expected. It must be psychological. On Saturday I had a 3 hour bike which was nice (not least to have to worry about refuelling stops) but I also had a 90 minute BT run to do. Due to family stuff I planned to do it in the evening but it was a real effort to get started. It even felt like an effort whilst out there - and that was shown by the data which confirmed I have metamorphosed into a snail. I just hope I can metamorphosise back into something a bit faster in the next 2 weeks.
My last bike of the week was to be a hill repeat thing doing some standing sprints up a hill. I rarely stand on the bike and was worried that I might not be able to move for a week afterwards if I use “new” muscles so we have agreed to change it into an easy bike. But give me an inch and I take a mile. I am now planning (the bike is not yet done) to count a family bike ride on my mountain bike as my easy bike. Actually it should be OK to count because my youngest son will be out on a playdate and the other one can go at a good pace. If not, I will just go out again later.
We had our last Ironman meeting on Sunday morning. We practiced grabbing bottles whilst riding along on the bike and then went over the details of the race (the athletes guide is out). It was nice to see everyone again and we are all excited about what we will be doing in TWO WEEKS TIME.
2 WEEKS TO GO
Original Scheduled hours: 10hrs 30 mins
Actual hours: 10hrs 30mins (I hope)
Well this was the first week of the taper but to be honest it didn’t really feel like it. Frequency of workouts was same and pretty much all same length as usual except long run and bike - these were scheduled for end of week so I didn’t really notice a difference in volume til the weekend. Of course that is my way of justifying that I can still eat the same amount as I am used to. I must watch that next week as the volume really drops.
Swimming was all in the lake this week but this time with more of a purpose. One swim was doing fast/slow intervals between the buoys and the other was steady aerobic pace with sighting practice so I stopped as little as necessary. I even managed to get up early for both of them. I got back home from one of my swims and found the bath had been run…….to digress for a second or two - there are 2 things that I take extreme, neurotic care about and won’t let my family touch - my bike and my wetsuit. Fred jokingly called my bike “Precious” once as I get so upset if anyone goes near where it is hanging in the garage (what can I say, I have 2 boys who think kicking a ball around a garage or shooting nerf guns is fun!). Well my bike is now “Precious 1” because it has been noticed how I soak and rinse my wetsuit, hang it carefully in shade etc etc etc - it is now “Precious 2”…..
So… when I come back from my swim and the bath is run and ready I say to Fred, “Oh thanks you have run a bath for Precious”. “NO! “ he says jumping in “This bath is for Precious 3!” So, there now seems to be a hierarchy in our house.
I think it may have backfired a bit though, ‘cos one of my sons has so far been banned from having dessert for 23 years for touching Precious 1 and 2.
The workouts have seemed hard this week. Even the “easy” stuff has seemed like more effort than I expected. It must be psychological. On Saturday I had a 3 hour bike which was nice (not least to have to worry about refuelling stops) but I also had a 90 minute BT run to do. Due to family stuff I planned to do it in the evening but it was a real effort to get started. It even felt like an effort whilst out there - and that was shown by the data which confirmed I have metamorphosed into a snail. I just hope I can metamorphosise back into something a bit faster in the next 2 weeks.
My last bike of the week was to be a hill repeat thing doing some standing sprints up a hill. I rarely stand on the bike and was worried that I might not be able to move for a week afterwards if I use “new” muscles so we have agreed to change it into an easy bike. But give me an inch and I take a mile. I am now planning (the bike is not yet done) to count a family bike ride on my mountain bike as my easy bike. Actually it should be OK to count because my youngest son will be out on a playdate and the other one can go at a good pace. If not, I will just go out again later.
We had our last Ironman meeting on Sunday morning. We practiced grabbing bottles whilst riding along on the bike and then went over the details of the race (the athletes guide is out). It was nice to see everyone again and we are all excited about what we will be doing in TWO WEEKS TIME.
2 WEEKS TO GO
Monday, July 2, 2007
Jackie D - Week 41
Week 41 - starting Monday 25 June 2007
Original Scheduled hours: 15hrs 0 mins
Revised Scheduled hours : 14hrs 40 mins
Actual hours: 14hrs 51mins
Oh boy was I sore at the beginning of this week! Like sore that I haven’t been for months and months. Good sore though - must be getting stronger.
This week was supposed to be a repeat of last week but because kids are home I knew I had to do my long stuff at the weekend so I was left with more intense stuff for the weekdays. Having not got up early enough for a lake swim on Monday I then just didn’t know what to do because I didn’t think I should do another BT workout on a consecutive day. Help Mary! She came to the rescue. Apparently many of us are having our little “falling apart” times at the moment - and she just picks us up, dusts us off, turns us around and sets us on our way. We revised the first couple of days to a long continuous swim at the pool in the evening and some less intense stuff the following day.
Well, whether it was guilt of “messing up” my original schedule or what I don’t know but I decided I was going to swim the 2.4miles in the pool that night, so I did. I have never really done a long continuous swim in the pool before because it is so boring and I lose count of the lengths. But I prepared myself mentally and it was OK. And I felt as strong at the end as I did at the beginning of the 154 lengths of the 25m pool. Yahoo!
I got to do that horrid run, bike, run brick again this week though - so Mary wasn’t THAT nice to me as to take that away! It went OK and I felt less sore afterwards. All good stuff.
For someone who usually gets the long stuff done mid week it is a bit disconcerting to get to Friday night and know you have 9 hours of training left for the week.
This was my first long ride at a weekend and it was so much less stressful than usual. Usually I am worried that I won’t get back in time for the school bus, especially if I have a flat tyre and what do I do if I need rescuing for some reason blah blah blah. Saturday was free from all that. Fred took the boys on a boys day so I had all day to do my bike ride without worrying about times and knowing he was on the end of a phone with no work meetings etc if I needed him. It really was a pleasant change. I chose a hilly course on purpose - riding down to Naples via a back way and then back up - back up that long climb on the CR12 that Mary mentions in her log - think it was more than 10 mins for me though! But I did it, without standing up either.
Today was the day I tried my revised nutrition strategy properly of Powerbars and Gatorade. Oh dear! They sat very heavily on my stomach and I ended up making 3 major bathroom stops - luckily I had planned my route around gas stations to pick up more Gatorade and water. I was a bit surprised because I have been using Powerbars- just not in the quantity I need for proper nutrition. More thinking to do on that one.
I passed the memorial where 5 high school graduates had been killed in a car crash a couple of nights previously. I was so angry that they had been stupid enough to be driving when they shouldn’t have but it is so, so, so sad that I just couldn’t stop the tears falling.
I also tried a new sunscreen on this ride. The stuff I have been using (and the stuff I am told they have at LP) seems to wash off a bit with spills from my aero bottle and I end up with blotchy red legs every time. Well this time I tried kids, Huggies extra waterproof stuff under my usual stuff and success! I still had the weak left hand problem after about 3 hours though and had to use my palm of my hand to change the back chain ring. Weird. Perhaps three weeks rest will help.
The long run was the last workout of the week. I did it on Sunday evening but that was the plan after a day out with the family (fruit picking - yum!). This was a kind of nutritional breakthrough. It all started when a fellow triathlete who knows about my nutritional woes with gel was trying to give advice about the flavours he likes. And then he said it - the words just struck home - he said “I have such a sweet tooth I look forward to my next gel” Well! NO-ONE HAS MORE OF A SWEET TOOTH THAN ME! SERIOUSLY! So, I decided my woes must be psychological. I took gels and water and set off for my 3 hours. Every half hour on schedule I chose a flavour and linked it to something yummy - like cooking my grannies old recipe for vanilla fudge, or chocolate pudding or making flapjacks and then I tried to savour and imagine it as the gel. Well, it worked to a degree. I ate all the gels I planned - first time in ages. I think I am going to continue with this strategy and move it over to the bike too - then I will have my original working nutritional strategy working again!
Sometime after 2 hours (and after an expresso gel which maybe linked) I started bouncing. I just wanted to shout and jump in the air yelling Yippee. I was nearly there. Everything I have worked towards since last October and this was my last workout before taper.
I have done it. I have trained and I AM READY
BRING IT ON!
3 WEEKS TO GO
Original Scheduled hours: 15hrs 0 mins
Revised Scheduled hours : 14hrs 40 mins
Actual hours: 14hrs 51mins
Oh boy was I sore at the beginning of this week! Like sore that I haven’t been for months and months. Good sore though - must be getting stronger.
This week was supposed to be a repeat of last week but because kids are home I knew I had to do my long stuff at the weekend so I was left with more intense stuff for the weekdays. Having not got up early enough for a lake swim on Monday I then just didn’t know what to do because I didn’t think I should do another BT workout on a consecutive day. Help Mary! She came to the rescue. Apparently many of us are having our little “falling apart” times at the moment - and she just picks us up, dusts us off, turns us around and sets us on our way. We revised the first couple of days to a long continuous swim at the pool in the evening and some less intense stuff the following day.
Well, whether it was guilt of “messing up” my original schedule or what I don’t know but I decided I was going to swim the 2.4miles in the pool that night, so I did. I have never really done a long continuous swim in the pool before because it is so boring and I lose count of the lengths. But I prepared myself mentally and it was OK. And I felt as strong at the end as I did at the beginning of the 154 lengths of the 25m pool. Yahoo!
I got to do that horrid run, bike, run brick again this week though - so Mary wasn’t THAT nice to me as to take that away! It went OK and I felt less sore afterwards. All good stuff.
For someone who usually gets the long stuff done mid week it is a bit disconcerting to get to Friday night and know you have 9 hours of training left for the week.
This was my first long ride at a weekend and it was so much less stressful than usual. Usually I am worried that I won’t get back in time for the school bus, especially if I have a flat tyre and what do I do if I need rescuing for some reason blah blah blah. Saturday was free from all that. Fred took the boys on a boys day so I had all day to do my bike ride without worrying about times and knowing he was on the end of a phone with no work meetings etc if I needed him. It really was a pleasant change. I chose a hilly course on purpose - riding down to Naples via a back way and then back up - back up that long climb on the CR12 that Mary mentions in her log - think it was more than 10 mins for me though! But I did it, without standing up either.
Today was the day I tried my revised nutrition strategy properly of Powerbars and Gatorade. Oh dear! They sat very heavily on my stomach and I ended up making 3 major bathroom stops - luckily I had planned my route around gas stations to pick up more Gatorade and water. I was a bit surprised because I have been using Powerbars- just not in the quantity I need for proper nutrition. More thinking to do on that one.
I passed the memorial where 5 high school graduates had been killed in a car crash a couple of nights previously. I was so angry that they had been stupid enough to be driving when they shouldn’t have but it is so, so, so sad that I just couldn’t stop the tears falling.
I also tried a new sunscreen on this ride. The stuff I have been using (and the stuff I am told they have at LP) seems to wash off a bit with spills from my aero bottle and I end up with blotchy red legs every time. Well this time I tried kids, Huggies extra waterproof stuff under my usual stuff and success! I still had the weak left hand problem after about 3 hours though and had to use my palm of my hand to change the back chain ring. Weird. Perhaps three weeks rest will help.
The long run was the last workout of the week. I did it on Sunday evening but that was the plan after a day out with the family (fruit picking - yum!). This was a kind of nutritional breakthrough. It all started when a fellow triathlete who knows about my nutritional woes with gel was trying to give advice about the flavours he likes. And then he said it - the words just struck home - he said “I have such a sweet tooth I look forward to my next gel” Well! NO-ONE HAS MORE OF A SWEET TOOTH THAN ME! SERIOUSLY! So, I decided my woes must be psychological. I took gels and water and set off for my 3 hours. Every half hour on schedule I chose a flavour and linked it to something yummy - like cooking my grannies old recipe for vanilla fudge, or chocolate pudding or making flapjacks and then I tried to savour and imagine it as the gel. Well, it worked to a degree. I ate all the gels I planned - first time in ages. I think I am going to continue with this strategy and move it over to the bike too - then I will have my original working nutritional strategy working again!
Sometime after 2 hours (and after an expresso gel which maybe linked) I started bouncing. I just wanted to shout and jump in the air yelling Yippee. I was nearly there. Everything I have worked towards since last October and this was my last workout before taper.
I have done it. I have trained and I AM READY
BRING IT ON!
3 WEEKS TO GO
Marian, July 2nd, 2007
Wow, first day of taper and I already don't know what to do with myself. This past weekend Kitima and I, joined by Barbara, biked around Canandaigua twice and the second loop was slightly emotional. Last time seeing the familiar faces that wave and say good morning as they pick up their newspapers in their pajamas or let the dogs out or sit on their porches drinking their morning coffee. I'll miss the people at he boat lunch, our regular potty stop, when they come over and ask how far are you going and seeing their jaws drop when we reply.
Then Sunday, our last long run. We agreed to commemorate it by going a little over 3 hours. We went 3;15. not that much over but just enough to say: "this is the longest I've ever gone and I feel great". After that, boy did I need a nap. I didn't nap though, I took my old brown dog to her physical therapy since I'm trying to spend as much with her as I can, she won't be around for very long. I will look for her and my other 2 doggies and the corner of papa bear.
Well, the countdown clock is at 19 days. Makes me think of going to rehab: 19 days until your free of the shivers and panic attacks, after beign on the training high for a year.
Then Sunday, our last long run. We agreed to commemorate it by going a little over 3 hours. We went 3;15. not that much over but just enough to say: "this is the longest I've ever gone and I feel great". After that, boy did I need a nap. I didn't nap though, I took my old brown dog to her physical therapy since I'm trying to spend as much with her as I can, she won't be around for very long. I will look for her and my other 2 doggies and the corner of papa bear.
Well, the countdown clock is at 19 days. Makes me think of going to rehab: 19 days until your free of the shivers and panic attacks, after beign on the training high for a year.
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