Yes, yes I am - and proud of it

Crazy people don't sit around wondering if they're nuts. -- Jake Gyllenhaal

No, crazy people don't sit around wondering if they're nuts.  Instead they go out and find more nutty things to do.

Last post I told you about the mile swim and the marathon plans I'm thinking about.  This morning, hubby floated the idea of me doing another century (Heart of VA) this fall - which I immediately jumped on (subject to our daughters' sports schedules).  I'm starting to put "price bump" reminders in our calendar so I don't have to spend an extra $10 to sign up for my crazy.  I mean, if you're going to be nuts, you might as well be frugal about it, right?

And then there's that whole thing about WTC announcing the new Ironman is in Chattanooga, Tennessee - totally driveable.  Not thinking 2014, but boy is it tempting to think about doing it in the next couple years with hubby.  I never realized how nuts I was getting, probably because I haven't sat around wondering if I'm nuts.

But there are always people who put things in perspective for you.  I was talking to a new coworker of mine this week.  I've been dressing casual (and I don't mean business casual - think jean shorts, tri Ts, and baseball caps) at work this summer and was wearing an old shirt from a local tri.  The woman mentioned that her sister has done that race (it's an OW sprint - Tavern - that I did earlier this summer) but that she has only done a pool-swim tri and that's good for her.  We talked about that race a little, since I had done it last year, and then I happened to mention that I was training for the HIM.  And she told me I was insane.  In a nice way, but still...the message was clear.  :)

I'm surprised she didn't catch onto the insanity earlier, given that this is proudly displayed in my office:

Looking Forward

I'm always interested in looking forward toward the future.  Carving out new ways of looking at things.  -- Herbie Hancock

Yesterday I did a pre-ride of the bike course for my HIM race - it was tough, but totally doable and I'm happy to have that mental knowledge in store for race day.  Here's a map of the course...I ran out of fluids (gatorade & water) with about 12 miles left to go, but that shouldn't be a problem on race day since there are bottle handoffs.  Plus hubby ordered me a behind-the-seat water bottle holder so I have extra toting space.

As far as nutrition, I ate an uncrustable (mmm, I love me uncrustables on bike rides), a baby applesauce pounch, and a payday bar, plus a couple of s-caps (electrolyte pills).  My quads were a little crampy at the end, but I think that was due to the running out of water.

Then, because I'm an idiot and 58 miles of biking is not sufficient for one day, I went to OWS practice with my masters group.  Unfortunately, I was slower than molasses, but I didn't have water panic, even though there was some current and I was kicked and swum over, etc.  Baby steps.  I have signed up for a mile-long swimming race prior to the HIM for practice - should be fun.  I know I can do it, I just want to actually prove that I can do it.  Same as doing the bike ride yesterday - I knew I could do it, I just wanted to prove it...plus it always is good to get the lay of the course in mind.

So my plan is to take on the HIM and ROCK IT.  (Hey, I had to work Herbie Hancock in here somewhere...remember this song/video?)

So back to the theme of this post...looking forward:  I am pretty sure I will be doing a spring marathon - Shamrock in VA Beach.  I've done the Shamrock 1/2 a couple times and it's a nice flat course.  I haven't registered for the race yet - price bump isn't until the end of September, but I have reserved a hotel room for the night before so I can do packet pickup and get a good night's sleep.  Crazy, huh?  This is my comeback marathon - I'm going to make sure I don't get hurt training for this one.  I should be good given that I'm doing the HIM in September and then a half mary in October and again in November, then I can slowly build up until March to the full 26.2.  

So excited to be looking forward and planning great things.

Training 8/4 - 8/10 . . . and Preparing in the Homestretch

I've always considered myself to be just average talent and what I have is a ridiculous insane obsessiveness for practice and preparation. -- Will Smith

OK, so I'm a below average talent athletically and my obsessiveness for practice and preparation is not likely "ridiculously insane," but it is a little bit over the top.  And I'm OK with that.  The training plan I'm following is going to enable some of that over the next couple weeks, as many of the workouts are race specific - same terrain, testing out nutrition and hydration for the last few times, simulating transitions - those awkward minutes where you switch from swimming to biking or biking to running.  I'm actually really looking forward to these workouts.  Also, I'm planning to ride the HIM bike course this week with a friend of mine who is also doing the race - talk about race prep.  (It's an hour away and not terribly convenient this week, but it is so important I want to make it work.

The other thing I need to focus on these last few weeks is better eating.  I know I've mentioned it before, but it hit home again after my latest travel to NYC this last week - I'm miserable at keeping up my clean eating when I am travelling.  My willpower is just too small when I'm with my work colleagues (or worse yet, stressing through complicated air travel).  I'm not going to worry about if or how much weight I lose between now and the race - that's this fall's project as I'm trying to cut time off my HMs in October and November.  But I want to be feeling my best race day and that means I need to stop eating like I have been.

Anyway, the next few weeks are Prep, Prep, Prep.  Kind of makes me a Preppie, no?  I might just turn up the collar of my polo shirt - oh, wait, I'm wearing a race t-shirt.  Not so preppie and very hard to turn up the collar.

Here's last week's training - not super pleased with it...travel plus my tweaky knee kinda threw me for a loop.


Sunday 8/4 - 65 minute swim (Masters), 30 minute bike (intervals on Freyja/trainer)
Monday 8/5 - 75 minute swim (Masters), 39.64 mile bike (2:33)
Tuesday 8/6 - run-bike-run brick (2.24 mile run, 13.27 mile bike (45 minutes), 2.11 mile run)
Wednesday 8/7 - 75 minute swim (Masters)
Thursday 8/8 - REST (on work trip)
Friday 8/9 - 2.4 mile run
Saturday 8/10 - REST (tweaky knee)

Damnit

Of course I get hurt.  -- Jackie Chan

A month to go and a minor hiccup in the road.  A bump in the plan?  A fly in my soup?  A hitch in the ointment?  Actually, the mixed metaphor most accurate would be an oops in my giddyup.  I was travelling the past few days and had a miserable travel evening on Friday.  Somewhere between being cooped up in an airplane seat for far too long and racing all the way across the airport at the Charlotte, NC airport to make my connection, I managed to do something funky to my knee.  The outside of my knee hurts a little when I walk or when I sit too long - it doesn't feel like ITB (at least not the same as it did earlier this year).  I'm hoping I can do a trainer ride tonight and then run/swim tomorrow.  I'm supposed to have a good week of bricks (both swim/bike and bike/run) and I'm also supposed to do a test ride of the race course with a friend on Monday.  Get with the program, knee - this is not going to work.

One Month...

Trials and tribulations, I've had my share...there ain't nothing gonna stop me cause I'm almost there. -- "Almost There" lyrics from Disney's The Princess and the Frog

It's hard to believe that yesterday marked one month until the HIM.  I'm alternately excited and completely and totally freaked out.  I imagine the freak out will start to tip the scale as I get closer, but on the other hand, it is starting to sink in just how far I have come.  And in spite of a crazy schedule of work, travel, and family stuff - I've put in the hours and it shows.  My biking speed is coming along and I am not cursing hills.  Well, OK, I still curse, but I seek out hills to yell at rather than avoid them.  I have built my run back up and, knock on wood, my knees feel good.  And...believe it or not...I'm actually starting to LIKE to swim.  I am occasionally leading the turtle lane at Masters.  Heck, I even woke up at 4:45 yesterday morning so I could make it to Masters before leaving on my next trip (currently in NYC for work).  Only an idiot or someone who likes to swim would do that.  I think I might be both.  :)

One month.  I need to keep my focus, but if I remember how far I've come, it shouldn't be hard.  I'm almost there!

I remember Daddy told me : "Fairytales can come true

But you gotta make 'em happen, it all depends on you"

So I work real hard each and every day

Now things for sure are going my way

...

I'm almost there, I'm almost there

Training 7/28 - 8/3 . . . and a Tri Picnic

Shared joys make a friend, not shared sufferings. -- Friedrich Nietzsche

You'd think that would be true - shared joys, not shared sufferings - but yesterday we went to a picnic with the local tri club and I think it's probably a little bit of both.  Of course there are joys when we finish races or have great training sessions, but there's a good bit of suffering in this sport...especially, it seems, the longer you are involved in it and/or the longer the races are that you do.  Probably a good third of the athletes there were nursing injuries or just coming off injuries.  And oddly enough, sharing injuries is part of the friendship of triathletes too.  Talk about how to cope with them, how to avoid them, how to train around them is just part of a gathering of triathletes.  Suffering also can make friends.

That being said, I really enjoyed the picnic.  It's odd - although I've been involved in online communities of triathletes, such as Beginner Triathlete, I've never gotten involved with real live tri communities until this year. We joined our local tri club, Richmond Tri Club, last year mainly for the discounts on race entries.  But this year we've taken advantage of some of the training sessions and now the picnic. It was a lot of fun to talk to people I've seen regularly but never really had a chance to talk to - for example, I recognized a lady that had finished a race at the back-of-the-pack with me a couple years ago (in a hurricane, no less).  Obviously we weren't much for talking then, but it was fun to laugh about it yesterday.  Even though I view triathlon as generally a solitary sport and I like to train alone (except swimming), I am happy that we are getting more involved in the community aspect of the sport.  Besides, they had good beer.  :)

Last week's training -


Sunday 7/28 - RACE! (report here) (14:42 minute swim, 65 minute bike, 32:42 minute run)
Monday 7/29 - 75 minute swim (Masters)
Tuesday 7/30 - 4.27 mile run
Wednesday 7/31 - 30 minute swim (OWS); 114 minute bike/1.92 mile run BRICK
Thursday 8/1 - REST (exhausted!)
Friday 8/2 - 2 hour run (10.82 miles)
Saturday 8/3 - 38 minute OWS (at tri club picnic)

C is for Cookie - and that's not good for me

I was eating bad stuff.  Lots of sugar and carbs, junk food all the time.  It makes you very irritated.  -- Avril Lavigne

I mean, who doesn't take their nutritional cues from a punk-pop star?  In the recent past, I have been very good at eating in a healthy way.  But recently, the sugar monster has taken over my body and it is very hard to take it back from him.  When I was on my trip in Colorado, I probably ate more sugar than I did the entire summer leading up until then.  And it's only continued.  Today there was a cookie in my boxed lunch at work.  I ate it - I didn't shun it like I normally do.  But worse yet...because I ate it, now I'm craving sugar all the more.  It's ridiculous and really quite disturbing.  Some of it is a little bit of stress on my part, but honestly, I think some of it is physical.  All the more reason to get back to my normal way of eating...and stop listening to Avril in this song:

All my life I've been good but now, ooooooh,

I'm thinking, what the hell?

All I want is to mess around and I don't really care about...

Time to get back to being good and stop saying "what the hell?" -- just because I'm in the height of my HIM training does not mean I can eat like Cookie Monster.  It'll make me irritated and my training will not be as good as it should be.  And I only have 36 days to go!