Get it together, Ironman!

At the beginning of this month I posted my actual workouts from one week.  I seriously think that may have been the first and last week of consistent training I have done since embarking on this journey.  Since then, my "training log" looks like I set it in front of my 2-year-old niece with a pen in her hand.  It seems almost every day is covered with plans that are crossed out and reality written in its place.

My sad, sad training log.

Sure, it is a tricky time of year to throw oneself into Ironman training, what with working extra shifts and visiting family and shopping and baking and (heaven forbid) relaxing--all the things that come with this season.  And it is, technically, the base training phase, so I needn't be out there killing myself on 50 mile rides and 15 mile runs.  However...

If I (and I dare say most other people) were to rate the most significant keys to success for a working-stiff-Ironman-in-training (someone who has to make a living and maintain somewhat healthy, rewarding relationships while training for Ironman), TIME MANAGEMENT and CONSISTENCY would be at the top of the list.  Now, if I were to rate the things I am worst at in life, TIME MANAGEMENT and CONSISTENCY would be at the top of the list.  Allow me to illustrate the point with a week from my training log:

Dec 18: 10 mile run (That was in Wisconsin.  What a dedicated Ironman I am to train on vacation!)

Dec 19: 1 hour swim, Kettlebell + leg strength circuit (2x20 reps per exercise)...(Went to the gym practically straight from the airport when we got back from Minnesota!  Good for me, getting right back into a routine!)

So much promise...and then...

Dec 20: NOTHING!

Dec 21: NOTHING! (Not counting ice skating.)

Dec 22: 30 minute swim w/ intervals (squeezed in between work and Christmas party)

Dec 23: NOTHING!

Dec 24: NOTHING!

Dec 25: NOTHING!

Dec 26: NOTHING!

Okay, that was actually 9 days from my training log, but I had to make sure I beat the dead horse of my shame for abandoning any semblance of serious training.

Aside from the terrifying possibility that my lack of time management and consistency may actually not self-correct, there is a much more pressing matter for concern.  My Ironman is still over 10 months away, and I am starting with a decent amount of base fitness already.  I have no doubt there is plenty of time to get back on track and stick to a plan and do the work and build my fitness for the Ironman.  What concerns me is the Tour de Palm Springs century ride I have scheduled February 9th and the marathon I have scheduled February 17.  I do not have time to get back on track and stick to a plan and do the work and build my fitness for those.

I now have a goal to have the posts describing actual training outnumber the posts describing the pathetic and consistent (If nothing else, I am at least consistent in my inconsistency!) derailment of training.  The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but the road to Ironman is paved with...well, pavement.  And I will be pounding it in my Asics, and rolling along it on my bike, consistently, as a result of managing my time.

Iron Christmas

This is what Christmas looks like when you are training for an Ironman!

Swimming=Depressing

I went into this Ironman business with the hunch that I would have a natural aptitude for swimming.  I based this hunch on what I affectionately refer to as my "freakishly long arms" and somewhat broad shoulders.  I mean, my knuckles aren't dragging on the ground but if you get a good look at me in a tank top you can't help but get the impression that I can cover a good chunk of water per stroke.

Alas, this does not seem to be the case.  I have been getting in the water pretty consistently (at least 3 times a week) for about 8 weeks now.  I assumed I would be a little slow in the beginning.  But then I figured by my third or fourth session my dormant natural talent would kick in and I would be like a rocket through the water.

I may have overestimated myself.

Turns out this is actually not unusual for me.  Previously I have assumed:

1. If I manage to run 6 x 400 meter repeats in 1:45 each, the next time I should be able to run them in 1:30 each.
2. A single session of the workout mentioned above would result in an immediate drop of my 5k time from 8:00 miles to 7:30 miles.
3. With a few months of fairly balanced but somewhat inconsistent training I can run a 1:45 (8:00/mile) half   marathon, regardless of the fact that I have never come close to maintaining 8:00/mile for longer than a 5k.
4. If I am in training I can eat anything I want.

False. False. False. SUPER FALSE.

5. Long legs=fast running.

False.

In related news, long arms=fast swimming is also false.

So, I am dutifully swimming my laps, slowly but steadily, and I find myself being passed by the old guy in the next lane, and by the non-serious looking teenage boy in the other next lane, and while I have yet to be passed by the generously proportioned woman walking down the lanes, I think the picture is becoming pretty clear.  There is nothing wrong with old guy or teenage boy or generously proportioned woman.  But I really thought freakishly-long-armed fit 34-year old woman would be faster then them.  Granted, I am still in the pool long after they get out.  I used to operate on the belief: I can't outrun you, but I can outlast you.  But when you surround yourself with Ironmen, suddenly outlasting faster athletes is no longer the resume builder it once was.

My "all day" pace is about 2min20sec per 100 yards.  I can maintain that indefinitely.  That would put me at about 1hr42min in an Ironman swim, and that is without 2000 people kicking and punching me in open water.  For a hard 100 yards I can squeeze out a 2:00, but I need a break at the end.  If I go all out for 25 yards I can do it in 23 seconds.  Which means a 1min32sec pace.  So the pace that I can barely manage for a mere 25 yards and 25 yards only, is many an Ironman's regular pace!

Hence swimming=depressing.

True.

We interrupt this unscheduled Rest Day for an Accidental Workout

I took 2 unplanned rest days this week.  On Thursday, I dutifully changed into my running gear at 4pm after work and went to the track for a planned workout of 800 meter repeats.  I ran one lap.  I was going on 4 hours sleep the night before, and perhaps still catching up from the 48 hour whirlwind trip to Minnesota the 2 previous days.  I ran pathetically around the track and my heart, but more importantly my body, just wasn't in it.  REST DAY.  Unfortunately it seems on unscheduled rest days I have a tendency to replace my workout with pizza and beer.

The fact that I seem to be averaging 2 (sometimes 3!) "rest" days a week this month doesn't worry me too much.  It is still early in my training, and I am not concerned about it having an overall effect.  I am worried that it is indicative of things to come, and if I find myself slacking at this relatively easy stage I will have to be very careful not to continue this pattern once I get into hard core training!  It also worries me that the workouts that tend to fall by the wayside as a result of said rest are the biking workouts, and I know that is where I need the most work.

Unscheduled rest day number 2 was supposed to include commuting to work by bike.  Again very few hours of sleep.  Couldn't get my ass out of bed, out into the cold dark morning.  Drove to work instead.  Stopped for coffee and donut on the way.  (See the pattern??? BAD Ironman!)  Consequently, then I could not ride home, since bike was not present.  Drove home.  REST DAY.

However...that evening we had plans with friends to go ice skating...OUTSIDE!  IN PHOENIX!  Well, it turns out, if you don't ice skate for approximately 15 years, then suddenly decide to go ice skating...SURPRISE!  WORKOUT!  Great for ankle strengthening!  My hamstrings were on fire, so they must have been getting a workout!  My feet were killing me so I know they were getting stronger!  And the "windmill arms" effect that comes from trying to balance on ice skates on a teeny tiny desperately-in-need-of-a-zamboni skating rink packed with children who grew up in Phoenix, and are therefore as disastrous on skates as I am, was a great workout for my arms and shoulders, and will no doubt have a very positive impact on my swimming! 

Here I am strengthening my feet and ankles!  Right after this I will start the "windmill arms" portion of my workout.

Training in...snow???

After a day of training in Wisconsin

This time of year, when I am crisscrossing the country visiting family (Seattle last week, Minnesota now) I am very glad that running shoes are so portable!  I didn't get in any workouts during my two days in Seattle.  I was there to babysit my niece and nephew while my sister and her husband went away for the night for their anniversary, so, as the temporary primary caregiver, I didn't have any time to myself for a run.

I was too busy supervising gingerbread house construction in Seattle to get in a run.

This week we are in Wisconsin and Minnesota visiting Karin's family.  This morning I managed to get in a 10 mile run.  Running in snow and the weather that goes along with it is fairly foreign to me.  My overall pace was definitely affected by the fancy footwork required to navigate the patches of ice!  But it is always fun to run in new surroundings, and the 10 miles went by fast (To be clear: mentally they passed quickly; pace-wise it was a Long Slow Distance run for sure.).

Tomorrow it is back home to Arizona for a while, where I will enjoy the ideal outdoor-training weather I waited all summer for!

12k's of Christmas

I have been looking forward to the 12k's of Christmas race since I did it last year.  It is just a really fun time; benefiting the ASPCA, it encourages people to bring their dogs (That's my step dog, Riley in the picture.  Karin took him on the alternate 6k course.); people get really decked out in festive outfits (see above); and there are carolers all along the course.  I wore my  cotton pajama top, because it was the only festive shirt I had!  So I ran 7.4 miles in it in the rain!  

It was a great race, even though my time was a full 10 minutes slower than last year.  I guess I just didn't have that killer instinct (as a solid mid-packer I guess it is more of a maiming instinct).

Feels good to really TRAIN!

Boy does it feel good to TRAIN again!  I just finished an hour in the pool, with 4 "ladder" sets: 100, 50, and 25 yards, each progressively faster, with 50 yard recovery in between.  After more than a week of "workouts" more worthy of a reasonably fit soccer mom (not that there is anything wrong with that!) than an Ironman (10 mile ride home from work, 5k race, 2 hour hike, and the 47-minute total "Baby Brick"), today's pool workout felt like I was actually working toward a goal, not just trying to burn off last night's pizza.  It made me feel strong to hit my interval times consistently each time, but it also scared the hell out of me to feel how much effort it takes to just go 10 seconds faster per hundred yards!

Tomorrow is the annual 12k's of Christmas, one of my favorite running races of the year, so there is another built in time trial.  The only problem is, it is sponsored by the ASPCA, and they have all sorts of dog rescues there after the race, and I don't know how I am going to come home without a new dog!

The Baby Brick

I fell off the training wagon for a few days.  It's a tough time of year for training, what with all the other commitments that come with the holidays this time of year.  Family gatherings and Christmas shopping, then working overtime to pay for the gifts.  And for me, baking holiday treats virtually every day of December.  Then sometimes eating those treats, not in addition to but instead of actual food, which certainly leaves me lacking the stamina and mental stability to go out and train properly!

But the worst part is, none of these are the reasons I didn't train for 4 whole days.  I actually had plenty of rime for training on 3 of those 4 days, but after a disastrous 9 mile run on Tuesday, I just didn't feel like it.  True, this is exactly the attitude that does not make an Ironman, and I snapped out of it with a brisk 5k race on the 5th day where I placed 9th in my age group (of 444, in case you were thinking there were only 9 in my age group).  Yesterday I rode the 10 miles home from work.  Again, not what I would consider a full day of training, but getting my groove back.  Today I planned a long ride.  I had plenty of time to ride several hours before I had to catch a flight to Seattle in the afternoon.  At least, I would have had plenty of time if I had dragged my Ironman ass away from my coffee and laptop a little sooner.  As it was, I ran out of time, and with the previous week of lackluster training haunting me, I felt my confidence melting away.

The fact is, I was procrastinating because...drum roll please...I hate biking.  Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it is my least favorite of the 3, and therefore the hardest for me to just go do.  It's not the actual physical act or sensation of cycling itself that I don't like.  Riding is so much more gear intensive than running or swimming.  It takes a lot more work to get out the door and on the road.  Thus it loses the simplicity that appeals to me in swimming and running.  Ditto for the conditions in which I must do it; namely, on roads surrounded by unaware drivers.  I don't trust people in cars; not when I am in a car, and certainly not when I am on a bike.  Even nice sections of roads or paths that allow for very enjoyable cycling require biking through a lot of crap to get to.  As a result, I am on edge for most of my ride, unlike swimming or running, which can be almost meditative.  Unfortunately, my least favorite discipline is also what I will spend the most time in the Ironman actually doing, so it deserves a fair amount of my attention.  And this knowledge is what makes me beat myself up when I don't get out the door enough to get in the time in the saddle I desperately need.

So today I procrastinated as usual.  And then I was out of time for my long overdue long ride.  And my confidence was melting.  And I tend to be an all-or-nothing person (I know, so unusual for an aspiring Ironman), so if I can't get in a monster workout I feel like anything less isn't even worth my time.  So I was right on the edge of just saying screw it, pouring another cup of coffee, and settling back into my online shopping...

But if there is anything a person who payed $700 to enter an Ironman a year in advance knows it is this: Fear is a huge motivator.  And I was afraid that if I blew off too many workouts 11 months out, I would be blowing off workouts 3 months out.  I had to get back in the game.

Hence the Baby Brick.  The ride was only 8 miles.  The run was only 2.  But the effect, both mentally and physically, was just the kick in the pants I needed to get back on track.

Newsflash: Running bad for Ironman training! :)

As I was engaging in my newest hobby--Googling everything Ironman related that crosses my mind--I happened upon a blog post by Joe Friel (whom I have discovered, through said new hobby, is quite the Ironman training stud) that cautioned against running a marathon during Ironman training.  More specifically, he cautioned against racing a marathon.  I suspect that many newbies such as myself assumed running a marathon was a useful step in Ironman training.  Turns out Ironman training is far less run-tensive than marathon training, and that the most important part of training for the marathon portion of an Ironman, it seems, is training on the bike!  The key to the IM marathon is being strong enough on the bike to ride 112 miles and have enough left in the tank to then run 26.2 miles.  Thus, time spent training on the bike is more important than extra time spent running.  Training to race a marathon requires a good deal of run-specific training, which detracts from your overall triathlon training, as well as a long recovery after the race.

This is all fascinating stuff to this novice triathlete (Not least of all because when you think about it, it seems so obvious!), but it certainly leaves me in a quandary.  I planned to do the Lost Dutchman marathon here in Arizona in February, but now I wonder...

Finishing a marathon at all, even if I am not pushing for a time goal, is still a challenge and an accomplishment.  I could certainly treat it as a training run; an enjoyable experience in nice surroundings, with a t-shirt and a medal.  But am I even capable of doing that?  I enjoy half marathons because I enjoy dedicating myself to the training and pushing myself to see what I am capable of.  The full marathon had the same appeal, on a bigger scale.  If I am not going to really train effectively or push my limits, what's really the point? Perhaps I should wait until I can do it right without compromising my IM training.  Part of me feels like I am cheating the whole marathon experience if I don't make training for it a focus.  Another part of me feels that I can't exclude myself from other activities all year because they may be slightly detrimental to my IM training!  And yet another part of me thinks how cool it would be to be so fit from Ironman training that I can just go out and run a marathon, for fun, without even properly training for it!

Early Christmas Present/Orange Mud

Karin is not good at surprises.  She gets too excited.  The result is that I sometimes get my Christmas Presents early!  Like this one:

We saw this little pack at the Ironman expo, and I loved it because it solved a huge problem I thought only I had, which is hydration packs/belts bouncing around during trail runs.  I love trail running, and I really like riding my bike to the trail, but then I have the problems of: 1. Carrying gear and hydration on the trail, comfortably, and 2. Carrying a sturdy bike lock and not leaving gear on my bike while running the trail.  So I was excited to see this awesome little pack, which carries water and all sorts of other necessities (including my U-lock on the way to the trail!), but it is designed to ride very high on your back and doesn't move at all! For real!  It doesn't move!  No bounce!  And the added benefit is that because it sits so high on your back I can wear it on the ride to the trail without getting that awful sweat-soaked back effect of a regular pack.  So now I can ride to the trail, lock up my bike, and run with the pack on!  I am so excited about it that I changed my plans for tomorrow's workout from a long ride to a ride/trail run/ride workout!  I can't wait!  Hooray for early Christmas gifts!

www.orangemud.com

Training Week

In a classic case of real life trumping Ironman training, I got a call from my girlfriend, Karin, at 8am on Friday morning.  She has been suffering from the symptoms of Pertussis (Whooping Cough) for over 5 weeks, since she contracted the infection during our October trip to Nepal.  She had managed to get a last minute appointment with a pulmonary specialist, at 10:20am.  Problem was, she was at work, and had carpooled there with our roommate.  It was my only day off work for the week, and I was still in bed when I got the call.  So much for my planned 3 mile morning tempo run followed by 35 mile afternoon bike ride!  Someone had to take the poor sick girl to the doctor!  What is an aspiring Ironman/dedicated girlfriend to do?  Strap on my GPS and do my tempo run on the streets around the doctor's office, of course!

So today is the last day of my training week and I managed to get in each of my 3 key running workouts (LSD, speed, tempo) but not as much swimming and riding as I had hoped.  The running is good since I am doing my first marathon (!) in February, but I think biking is what I really need to work on.  I will need to get in a lot more rides!  Especially since I am now signed up for my first century ride (!) in February as well!  I did not intend to do my first 100 that soon, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to do the Tour de Palm Springs (where I grew up!) with my dad (who used to run marathons, but can no longer run due to bad knees, and has recently become a huge cycling enthusiast)!

So this is what my week looked like:

Monday: 16 hour work shift (Since I am a baggage handler does this count as Strength & Conditioning?)
               No workout

Tuesday: 9 mile LSD run

Wednesday: 1 mile warm up, 6 X 400m @ 1:45 (200m rec.)
                    40 minute swim

Thursday: 16 hour work shift
                No workout

Friday: 3 mile Tempo Run (1 mi. @ 8:00...gotta start somewhere!)
           37.5 mile ride w/ hills

Saturday: 90 minute swim

Sunday: 30 minute swim (25 easy, 25 building, 25 easy, 25 hard, per hundred yds.)
             1 hr bike ride w/ 5 X 1 min. sprints

www.lostdutchmanmarathon.com

www.tourdepalmsprings.com

The Irony of the Ironman Blogger

It is impossible to ignore the irony of the aspiring Ironman's almost pathological NEED TO BLOG!  Taking on an Ironman already entails a huge commitment of time and energy.  This time and energy needed to train for an Ironman often replaces time with friends and loved ones, family functions, happy hours and holidays, any hope of seeing a new release movie...  It is a constant balancing act, devoting so much of our life to Ironman, but not letting it be our whole life.  When we are not training we are planning our training, logging our training, recovering from our training...and now, blogging about our training!  Why do we do it Ironmen in training?!  Why MUST we do it?!

I'll tell you why.

As hard as we try not to let Ironman take over our whole life, there is no escaping the fact that for most of us, properly training for an Ironman has to, by necessity, be the major focus in our life.  At least, in the planning and distribution of our "leisure" time.  Unfortunately, despite the hundreds of people waiting in line with me the morning of Ironman registration, we are still a fairly rare breed.  (That's part of what motivates us, isn't it?)  Most people just don't get it.  But when something takes as much focus as Ironman training, one really needs an outlet for that passion.  We like to talk about it.  So you can imagine my shock and despair as I came to the slow, painful realization that, in fact, my coworkers are not thrilled to hear the minutiae of my training schedule.  When I come into work raving about hitting all my splits on my quarter mile repeats I am met with blank stares.  And a few yawns.  When I spend an entire dinner with my girlfriend talking about the merits of compression socks and the practicality of arm warmers, I end up eating dinner alone.  When I constantly drag  Chrissie Wellington into casual conversation on seemingly unrelated subjects (ie. You drink your coffee black? Chrissie Wellington drinks coffee!) I get confused looks followed by a lot of personal space.  They don't want to hear it!  But I am just this side of obsessed with all things Ironman!  What to do????

BLOG!

The Commitment

On November 19th, 2012, I got up at 4:30am to join several hundred other people already waiting in line in the predawn darkness of  Tempe Beach Park, about 13 miles from my house in Phoenix, AZ.  We were all decked out in our Ironman 2012 Volunteer t-shirts, our guarantee of priority registration for Ironman AZ 2013.  That's right, we all volunteered at the Ironman (many people coming in from other states) to secure the privilege of paying $700 to dedicate a year of our lives to strenuous training, then return to this place one year hence to suffer for up to 17 hours.  I waited in line for 3 hours to register, and there were still hundreds behind me when I left.  Once all the volunteers were registered, it was opened up to those waiting in line for onsite general registration.  Only then was registration opened online.  $700 entry fee.  A huge commitment of time and energy.  Untold sums of money spent on gear, training and travel.  Online registration sold out in 40 seconds.

So, clearly, I am not the only crazy person out there.

I had spent the night before clapping my hands raw and screaming myself hoarse until midnight, cheering on the triumphant finishers of Ironman AZ 2012.  I was in the crowd that went ballistic when, with 30 seconds to the no exceptions midnight cutoff, a woman turned the corner into the finishing chute.  We screamed, we clapped, we pounded the bleachers, we waved our arms in the air; it was as if we believed we could get her to the finish line just through our sheer will.  She crossed the finish line at 11:59:55.  If anyone has seriously considered doing an Ironman, I don't know how it's possible to watch one and not think, I HAVE TO DO THIS.  The energy at an Ironman is almost indescribable to someone who hadn't experienced it.  It is thousands of athletes from all walks of life, pushing themselves to their physical and mental limits, surrounded by awed spectators willing to do just about anything to help them succeed.  I watched the mass swim start in the morning, volunteered in the women's change tent between the swim and bike, then worked at a run aid station, then cheered at the finish line till the bitter end.  My decision to do Ironman was made months ago.  (Though it seems less like a decision than a realization of the inevitable course my life was taking.)  But my experience as spectator and volunteer confirmed it beyond any doubt.  There was no should I or shouldn't I?  There was no can I afford it?  (I can't, and never could.)  There was no can I commit the time and energy for this?  At 5 seconds to midnight on November 18, 2012 I knew there was no way I was not doing this race.