Only rode 3 days but the bike time was equal to the run time, and I am happy about that. Food is going better but still is not great.


M - 8 mi run + 50 min. yoga + 24 mi bike
T - 36 mi bike
W - 14 mi run
T - 8 mi run + 3000 yd swim
F - 4.2 mi run + 50 min. yoga + 5.5 mi run
S - 8 mi run + 30 min. stairmaster
S - 40 mi bike

In other good news, I got a revise and resubmit on a paper sent to a really good journal, so that's exciting (though it now means more work).
Goals for the week
* study for maths final each day for at least half an hour (final is Sept. 3)
* do well with food
* sbr the equivalent of IM distance (so at least 4k swim, 112 mi bike, 26 mi run... like I need to spell that out you know what it means)

Chief complaint right now is just anxiety...

Nice work - good luck on the paper resubmit, nerve wracking eh? :-)

I wanted to run 4x, I managed 5x and felt great - to be fair they are not hard or long runs, but it's definitely improving, going in the right direction. Also rode 5x, and lots of core and walking.

This week: Busy week at work and long weekend coming up... ride 4x; run 4x; core every day and I hope to get in an OW swim this coming weekend, it's been too long...

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

Last week:

Swim x 5 - got 4
Bike x 5 - got 4
Run x 4 - denied.

Went back to PT and my pelvis was back out, so running is back out for right now. I am really bummed about it, but after seeing what was happening to my ankle, it's really putting too much strain on it for me to do that right now until the pelvis is 100% fixed. My PT pleaded with me to take a day off and not immediately go do anything that tightened up my hip flexors, which the tug the pelvis. I had planned on immediately hopping into the pool afterwards so...

I did something uncharacteristic. I listened. I was nearly climbing up the walls on Saturday but fortunately my wise, esteemed coach suggested a band/buoy swim.

Had a better swim/bike yesterday and a distinct lack of ankle swelling. That was nice to see. PT has also said I can jump rope instead of running so I look forward to dusting off my elementary school recess skillz tonight.

This week:
Swim x 4
Bike x 5
Jump rope x 4
PT exercises x 14 (I'm putting that on here to hold myself accountable)

I have to pick up the dress this weekend. I can't wait for the horrified comments about my cycling and swimsuit tan lines in my strapless dress!

Last week wasn't bad. Got in all my planned workouts. Raced on Sunday.
Took 1st in my AG, 2nd OA, with a lousy race. I raced this same course in June, and yesterday I was 13 minutes slower. Ugh.
I have also decided I don't care for the TT style start on a small Olympic distance type race.
OH well. That was my last tri for this year, now I can look forward to cyclocross!!! First CX race on Sept. 7th. Woohoo!!! I can't wait!

Bad news - I somehow got messed up. Since the race, I have been ill, or dehydrated, or something, or... who knows.
Might explain why I went 13 minutes slower than in June, and 11 minutes slower than my olympic in Milwaukee.

And - this is the LAST WEEK of my residency!

So workouts for this week: whatever I feel like, and pack up my stuff from the apt. I stay in during the week.
Next week I can "get back into it" during my week off before I start the new job.

Last week's goals:
- run x 6: WIN
- bike x 3: WIN
- swim x 4: WIN
- core/strength x 4: WIN
- foam roll: FAIL


Got most of what I wanted done.


This week's goals:
- run x 6 (will mean running 2 x at a moto rally on the weekend)
- bike x 1
- swim x 2
- core/strength x 4


Tanker is on holidays this week, so I lose my driver for the long commute...which means I miss my twice-daily nap/chill time. Need to get more sleep!


Cheers!


-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

Great work everyone!

After many weeks off of this thread, I am slowly making my way back. I spent the week of Aug 13-18 running 120 miles with more than 20,000 ft in elevation gain in the Rockies at the TransRockies event. And not only was the elevation gain and loss each day a killer, the entire event was located at over 8,500 feet in elevation (much of it higher than 9,500 ft) which is plenty high for someone who lives at 640. I did the 6 Day Solo Run and I can't say enough good things about the event. The TransRockies Group has their act together and it was almost flawless. That is a lot to say when they have to cart 300 runners and their gear to 5 different camping locations, provide us 11 meals, and tons of snacks and beer. The courses were challenging (brutal at times) but beautiful and well-marked. It was definitely one of the hardest things I have ever done.

Last week was all about recovery. I kicked this week off my registering for IMC 2014 so I guess its back to tri-training for me. This week's goals are:
- 2 swims
- 2 rides
- 2 runs
and some strength/yoga.

It will be the first time back in the pool and riding a bike since my second wrist break in March. It will not be pretty. But I have 11 months to get there.

And speaking of getting there, anyone want to offer me any advice. I am currently signed up for a trail marathon next weekend (Sept 7) and a 50 mile on Oct 13. I also had plans to run a 50K on Sept 21st but haven't officially registered yet. Since finishing TransRockies, I am not sure I want to run any of the events. I have yet to run since finishing (but hope to tonight) so its not a
physical constraint. It is mental. TransRockies (and the proceeding 6 months of run focused training) took a ton of fight out of me. I know that I can finish all of the events but not possibly at the time goals that I had originally set for myself. Do I just go, run through the motions (pun intended) and hope its a good day or should I re-evaluate my goals and not run or run a shorter distance? Or even not run at all? The marathon has a 10K and half that I could likely drop to and the 50M has a 50K option. Just for full disclosure I am also registered for Iceman Cometh (30ish mile mtn bike ride on multi-track, dirt and gravel in MI) on Nov 2 and a gravel road metric on Nov 30. So I won't solely be run training for the next months either way. My coach's advice is to seriously consider not running or dropping to a shorter distance. His opinion is that a bad race may shake my confidence. Additionally, there is no reason to gut through a 10 hour event just to say you did. That makes sense but I have never dropped from a race unless I had strict drs orders to not do it. Any advice/feedback?

I just DNSd a rave 2 weeks ago. I'm not quite mentally or physically ready to race yet, and it's been 12 weeks.

Give yourself some time.
AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

My big race of the year was a total flop. I'm really disappointed. I know why it happened but I'd put so much time and energy getting ready that I'm spending some serious time moping.

I was the runner for the Challenge Penticton relay this year It was going to be my first long distance run since my divorce and a return to where I was 2 years ago. A series of circumstances conspired to cause me to fall flat on my face.

Traveling to a race and staying in a hotel is rough. I drove up by myself on Thursday and I was on the road for 7 hours between driving and pit stops. For-frikkin-evar! I didn't drink nearly enough water. Then Friday and Saturday was running errands and generally doing "stuff". Again I didn't drink enough water. I realized how far behind I'd gotten by Saturday night and started consuming mass quantities.

Being the runner on a relay means the swimmer and biker think they have a helper all morning. And I have no capacity to say no to friends in need. So I was up early to watch the pros start, then a friend doing the full event start, then my swimmer start, then helping my biker get ready while schleping my swimmer's dry clothes, then cheering them on at the chip exchange, then helping my swimmer with her back pain and schleping both her stuff and my biker's bike pump and dry clothes, then seeing another friend who DNFed in the med tent and spending time with him since he'd traveled to the race alone, then helping my swimmer back to the hotel and then finally eating something at 11:30 am.

A few hours laying in bed and I was running at 4:45pm. Just then a huge storm hit and I was running into a crazy headwind and rain. Surprisingly I felt good though and just laughed it off. My pace was right on target and very comfortable. The plan was to be super conservative for the first half, turn up the effort a bit until mile 20 then when I hit town to run as hard as I had in me. The rain only lasted about 20 minutes.

Starting at mile 6 I made the tour of the port-o-pottys for the rest of the race. Having traveled to the race I wasn't able to have the control of my diet that I usually do. It was ugly.

Still I pressed on and my legs felt fine. I was behind schedule at the turn around but I was still feeling strong so I let it go and focused on just running. I did notice I was starting to feel spacey and having side cramps so I doubled up on the salts. My brain fog cleared and my side felt better by mile 15. But then the big cramps started. Butt cramps can stop me in my tracks. Holy shit. Then my inner thigh started cramping. Holy holy shit. I kept running because if I start to get a cramp I can usually push though. Mile 17 my thigh started to cramp and I knew I was doomed. The walking began. I stretched, walked, drank, salts, etc. Tried running again after 10 minutes but no go. Cramps started up right away. It started to dawn on me that I wasn't going to finish this thing running. So I settled in and started walking as fast as I could. I walked the last 9 miles. I hit all kinds of mental lows. It was after dark and on the Challenge course it can get very dark along the lake. I got one of the glow necklaces. This cheered me up for a bit until I realized it meant I was still out there after dark and I had about 8 miles to go still.

I had a lot of time to think about things. It is really peaceful by the lake at night and there weren't many runners left out on the course. I chatted with a few of them, thanked all the volunteers and thought about what I was doing there. I've always been a "go big or go home" kind of athlete and as a result I've never focused on getting fast, only going farther. I realized that I'd really enjoyed focusing on getting faster this past spring. My half marathon times were dropping and my PR seemed like it was obtainable. Being out there for 26.2 miles just wasn't fun. Half marathons and running them as fast as I can was fun.

I finished the race. I had two team members who were counting on me. Neither of them had a good day either so there was no way I was going to quit. It started dumping rain just as I was walking in the last quarter mile with my teammates. We crossed the line together and I'm really happy I toughed it out. It was a good test of my mental game and while most of the time I felt like I was failing the test I actually passed in the end.

I had a great weekend. I saw people I haven't seen in a couple years and CaptainCanada told me I looked thin and fit. I also got my Steve King bobble head and had my picture taken with Macca. It wasn't a wasted trip by any means. I love Penticton and the people there. I've been up to either race, volunteer or cheer 7 times and I always have a fun time.

I've decided to work on getting faster before going longer. I've never run a sub 2 hour half marathon and that's my next goal. I have a long way to go but I don't want to sign up for another marathon until I can run a sub 2 hour half. I want to run ultras again but I don't want to worry about cut offs and I'm sick of being one of the last ones across the finish line. I think I can get faster so I want to do that. My coach is all in and loves the idea. She has been doing great work with me and I think she can help get me there.

I'm taking another day or two off then will hit the pool for some laps. I have blisters but my leg soreness is almost gone. I'll go for a run this weekend and see how it feels. I'm looking for a local half marathon end of September.

Some time in 2014 will be my return to marathons. Until then I'll work on running fast.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Instigator, my suggestion would be to figure out what your racing priority is, then work around that. With a list like yours, they can't all be A races. After you've figured out which, if any, is the ONE race you REALLY want to compete in, then I would figure out which ones you are willing to drop or shorten, and which ones you're willing to make a very last minute decision on (eg, day before--I'm ready and want to do this; I can do it but I don't want to; it will be a training run, etc.)

Jen, celebrate that you're back! Congrats on finishing.

I continue to have ups and downs with the injuries. Will have the longest run or ride in a year and feel great, then go to repeat and everything gets squirrely and I feel really depressed, old and broken. My original plan was to see what kind of training I could get in, then make a last minute decision on what I race at the end of Oct (IM, IM AB, HIM, HIM AB, relay, etc). Now I'm starting to wonder if I should just scratch the IM, as I'm pretty sure there's a part of me that's pushing harder than I should on the workouts because I've got that in mind.

Next week is a recovery week with an HIM AB at the end. I'm going to try to get through this week's build and that before making any decisions.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

Thanks for the input. With the running races, the A race would be the 50 miler (and then IMC next July). The other 2 events are just training runs at races. It was my plan just to use the marathon and 50K as training runs (at training pace) as a way of getting mileage in a supported setting with other runners instead of loops on my normal set of trails. Plus peer pressure encourage me to sign up. I guess the issue is that I am not sure I want to do the training to slog through the 50miler in Oct. I just need to get my thoughts in order and decide what I want to do. TransRockies seemed to have done something to my confidence and my desire to run. I guess I just didn't expect this effect.

Jen - Congrats on Challenge. You were great sticking it out and I know 2014 will be a terrific year for you. You are dedicated to your training and I am always impressed at how you push yourself to complete your runs even in bad weather and when your kitty wants to cuddle. 2014 will be the year you reach your goals.

Tri3- Good luck at your HIM AB!!

Jen...congrats on your finish! It is always more admirable to gut it out and finish even if you have to walk it. I admire people like you more than people that finish fast and strong. You finished a run that Macca bailed out on...remember that!

I did the run on Sunday as well...my first marathon. It was the first run in my life that I didn't hate, and my first ever run over 25km. Ya I was slow (our team was in 2nd after the bike thanks to my hubby and we ended up 12th over all thanks to my run), but it was great to support the event. The volunteers were fantastic (loved the "Free Hug" girl on Main Street) and it was awesome for me, being local, to see my friends out on the course both volunteering and cheering. My legs are feeling better today but unfortunately my left foot feels like hell....hoping there's nothing broken in there...

Okay, sometime last week I signed up for 3 races at once (part of a new local tri series, the races aren't new, just the packaging of the three races). I have not done any of these races before and the first one is on the 8th and the last is Oct 20th. So time to really get in gear for these races (all sprints).
Last weeks training-
Swim x2- 1-pool, 1-open water
Run x4 (short)
Bike x2- 1- 11 miler (w/ breakfast break in the middle), 1- about 28 miles
1 long walk around Disney's California Adventure park with my sister (3.3 miles)

This weeks training-
Mon- long run -- done
Tues- swim- pool -- done
Weds- spin class & run
Thurs- open water swim & run (may skip open water swim due to water quality from recent t-storms in nearby mountains)
Fri-Sat-Sun need to do a brick and long ride in during those 3 days.

Great job to all those who raced!!!

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check out my blog http://theswimmingtriathlete.com

Congratulations on your race. Sounds like you need some time to recover. Please take care of yourself.

Good solid week of training.
Congratulations on your paper! Keep up the good work.

Well done. Finishing is always the goal. You did it and it wasn't easy. good job.

I understand how you feel. I always want to sign up for races that are simply too close together. I just had to talk myself out of doing a marathon w/ an IM 4 weeks later. It's hard. I agree with what has been said, pick your most important races and let the others go. good luck.

I hope you're still not moping. Actually, sounds like a nice time this weekend.

You're a seasoned runner/athlete. You should've been resting before your race. I don't understand this: "Being the runner on a relay means the swimmer and biker think they have a helper all morning."

Again, I hope you're not moping. You did the best you could considering how you took care of yourself before the race on race day. Your run would've been more successful if you had a better understanding with your team mates: You needed to rest up before your race, so you were setup for success.

You had fun helping your team mates and it's fun watching the event. Young lady, you should've been more selfish and had your feet up.

Overall, your day turned out the way you wanted it to. Please don't mope. Be happy!

Again, your day sounded like fun to me. Wish I was there. :)

I dare you to look your best friend in the eye before she goes out to swim 2.4 miles in choppy water and tell her you won't carry her backpack or stick around and help her when she's done.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

I've been the swimmer on several relay teams - I've never asked for help. Once I'm out of the water I can chill/take as much time as I need to get sorted out. My job is done at that point.

Regardless - you are obviously a good friend & athlete. Hopefully the next time you get a chance to race the running part is closer to your expectations. Sounds like it was overall a good day (just block out the painful parts - that's what lets us all sign up for the next event).

Please don't be offended by what I posted. It was your big race of the year. I feel bad that you don't feel good about it. Again, it actually sounded like fun helping everyone out. But if it was your big race, I think your priorities should've been about you resting. The team mates can take care of themselves, unless this was your best friend's first race.

Wasn't there a transition area for all of your stuff?