What a Difference 6 Months Makes...

It's finally here. The final few weeks of demanding Ironman training.  The early mornings.  The late nights.  Cramming work, writing, wedding and family in between.  Twenty-one hours of training scheduled this week, and it's not even my biggest week yet.

Sorry, friends, see you at the end of June.

It sucks, but that's honestly what it takes at this point to finish the journey.  Focus.  Discipline.  Patience.  Resolve.  That applies to the workouts themselves.  No need to be a hero at this point in the training. If Coach Gerardo says to stay within zones 1-3 on a 2.5 hour run (like today), then that's exactly what I do. The result this morning meant a relatively pedestrian 2:13:04 half-marathon on the Griffith Park long course trails, with a couple golf course loops thrown in for good measure.  I know I can run faster, but not while keeping my heart rate down.

Welcome to my Ironman marathon pace.  Once again, physically I see I'm more than capable of a 4:15-4:20 marathon if I don't go crazy on the bike.  I ran 9:15 miles with 15 second walking rests at each mile marker.  Normally this would be a disappointment.  But since I know what to expect come race day, I would gladly GRATEFULLY take this pace.

All of this is besides the point though.  Race day is just outside of a month from now.  Last time at this point, I was practically panicked inside about possibly not finishing or disappointing myself, or even you Mr. and Ms. Blog Reader.  Not this time.  In fact, I'm honestly surprised how mellow I am about being in the final crunch right now.  It's seriously no big deal.  I remember, and I'm sure Coach G does too, that last year I was pretty much a whiny bitch about all the pain and suffering associated with the training. "Why are you trying to kill me???" was a common question I asked.

This year I'm not so cocky as to say "Bring it on!"; rather, my attitude is, "Oh, OK.  I've done this workout before.  Cool."

I truly didn't expect to be this relaxed.  Whatever I do in the coming weeks, the goal is to stay that way.

Chillin'. Sleepy.  Another brick workout at 7 a.m. tomorrow.  Bedtime.

33 days and counting.

Guilty, or Grateful?

Should I feel guilty, or grateful? Today I was supposed to swim for 45 minutes, easy laps, focus on cadence, yadda yadda yadda.  Then, I was supposed to spin easily for 45 minutes. I forgot my local pool is closed on Mondays, so that left me with a mere 45-minute workout day coming off a weekend where I missed a key long run due to a potential injury (more on that in a moment).

In other words, I didn't need a recovery day from fatigue.

But perhaps I needed a genuine recovery day as a reward for my body putting up with me not permitting it to rest so much after Friday's terrible leg cramps.

Fortunately, after my ART appointment this morning, I learned that my hip flexor/TFL strain was mild at best and I'd be fine.  My injury was essentially from overuse and probably an awkward position in one of my exercises (I'm thinking reverse situps or step ups with weights).  It stems from a weak psoas muscle (deep in the lower abs) that triggers overcompensation in my left hip muscles.

It's so strange that in my second go around with Ironman training, mentally I'm in great shape five weeks out but physically I'm practically falling apart.  Some days I wonder if I'm going to sprint to the finish or stagger.  However it turns out, I will cross the finish line.  Walk, shuffle, jog, run or sprint, I will cross the finish line.  I feel like I'm too experienced not to, and I've made so many mistakes over the past couple years and months that I'm due for a "good" race.

But I don't expect one either. I expect to do my best, try to be smart, listen to my body, and take what the day gives me.

If only I listened to my body a bit more in training.  I think I got lucky this weekend I didn't tear something.  It could have been a lot worse, only missing one big workout -- one I'll make up tomorrow morning.

So, guilty or grateful?

GRATEFUL.

Most grateful.

34 days and counting.

Server Problem

I planned to write a hefty post tonight about pushing through injury and knowing when to hold back. Unfortunately, I kept getting a 404 error trying to access the site until just now. I'm on my iPhone, in bed, an ice bag affixed to my left hip. Despite the 61 miles and 5,700 feet of climbing and a short run after, I feel OK. Tight, but OK. I learned an important lesson today. Mainly, progress is sometimes uncomfortable. And can be scary. I almost sat out this entire weekend because of a muscle strain the likes of which I hadn't encountered before. But, with treatment, a little bit of rest and some faith, I got through 2/3 of my training weekend. I also knew when to stop, as I could have run the full hour of my scheduled brick today. But I didn't. Why? Because there's a fine line between pushing and listening. My legs were tight. Richard said I was limping or at least favoring one leg on my run. And I felt grateful enough for the gift of being able to hang tough through the weekend while playing it relatively cautiously.

It's almost like this little server issue. I could have not written anything tonight and given up. Instead, I tried something different and found a way to overcome the problem.

I think this will come in handy in five weeks. A blend of strength, resourcefulness and a dash of just plain stubbornness.

35 days and counting...from my iPhone.

Just When I Thought I Had it Together

Since yesterday's video blog seemed to go over well, I'm trying it again today. And for good reason. Just when I thought everything was breaking in my favor, I go out and injure myself. Yep, that happened. Fortunately, I think it's fixable.

36 days and counting!

Where the Heck I've Been...

Where have I been? Where haven't I been since the last time I wrote?

This video blog attempts to explain!

Also, here's my Garmin data from the Palos Verdes Half Marathon, in context now with how I chose to run the race.

It's good to be back!

37 days and counting!

Sure, Why Not?

Chalk one up to timing. Tomorrow, I've got a two-hour run scheduled on rolling hills.  I'm supposed to stay within heart-rate zones 1-3.

Guess what?  It just so happens the Palos Verdes Half Marathon is tomorrow! Rolling hills and all.  So, is this going to be a good idea,or a bad one?  I'll let you know tomorrow at around mile 10!

The timing seems to be working in my favor though.  I didn't train much yesterday since I didn't swim and I had run two days in a row prior.  Today was my off-day.  An unintentional taper, but a taper nonetheless.

On the other hand, am I weak from being sick and missing six hours of combined training last week?  I honestly don't know. I have trained seven hours this week so far, illness and largely fatigue free.  I feel fresh, strong and eager to run tomorrow, so I suppose that's a good sign.

The real challenge is going to be holding back at the event.  But I'm going to treat it as an Ironman training run, meaning that despite the adrenaline I need to figure out how to hold back and pace myself even when I feel particularly strong.  This is not a strength of mine.  But it needs to become one.  More important, I have a LONG training day on Sunday featuring a 6.5-hour brick AND an hour swim before that.

In other words, I'm doing a mini-Ironman on Sunday.

If that doesn't force me to pace myself tomorrow, I don't know what will.  But ya know what?  This is what it's all about -- challenging yourself constantly.  Surprising yourself, and your body.  For better or worse, I'm going to put myself out there tomorrow, on a tough course I haven't experienced before, and try to enjoy the journey.

Why not, right?

Race report tomorrow night.

44 days and counting.

Observing, Not Particpating

This morning I finally gave in to visiting an urgent care center for my flayed fingers.  Shannan, my trainer, and some of the other trainers at my office complex gym, took a look at my exposed fingers following a strength training session and grimaced.  I'll admit, I kinda dug the attention as it reminded me of being a kid when you'd show off cuts and bruises to the girls and make them recoil. Boys will be boys.

At the doctor's, the physician indicated that my fingers were going to be fine (as I expected all along).  Fortunately though I have an updated tetnis shot and am currently on antibiotics from my upper respiratory/sinus infection.  Thus, infection was ruled out for the most part.  The issue now is keeping my fingers dry for the next couple days so they can air out properly.  Sadly, that means no swimming until at least Sunday, which also means that I've got 1.5 days of rest since tomorrow is an off-day. Normally I wouldn't complain, but after interviewing Chris McCormack ("Macca") last night and after seemingly finding a better bike pace, I'm fired up to train!

Why is it that when we want a break there isn't one in sight, and when we don't need one we get more than necessary?

So tonight, instead of swimming, I'm going to train in a different way: Atop the deck at VNSO pool.  I'm going to shadow Gerardo and see what he's seeing.  Maybe I can even help out a bit.  I think that maybe I can learn to become a better swimmer tonight by watching, not doing.  Then, on Sunday, I can mimic what I see in the water.

I'll let you know how it goes then.

45 days and counting.

Aha!

Hard as it was, I held back the effort and kept the heart rate lower for the bike portion of my early morning brick workout.  On the hills I normally attack at Griffith Park, my heart rate can accelerate to the upper 150s, even low 160s if I'm pushing hard.  Then, I'll wonder why my trail runs are at a 9:00 pace at best. Today was different.

I never exceeded 152 bpm at the toughest point of my climbs, typically staying within the 130s and low-mid 140s.  I'll have to review the data from my ride when I eventually get home, but I don't think I was dramatically slower than if I had pushed harder.  Fortunately, Fortius teammate and buddy David was riding up the Griffith Park Observatory road as I was cruising towards it, so we shared part of our ride.  This further kept my heart-rate down and my effort level in check.

When it was time to part ways and head back to the car for my run workout, I felt fresh and energized.  I was eager to see if the "stored" energy as in fact ready for use on the run.

It was!  Granted, I only had time to run for 30 minutes instead of the full 60 thanks to my amended cycling route and pacing.  But, I averaged just over an 8:00 pace while keeping my heart-rate in the low zone 3 area or even zone 2.  This is huge news for me, and hopefully proof that saving myself for the run more effectively may just be the ticket to a better Ironman result.

I don't like the idea of sacrificing speed and power on the bike for the greater good.  Cycling is my favorite sport, as we all know by now.  BUT, if this is the best way to come close to breaking 12 hours in Coeur d'Alene I'm all for it.

I'll continue to put this theory to the test in the coming weeks and report the results.

The idea of slowing down to ultimately go faster fascinates me.  Perhaps this should apply to other areas of my life too?

46 days and counting.

PS: Fingers update: May be going to doctor's tomorrow after lifeguards at the pool and a teammate doctor indicated last night that there is an infection risk for the cuts I sustained.  I called the doctor's office today but they're closed on Wednesdays -- apparently the "urgent" message I left wasn't deemed important enough.  More to come.

Fall Down Go Boom

You ever hear of that adage about how most car accidents happen within a few blocks of your home? It applies to bikes too.

Yep, I went down this morning, on a slippery hill at Dixie Canyon Road.  Luckily, I was coasting just a few miles per hour when I hit a watery stream and my road bike came out from under me.  I had enough control of the bike to know I was going to fall but remembered being so surprised that I didn't have enough time to even tense up.

It's not serious though, outside of the two bloody fingers on my right hand that made me quite the vision as I put the chain back on.  Blood makes injuries look a lot worse than they really are!  But, my bike helmet is toast, a fine crack towards the left front side.  My Giro 2 has lasted me more than two years so I suppose it was time to replace her anyways.  The grips on the bike are shredded too, so that will need to be replaced sooner rather than later as well.

The irony, of course, is that on Mondays I usually ride on my trainer for recovery workouts.  I just didn't feel like it today.  I wanted to get outside and just ride for the pure enjoyment of it!  Which I did, until I found myself staring at sky unintentionally!

I suppose my harmless little spill taught me a few things.  First, I have so much more respect for the pro cyclists who do this all the time in races and get right back on the bike to pedal at 30-plus miles per hour.  I can't imagine that!  I just had to ride a few miles home, wash myself off, bandage myself up, and go to work for the day.  These guys have such a high threshold for pain.  Second, my heart goes out to the fallen cyclist today from Team Leopard Trek, who crashed at the Giro d'Italia and died.  Granted, he must have been riding at massive speed for his accident, but since my helmet cracked from a silly fall it's easy to see how quick something horrible can occur.  Finally, despite learning the lesson the hard way, I was proud of myself for how I handled it.  I laid on the ground for a minute, realized I was bleeding, but that I had to get home as I was riding alone.  I picked myself off, fixed the chain with shaking bloody fingers, and got myself calmly home.

Literally, I fell and got back up.  I managed the pain, and finished the ride.  There's a lesson in there somewhere.

Yeah, like keep recovery rides indoors!

48 days and counting.