Jennie, you are an Ironman!

It's more than two weeks out, and I'm finally getting around to a race report.  What have I been doing for the past two weeks?  Happy hours!  It's hard work rehydrating from 14 hours of continuous exercise.  Some of you have been patiently awaiting this race report though, especially those of you considering IM Texas next year.  So here's more detail than you'd ever want about my Ironman Texas race day.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

I woke up at 4:00 am and ate the most massive breakfast ever:  oatmeal, almond butter, bananas, bagels, honey, yogurt, coffee, and lots of water.  1000+ calories.   Jody and I left our hotel at 5:15.  I dropped off my nutrition and gear at the transition area and then headed to the swim start, which was about a mile away.  I was very grateful for the ride there, as most athletes walked the 1+ mile from transition to the swim.  I was already planning to do 140.6 miles that day.  I had no interest in making it 141. 

At about 6:30, we arrived at the incredible scene of the swim start: nervous people pacing all over the shore of Lake Woodlands, standing in line for the port-a-lets, praying, jamming to reggae, freaking out because they couldn't find their goggles.  It was a deepwater start, so they let us get in the water about 6:45.  I put on my cap and goggles, said goodbye to Jody for the day, and dove into the water. I placed myself squarely in the middle of the swimmers, behind the sharks but close enough to the front where I wouldn't be swimming around people for the entire race.  And I treaded water for about 10 minutes waiting for the cannon to fire.  This was one of the most awesome experiences of the day.  Purple (women) and green (men) swim caps surrounded me, and spectators covered the shores and bridge behind us.  I thought this would be the most anxious part of my day, but in fact, it was the moment when it finally hit me - I'm going to do this.  And I'm going to finish!   It was a feeling of peaceful excitement and awe.

At two minutes until 7:00, hundreds of athletes waited on shore to get in the water.  The announcer kept saying, "we start at 7, whether you're in the water or not," and he didn't lie.  The gun fired and the mass of 2200 green and purple caps started moving eastward across Lake Woodlands.  Here's a YouTube video of what it looked like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egZcFVWN5nc&feature=related

I got knocked around a little bit, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.  The water was murky.  I couldn't see past my elbow, but I've swam in worse.  Before I knew it, I was rounding the first buoy.  I started to get a dull headache that lasted through the rest of the swim, maybe due to my goggles being too tight?  The final 800 meters of the swim course were through a narrow canal.  It got a little crowded in there, and one of the two straps of my goggles was knocked off, but I managed to fix it without losing them.  I kicked hard the last 100 meters, swam around the final buoy and made my way up the stairs out of the water and into transition.   Swim time: 1:20.  All my hard work in the pool and at Barton Springs paid off!  That was about as fast as I ever expected to swim 2.4 miles. 

I grabbed my bike gear bag and rushed into the changing tent.  A fabulous volunteer was waiting there for me.  She gave me water, sat me down, and dumped the contents of my bag on the ground.  Then she put my socks on for me and handed me all my gear.  She even noticed I was chaffing under my arms from the wetsuit and covered those areas with vaseline.  I can give all the credit for my fast transition time to her.  And she made me laugh, saying, "I can't believe you just swam in that water.  I live on the lake, but I would never think about swimming in it.  You go girl!"  Major props go to The Woodlands ladies for their truly incredible support all day in this race!

As I exited transition on the bike, I heard a crowd of T3ers cheering, giving me a great boost of energy to start the ride.  On my bike, I had three water bottles each with 450 calories of Carbo Pro and 200 calories EFS, plus one aero bottle with just water.  I took in water at every stop but had enough calories in the bottles to last me for the whole ride.  I did the first half of the 112 miles in well under 3 hours at a 19.9 mph pace, but unfortunately, I suffered from some bad karma on the second half.  At about mile 75, when I was riding up a hill, I started thumping.  I had a flat, and although I can change flats easily on my own wheels, I'd borrowed Coach Mo's race wheels and had never practiced changing them - rookie mistake #1 of the day.  I spent about 10 minutes trying to get the tire off and a great deal more time changing the tube out.  But I cut my losses and hopped back on the bike, hoping to recover some of the lost time.  Then I started hearing this chirping sound, and I noticed that my legs were on fire and people were passing me a lot more often than before.  I finally realized, much later than I should have, that my wheel was rubbing against the side of my bike frame, slowing me down considerably and making me work that much harder - rookie mistake #2.  I popped off the bike again, fixed it, and went on my way.  I don't know how much time I lost in these two debacles, but I think I could have had a sub-6 hour ride without them.  That said, I was still very pleased with the way I rode.  And I was INCREDIBLY happy to get off my bike after 112 miles!  Bike time: 6:24.  Not too shabby.

The volunteers in T2 were again amazing, slathering sunscreen all over me as I changed shoes and took in some water.  I carried two flasks of EFS gel with me on the run, each with 400 calories.  I expected this to be most of my nutrition but was prepared to take in PowerBar gels at some point along the way.  Right as I started the run, I came upon Michelle, Chris, Sarah and Sam Smith.  Michelle has been my long-time running buddy, and she convinced her whole family - including a 3 year-old and a 1 year-old - to spend the day out in The Woodlands cheering me on.  It was so cool to have them there right at the beginning of the run.  3 year-old Sarah had a big high five ready and an adorable sign that she'd made. 

Coming out of T2, I surprised myself by feeling good enough to run.  About three weeks before the race, I'd started having some major foot pain.  I initially thought it was a stress fracture but had a chiropractor tell me it was a fallen arch and that it would be okay on race day.  Then, when it didn't feel any better the week before the race, I went to an ortopedic surgeon just to make sure that it wasn't broken.  She told me it was a Morton's neuroma (basically an enlarged nerve), gave me a metatarsal pad to wear, and confirmed that I would be fine to do the race but that I might be in a lot of pain.  Probably because of the massive amount of endorphins, I felt no pain coming out of transition.  I was able to run about 1.5 miles at a decent clip.  And then it hit me - not the foot pain, but the heat.  It was 3:00 pm in Houston, in May.  It was 94 degrees, 90% humidity, with a blazing sun overhead.  I started to get a little light-headed, so I walked... and walked.  A T3 friend passed me at about mile 3, so I started running again, trying to stay within a few feet of him.  Then I heard people calling my name.  A fabulous group of friends - Katie, Maggie, Laura, Kristin, Johnny, Amy and Allison - had camped out on a median and were cheering loudly.  I couldn't let them see me walk!  So I kept running, and they gave me the adrenalin to continue a while longer. 

At some point, I started walking again.  The heat continued to affect me, and the endorphins weren't able to mask the foot pain quite as well as at the beginning.  Part of the course was on covered trails through a neighborhood, so when I reached the shaded portions, I made myself run.  And good thing I did, because after about 50 meters of running, I came upon my other support group - my parents, my fabulous sister-in-law Brandi, the Smiths, Avery Woods and Erik Schuchmann, and my dear friend Samantha Brantley.  They were all on a hillside cheering loudly.  I started to run faster, which is great because all the pictures make it look like I'm running really hard, when in fact, I walked 2/3 of the marathon.  Coach Mo was also right there with them, and he ran alongside me for a minute and gave me some great encouragement.  "You're doing great.  You don't have to run any faster.  Just keep up this pace."  Well, that didn't happen, but I did continue to press on.  

At the start of the second lap, I noticed an altogether different foot pain - blisters.  The ortho that I'd seen earlier in the week had given me some orthotics that greatly relieved the pain in my foot, but I had to buy a new pair of shoes to wear them.  I hadn't had a chance to break them in - rookie mistake #3.  I also hadn't practiced running and dumping water on my head without getting my shoes wet - rookie mistake #4.  Combined, these caused massive blisters along the forefronts of both of my feet, and by the midway point, they made running incredibly painful.  So I walked a lot more.  I passed my cheering squads twice more, running because of the adrenalin they supplied.  But soon after I lost sight of them, I walked again.  Then the sun started to go down, and I was ready to finish.  I ran by my parents on the hillside with about 3 miles to go, and I just kept running.  My last 3 miles were the fastest three of my entire race.   The finish line chute was a good 200 meters, lined with people cheering so loudly.  Music blared, lights flashed.  Many friends were along the course yelling my name.  I saw Katie, Amy, Laura and Maggie before the finish and high-fived them.  I heard my Dad yell "Go Jennie" right as I crossed the line.  Jody found me right after I got my medal and gave me a huge, emotional hug. 

Finish time:  14:00:20.  (9:00 pm)  

It was truly an awesome experience, unlike any other.  Those of you that are thinking about doing your first one, I say absolutely, go for it!  Those of you thinking about doing your second, I say absolutely, you're crazy.  But I might be crazy too... in a different decade.  For now, I'm going to focus on healing my feet and spending some quality time with all these wonderful people that made my race experience so amazing.  Thank you guys for being such a huge part of it!

Breakfast of Champions

Here it is, folks, race day!  I'm trying to force down my 1000 calories:

Oatmeal - 250 cal
Justin's Maple Almond Butter - 200 cal (Best nut butter on the planet, by the way!)
Wallaby key lime yogurt - 150 cal (Best yogurt...)
banana - 120 cal
WF mini bagels (2) - 200 cal
honey on the bagels - 75 cal
(plus some terrible hotel coffee that tastes like the grinds are on their third go round)

Not exactly a gourmet brunch, but I'll look forward to that next weekend!

I slept pretty well last night, and I'm feeling good and excited about what the day will bring.   Let's do this!

T3 Toes and Training Buddies

Since Sunday was supposed to be a rest day on our training schedule, my T3 girls and I decided to go get T3 blue pedicures for the race.  The women doing the pedicures were horrified at our many calluses but managed to do a fine job on our feet:

For those of you coming to watch the race, keep on the lookout for these awesome ladies.  I've told them to be ready for cheering from strangers!

Paulina and Teresa

Jessica

These gals are all going to rock the race this weekend and have been fantastic training friends and much more along this 6-month journey!  

There's a whole slew of other T3ers that I don't have pictures of - Tammie, Chris, Kevin, Jennifer, Mallory, Matt, Bill, Chelsea, Buddy, Clay, Cole, Dustin, Lenora, Mary and I'm sure a few others that I'm missing.  They will be wearing T3 jerseys, and their names will be on their bib numbers.  They'd love to hear you cheer for them too.   Matt's a pro and one of the head coaches of T3.  He's racing for hard-earned money and points to qualify for a professional's spot at Kona.  He'll be close to finished by the time I start the run, but you might get to see him on his last lap if you're there when I expect to start.  Other folks to watch for are Chelsea and Cole, both of whom are likely candidates to qualify for Kona in their respective age groups.  Chelsea is one of 5 women under 25 competing, and if she's having a good day, she'll be on fire.   She may not acknowledge your cheers because she'll be working so hard, but I guarantee she'll appreciate them.  Cole, on the other hand, will probably be smiling the whole race and giving high 5s.  Up until 2 weeks ago he had dreads down to his waist.  Our coach finally convinced him to shave them off so that he wouldn't overheat.  He runs like a mad man and is great fun to watch.

Managing Expectations

If I go back and read my first blog entry, it says:

"My hope is that with consistent training and mental stamina the tortoise within me can finish, which for me will be a big, fat WIN."

I've had to remind myself of those last words recently.  Despite the lack of a stress fracture in my foot, it has been very slow to heal.  I can walk on it okay, but my first effort at running on it night before last was not a success.  I didn't make it to the end of my street before I had to stop and walk due to the pain.  (Snippet, however, was very grateful for the slower pace.)  My sports doc warned me that I should be prepared to run/walk this race and to erase any time goals I'd set.  Yesterday's experience has me convinced that there's a very good chance I will walk the entire 26.2 miles, and it's possible that I may have to drop out at some point due to the pain.  That is not how I foresaw this race.  I've logged a lot of long miles with the plan of crossing the finish line running.  At this point I just hope that my foot holds up for walking that far, and I'm not at all convinced that it will. 

The time goal that I had set for myself was to finish in under 13 hours.  My swim and bike are largely unaffected by the foot problem, so I should still be able to finish those with no problem.  Knowing that I won't be running, I'm going to hammer the bike as hard as I can.  A reasonable estimate is a 1:30 swim, exiting the water around 8:30 a.m., and a 6:30 bike, which would put me on the run by 3:00 p.m.  If I'm having a really good day, I'll do the swim in 1:15 and the bike in closer to 6.  Either way, that leaves me with 9 hours to finish the "run." 

I'm trying to keep my chin up, but this has been an emotional roller coaster.  I'm pretty much a basketcase.  I embarrassingly started tearing up at the pool this morning when my friend Stella asked me how my foot was.  I couldn't even talk to my coach for fear that I'd start bawling.  But this injury puts the whole thing into perspective.  Why do I do these triathlons?  Sure, the racing is a blast, and of course I like to have as fast a time as possible.  But I started doing them because I wanted a goal to keep me healthy and in shape.  I'm in the best shape of my life.  And walking the 26.2 rather than running - or walking only part of the 26.2 - is not going to take that way from me.  The truth is, I was going to walk some anyway.  How much, I'm not sure, but if the 70.3 last month was any indication, it would be more than just the water stops.  So now I'll be walking the whole thing.  My time will be slower, but the good news is that for those of you coming to cheer me on, you'll get to see me for that much longer when I pass you by!  

Spotting the Blue Streak

Well, it may be more like a blue slug than a blue streak, but "slug" wasn't as catchy.   For those of you coming to The Woodlands next Saturday, I thought I'd post a pic of what I'll be wearing on the run so that you can be on the lookout:

Let's hope that the smile and thumbs up are part of the running attire too.  Just as an FYI, there will be 24 of us wearing the blue T3 jerseys.  All are friends, and I'm sure all would love to hear a "GO T3" when they pass.  Our names should be printed on the bib numbers too, so there will ample cheering opportunities. 

#184

Bib numbers are posted!  I'll be wearing #184 on race day.  Along with the postings comes some interesting information that I thought I'd share:

• 2686 participants are registered for IM Texas.
• 90 of those are women in my age group, females age 30-34.
• The female age group with the largest number of participants is age 40-44.
• 11 physically-challenged athletes are registered to race.  (They are, by far, the most inspirational athletes to watch!)
• 80 professionals are registered.

Two Dirty Words

The triathlon world has its own language.  Transition is a place, not a phrase.  A brick is a workout, not a building material.  A draft is not a wind, but an illegal means to improve a bike split.  And a bike split does not mean that your bike broke in two.  It's the amount of time it takes you to complete the bike portion of a triathlon. 

We also have our own dirty words, specifically an "s" word and an "f" word.  Stress.  Fracture.

Last week, I started to notice some significant pain in my right foot arch.  I chalked it up to wearing heels a couple days in a row and ignored it.  Then on Sunday, my friends Michelle and Brandi joined me for my long run, which was supposed to be 12 miles.  The arch pain was there from the beginning but was very mild.  Around mile 7, the top of my foot started to hurt badly too.  I stopped running, and then I really started to feel the pain.  We were about as far from my house as we could be, and none of us had a phone.  We borrowed a friendly guy's cell and called Michelle's husband Chris to come get us.  He graciously plopped his kids in their truck and drove over to pick us up.  Thank you, Chris!!! 

Meanwhile, I started to panic.  I couldn't put weight on my right foot without a sharp pain shooting through the top of my foot.  Brandi has run a number of marathons and indicated that the symptoms I was having were similar to the ones she had when she was diagnosed with a stress fracture.  $#@*!

I got home and immediately called T3 Coach Maurice.  He recommended an asap visit to a sports doctor and also recommended 10-minute ice sessions at least 4 times/day plus a lot of ibuprofen.  He also was incredibly reassuring, convincing me that even if this was a stress fracture, I could *probably* still race the whole thing as long as I rested completely between now and race day.  I believed him . . . for about 5 minutes.  Then I went crying to Jody and told him it was all over, that this thing that has consumed me for the past six months was not going to happen.  It was a complete and total pity party, and despite my irrational sobbing and dramatization, Jody was wonderfully supportive.  He reminded me of what I often say to him - no sense worrying about things you can't control, or in this case, something you're not even sure exists.  So I tried to keep my chin up and not think about it, which was easier said than done. 

Fast forward to my appointment with Dr. Sellers this morning.  After about 20 minutes of tests for stress fractures, he confirmed that I DO NOT have one!  Amen!  He did determine that I have a collapsed arch and pointed out a number of differences between my uninjured foot and injured foot.  Then he spent about 30 minutes manipulating the foot to get my mobility back.  It's not perfect this evening, but it is better than before.  At least one cause of this problem is apparently some sort of imbalance in my hips and legs.   I've had a number of problems with my right leg over the past few years, and Dr. Sellers proved today that my right leg is much weaker than my left.  He had me use resistance bands to see how far I could lift each leg, and my left leg is about 20% stronger than my right.  Until this imbalance is corrected, he said I would continue to have problems with the right leg and foot.  So, I've got some butt-burning exercises to do 3 times a day, plus more ice and ibuprofen, plus some rest until the bruising on my foot heals.  But all in all, the prognosis is good, and I should be well, if not perfect, on race day.  Crisis averted, although not without a whole slew of dirty words that would be crystal clear even to the most novice triathlete.   

Ice, Ice, Baby!

Saturday was my last long brick workout before the race.  The schedule had us riding 40 miles and then running 16.  A bunch of veteran IM T3 folks volunteered to come down to Circle C where we were doing all this training and set up water/food stops for us with all the nutrition that would be available on the course on race day.  It totally rocked! 

We started the ride at 7:00 sharp, and there was some nice cloud cover to keep the extreme heat away.  I busted out 40 miles in under 2 hours and felt great, slipped on my trusty running shoes, and took off with my friend Meredith at a solid clip.  A mile into it, we saw the first waterstop, and I almost tripped over my own feet when I saw my name chalked on the sidewalk.  "Go, Jennie, you'll soon be an Iron-Woman!"  It is so awesome to train with cowbell-ringing friends.  They flooded us with water, Gatorade, PowerBar gels and fig newtons, and we continued on our run.  I was able to hang with Merciless Meredith until about mile five, when she said, "we're averaging 8-minute miles."  "Um, ok, I need to slow it down then."  Meredith went on her way, and I plugged along.  We were fully exposed to the sun by 11:00, and I was getting hot. 

At the next stop, my friend Jerry grabbed the back of my shirt and poured a cup of ice down it.  It was AWESOME!  He also told me to run holding ice in my hands to keep cool.  Totally worked!  It was 88 degrees for the last 10 miles of my run, but I kept a solid clip.  I hydrated right, never bonked, and finished with a smile and a spark.  And I learned a great lesson:  Ice is gold!  Jerry's done multiple IMs before, and he said it's not always readily available on the course, especially later in the day.  So I'm tasking Jody and whoever else is out there on race day with that one thing:  ICE! 

T-minus one month.  Getting excited, folks!  Thanks for sharing in this with me.

What to Expect

A T3 friend posted this link to a YouTube clip of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.  It's incredibly motivational and also scared the living daylights out of me.  It's a 10 minute clip, but the beginning is the best part - incredibly exciting, motivational and frightening all at the same time. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLbThAUrxro

Training with the Alamo

180 miles.  17 water bottles.  9 Gatorades.  Countless bananas.  2 shots of Bulleit Bourbon. 

Jody and I rode in the MS150 this weekend with our friends from Team Alamo Drafthouse.  We met Friday afternoon to load bikes, hopped in the van, and made our way first to LaGrange to stake out our camping area for Saturday night. 

Then we traveled on to Houston and had a great team party at one of our rider's homes. 

It was early to bed, as we planned to roll out the next morning at 6:30 for 100 miles.  13,000 people ride in the MS150, each raising at least $400 to help with research and treatment for those living with multiple sclerosis.  It is incredible to be a part of something so huge.  But we hoped to not be right in the middle of that huge something, as you can feel like herded cattle if you're stuck with the masses on the days of the ride.  Our 6:30 roll-out was an effort to get and stay at the front of the pack.  Unfortunately, due to some bad karma on my part, we had to make a bike shop stop Saturday morning before riding, so Jody and I didn't get on the road until closer to 8.  This meant starting behind most of the 13,000 riders.  It was a lesson in patience but also incredibly entertaining.  A lot of people that do this ride don't regularly cycle.  We saw a couple guys in jeans (ouch! - talk about chaffing), a number of women wearing tutus and enormous headpieces, and one of the St. Arnold Brewery riders dressed up as St. Arnold himself, complete with the cone hat and robe.  Here is a pic of the most obnoxious bike shorts of the day:

These folks were clearly having a great time and didn't care one bit about how long it took them to get to LaGrange.  It was a good reminder of what this ride is all about - people taking on a personal challenge in support of a great cause and having fun while doing it.   Unfortunately, the crowds in the middle of the group also created a more dangerous situation than I experienced last year.  Last year, I never saw a crash or a rider down on the pavement.  This year, we were stopped three times on Saturday to clear the roads in order for ambulances to get through.  I saw two people unconscious on stretchers and at least five others down on the road with some serious scrapes and bruises.  I guess this is inevitable when you have that many folks on bikes in one area, but it made me wary.

Jody and I rolled into LaGrange about 1:30 Saturday and were greeted by the awesome Alamo Drafthouse staffers with cold beer, burgers, and a massage therapist ready to dig deep into our tired muscles. 

Tim League, owner of the Alamo Drafthouse, organizes this whole thing, and he does it right!  We relaxed the afternoon away, eating enormous amounts of food, and shooting a little Bourbon in honor of one of sponsors, Bulleit Bourbon.  Nice stuff.

  

Sunday morning we were up early again and, this time, were successful in our efforts to beat the crowds.  Six of us ended up riding the whole morning together, forming pacelines and drafting off of one another to make it home (and off the saddle) as quickly as possible.

Tim, Glenn, Nosh, Jody, Jennie, RF

About halfway through the morning, we latched on to a group of speedy ConoccoPhillips riders, and they pulled us along for 20 miles at over 25 mph.  Trying to keep up with their pace was the hardest I've ever worked on a bike, but it was awesome.  I've spent so much time riding alone while training for the IM, and this reminded me both of how much more fun it is to ride in a group and how it makes me a stronger rider.  We rolled into Austin at 11:15 and toasted with Schlitz, our other beverage sponsor, to a great weekend and some fantastic riding!

(Post-ride lounging at Tim's)



Humbled by the Heat

Blazing heat, brutal humidity.   That is what's in store for me on May 21, and the Galveston 70.3 this weekend was a great precursor to that race. 

I rode down Saturday with my friend Brandi.  She and I have been swimming and doing track workouts together, and she's a great training buddy, always pushing me to my limits.  A side benefit to training with her is that she's a journalist, and I get to hear about news stories on the criminal justice beat before they make the paper.   Meeting new, interesting people like Brandi is, in my opinion, one of the best reasons to do this whole triathlon thing.

Arriving in Galveston, we immediately noticed the horizontal palm trees - full force wind at 22 mph.  By Sunday morning the wind had died down some but was still around 18 mph.  This made for a choppy swim.  I was tossed around but felt good overall and was pleased with a 40-minute 1.2 miles - not a PR, but a solid time for me, especially given the conditions.  The first half of the bike was spent fighting a headwind.  We rode from Moody Gardens south down the seawall, across San Luis pass, and then turned around to head back.  The tailwind back was helpful and certainly improved the overall time.  My bike split was 2:58, again, not a PR but a solid speed at 19 mph.

Then came the "run."  At the start, which for me was right around noon, the sun was blazing overhead.  My stomach hurt, and I felt light-headed.  And I walked.  The course was four loops all within Moody Gardens.  I probably walked almost half of the first lap.  Then I saw a porta-john and used that as an excuse to stop moving altogether, spending at least 3 minutes basically resting in the can.  Emerging, I saw my friend Craig.  He was keeping a good clip, so I decided I'd try to stick with him for a while.  It was just the push I needed to get my head back in the race.  I couldn't keep up with him for more than a mile, but I'm so grateful I saw him.  I was able to continue the race mostly running after that point and finished the half-marathon in about 2:17 with an overall time of 6:00.  Of the three half irons I've done, it was my slowest; however, my fastest was only 4 minutes faster.  I'm nothing if not consistent. 

Despite my time, I'm glad I did this race.  I think it will help tremendously with my prep for IMTX, and there are a number of lessons to be learned.  I thought I hydrated well on the bike, but apparently I could have hydrated a lot more.  I need to practice the bike to run transition.  Given that the second half of the run was 10 minutes faster than the first, it's clear that my problem was more mental than fatigue.  And most important - I've got to get some new bike shorts with better padding and/or a different bike saddle!  Oh, holy mother, was I ever in pain on the second half of that bike ride. 

Click here for a link to a picture of some of our group pre-race on Sunday.  My friends Teresa (5th from the left) and Seth (tall guy in the middle) are both doing IMTX.  We'll all be sporting those blue T3 jerseys on race day, so we'll be easy to find.   

Time for a Trial Run

T-minus 6 weeks to IM Texas.  T3 encourages us to do a training race prior to the big day to make sure that our clothing, gear and nutrition plans are all functional, so this Sunday I'll be racing in Galveston.  It also just happens to be the US Pro 70.3 Championships, so the field of athletes at this race is going to be awesome.  Fortunately, they will start over an hour before I do, so I won't have them swimming on top of me as I make my way through Galveston Bay. 

I've never done an ocean swim before, but apparently the saltwater makes you more bouyant - Yay!  The fear of ocean-dwelling creatures will probably also result in a record swim for me.   I realize the likelihood of sharks in the water is small, but I do remember my cousin getting a nasty jellyfish sting on a Galveston family trip when we were kids.  Was the jellyfish remedy perpetuated by that Friends episode (where Joey pees on Monica's sting) a myth or medical reality?  Let's hope I don't find out on Sunday!

Celebrity Swim

A local race group hosted an open water swim Sunday morning out on Lake Travis - 2.4 miles, the IM distance.  I was excited and nervous to see (1) whether I could do it, and (2) how long it would take.  But those nerves were nothing compared to the nerves I felt upon realizing that the guy in front of me picking up his swim cap from the race coordinator was Lance Armstrong.  Here are just some of the million thoughts I had in the course of the 3 seconds between the time I realized it was him and when he walked away:

That is AWESOME!  I'm going to race against Lance Armstrong.
God, I hope he doesn't lap me.
I wonder if many swimmers dope?
I wonder if he's got any juice in his system right now?
I wonder if he'll win?
WTF is he doing out here?  This is supposed to be a "practice" for amateurs.
Maybe the rumors about him becoming a pro triathlete are true.
Wow, he has a personalized wetsuit.
Wow, he really is short.

Then he walked away and I gathered myself, got my swim cap, and joined my friends at the start.  I took a paparazzi shot with my less-than-advanced iPhone camera:

LA is the second from the left (in the distance, can't you see him?) and with him is professional triathlete James Bonney, whose feet Lance drafted off of the entire race.  They finished the 2.4 miles in about 48 minutes.  Wow.  Lance came in 3rd.

Here I am with my friend Paulina:

Paulina is doing the IM too, as is her husband, Buddy.  We did not beat Lance Armstrong, but we did not get lapped by him either!  I finished my first of two laps in 41 minutes, 7 minutes before Lance finished his second...  I finished the whole thing in 1 hour, 31 minutes, which is 49 minutes ahead of the race-day IM cut-off.  Rock on!  I think I can do this thing!  It was more of a mental challenge than anything else, and there was definitely a period where I was certain that the buoy I was swimming to was being carried further and further away by the wind.  Coming around that final buoy felt incredible though, and I'm excited and confident about the swim on race day.  Bring it!

Celebrating Life

Wednesday morning on my way to work, Mom called to let me know that my 90 year-old grandad had passed away early that morning.  He fought a hard battle with lung disease and just over a week ago had been put on hospice.  We thought we had a little more time with him but are grateful that he died peacefully and without having to suffer much pain.  This weekend Jody and I will head to College Station for his service, which is sure to be a celebration of a very active, bright, honorable and loving man.  Here is a picture of him (left) in 1942, serving in the US Army's invasion of Sicily.

At 88, Grandad was still walking regularly for exercise, despite multiple doctors telling him he could "tone it down."  I like to think I got some of my athletic determination from him.  He also claimed to have the best legs of any person - man or woman - over 60, which unfortunately was not a trait he passed along to anyone.  He had one of the most cheerful, optimistic dispositions of anyone I know, and I hope that above all I can take from him the knowledge that to a large extent, happiness is a state of mind that depends more than anything on your outlook and how you choose to see the world.  We'll miss you, Papa Peck, but you leave a treasure trove of great memories and examples of true character.

Brain = Mush

If you asked me to sum up my world view right now, it would be this:

And this:

And this:

Spending all this time swimming laps, running circles around the track, and riding my bike has turned my brain into complete and total mush.

Exhibit A - Jody and I were supposed to do a duathlon this weekend in Seguin.  We picked up our packets Saturday, went to bed early, woke-up and had breakfast and loaded the car.  Only then did we realize that we'd forgotten to set our clocks forward, despite being reminded at least a dozen times yesterday from various radio DJs, friends, and even the race coordinators at packet pickup.  We missed the duathlon and, more importantly, missed the opportunity to cheer on Chris & Michelle in their relay team victory.  1st on the podium - CONGRATS to TEAM SMITH!!

Ex. B - Jody's sister-in-law's mother passed away two weeks ago.  I have had a card sitting on my dresser waiting to be mailed to her since the day after I got that news.  I finally wrote the card yesterday, addressed it, and dropped it in the mail.  Last night I realized that I hadn't put the card IN the envelope before mailing it.  So now she's going to receive an empty envelope with the return address from moi.  If I had one ounce of focus, I would have noticed the flimsy envelope or the card right next to it.

Ex. C - Since I didn't compete in the duathlon, I decided to go ahead and do the 12-mile run on my training schedule for yesterday.  The run was fantastic, but when I went back to my car I opened the trunk to pull out a towel to dry off with and locked my keys in the trunk.  Fortunately, the walk home was only a couple miles, and it was probably good to loosen up my legs after the run, but come on, Jennie, get it together.

All this to say, I'm starting to look forward to my life beyond this training and hope that my brain isn't too worse for the wear.  My friend Laura asked me yesterday if I planned to "tone it down" after the race was over.  Hell, yes, I do!  I have a huge stack of books I'm looking forward to reading, and I can only hope that I'll rediscover my brain while doing so.  In the meantime, please forgive me if I am a total basketcase or flake of a friend. 

Wildflower Sighting

I saw my first wildflowers of spring today on my bike ride down to San Marcos:

They were just a couple Indian Paintbrushes in front of someone's home, but I'm hoping that there will be plenty more to come soon.  These long Saturday rides are frankly getting boring, and I'm in need of some visual entertainment to keep me from going nuts.  Bring on the bluebonnets!

Loving the Local Races

The training rides and runs have been getting a little old, so I decided last week to throw in some organized events for my long training over the weekend - a charity bike ride in Bastrop called Pedal Thru the Pines and a race in San Marcos called Moe's Better Half Marathon.  I had done both of these before and loved them.  Their local, small, grassroots-type events that get the community out in support of a good cause.  The multitude of events like this in Austin is one of the great things about this city...

...except when there is wind.  Saturday morning Jody and I woke up to the sound of branches scraping across our aluminum roof.  It wouldn't have been so disconcerting except for the fact that we were planning to ride 65 miles in it. We put on as much clothing as possible, threw our gear, our bikes, and our friend Chris in the car, and headed east.  It was a brutal day.  Chris was riding right behind me and said that my bike was literally at a 105 degree angle from the ground, being pushed over by constant wind.  But we plodded along, finished hard, and celebrated with some post-ride beverages on the grounds of Bastrop H.S.  This was by far the best part of the day:    

Nosh, MaryLynn, Jody, Jennie & Chris

w/ cooler of Spaten in the center

Fortunately, the wind died down by Sunday morning, but the temperatures stayed cool.  The greatest running buddy ever (who happens to also be married to aformentioned Chris) and I drove down to San Marcos for a crisp 13.1.  Based on the Garmin it was 13.2, but despite that and it being a hilly course, we both managed to PR by many minutes.  Here we are afterwards with the race's namesake, Moe:

I can't begin to explain how grateful I am for a friend like Michelle.  She's been so supportive of my IM goals, held me accountable, made me a stronger runner, and, most importantly, is a wonderful friend and listener as we pound out the miles each week.  If it weren't for her, I know I wouldn't be running as much as I have been! 

Body work for a hard-working body

Three months down. Three months to go.

 

I'm generally feeling good and confident, but a few tight muscles have had me whining lately. I'm living on my bike right now, in aero position most of the time, and my neck, shoulders and back are not liking their new home. I therefore decided to treat myself to a massage this week. My good friend Laura has been a massage therapist for a long time, but I'd never had a massage from her before. I was admittedly a bit nervous about using a friend for massage work. I like silence during a massage, but I also really like talking to Laura. How will this work? What if I don't like it - can I tell her that?  I had no need to worry.  My massage yesterday was exactly what I needed - hard pressure on the crunchy spots (of which there are many) in my back and hips but still a calm and relaxing experience that has me feeling great today!  If you need a good massage therapist in Austin, get Laura's contact info from me. She's so talented, so professional, and she's a beautiful, creative and compassionate friend to boot!

 

I'm hoping that my post-massage zen will get me through this weekend. The Pedal Thru the Pines charity bike ride is tomorrow in Bastrop - 65 miles of rolling hills with some of my favorite people, including JoD.  Sunday I'm running a half-marathon in San Marcos and just learned that my friend Michelle will be able to join me for it.  Hurrah!  I thought I was going down there alone and am so grateful to have the company.  Let's just hope for sunshine.

Soliciting tweets for my handlebars

While spinning the other day, I noticed my friend's bike had writing taped all over her handlebars.  They were short inspirational quotes that she uses to lift her spirits on long rides.  What a great idea!  I've already taped two things to my handle bars:  (1) "Got salt?"; and (2) "Heels down!"  The former is to remind me to take my electrolyte tablets, and the latter is to stop me from riding with pointed toes.   

Now I'm looking for deeper inspiration on the bike.  Here are a few quotes that have struck me thus far in my search:

"Someday you will not be able to do this.  Today is not that day."  - Dane Rauschenberg

"It always seems impossible until it's done."  - Nelson Mandela

"Strength does not come from physical capacity.  It comes from an indomitable will." - Mahatma Gandhi

"If you can dream it, you can do it."  - Walt Disney

 

Mardi Gras vs. a hot and humid 26.2

It's marathon weekend in Austin, and I am about to jet to New Orleans.  So long suckers!  It's clear where my priorities lie.  Most of my friends training for the IM are running the marathon as a "training run."  I will be thinking of them as I enjoy a bloody mary on Sunday morning at Commander's Palace to celebrate my fantastic future sister-in-law and her bachelorette weekend, which happens to coincide with the first weekend of Mardi Gras.  Woot! 

I can't say that I'm sorry to miss out on the 26.2 action.  Something wonderful and yet tragic has happened in Austin over the past week.  Spring is upon us.  For the past two months, the weather for our weekend training runs has been in the 30s-40s, perfect running weather if you ask me, although not good for much else.  Due to my weekend plans, I did my long run this afternoon, when the temperature was 77 degrees and 60% humidity.  It was brutal.  I had renewed sympathy and admiration for my friends Michelle and Samantha, who ran the marathon and half-marathon in Houston a few weeks ago with even more humidity and heat than I had today.  There's no other way to say it:  humidity sucks, and it absolutely affects your ability to perform.  Michelle kept saying during the marathon that her legs felt like lead.  Yes, that's a perfect description.  Samantha and Michelle both had amazing runs in Houston but were both off the ideal goals they'd set for themselves by a few minutes.  I have no doubt that if the weather had been better, they each would have shattered those goals.  I'm going to keep this in mind as I prepare to run a marathon in May in Houston.  If I wasn't scared before, after today's run, I'm terrified, but I'm sure after a few Big Easy beverages I'll forget the whole experience (and hopefully my incredibly sore quads!).  Very excited to have two full days of no training and, more importantly, to spend the weekend with a woman who couldn't be a more perfect match for my little brother.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Nutrition 101: Cut back on the Girl Scout cookies

I've raced two half-ironmans, and in both I've had severe GI distress on the run, forcing me to grace the port-o-lets more often than I'd like.  To remedy this, I met with a sports nutritionist to chat about my plan for staying fueled on race day, and I learned some helpful information worth sharing.  My nutrition guru also wanted to evaluate my general diet to make sure I am getting everything I need and little of what I don't.  Let me just say that it's quite intimidating to record every calorie of food that you've consumed for a week and then share that with someone else.  More on that later.

First off, she asked me to list all the food and beverages that I consumed during my last half-iron in November:

On the bike:
- 2 bottles Gatorade
- 2 Clif bars
- 1 Power Bar
- lots o' water
On the run:
- Alternating Gatorade and water at the rest stops
- 3 Clif shot gels

Her first and overriding recommendation was to NIX THE PROTEIN (the Clif Bars and Power Bar) while on the bike.  She explained that processing protein while exercising was like sticking a spoon in the garbage disposal while it's running.  The body has a very difficult time processing protein, a somewhat less difficult time processing fat, and the easiest time processing carbs.  Therefore, exercise nutrition needs to consist primarily of, if not exclusively of, carbs.  She recommended that I try a product called CarboPro, which is apparently a flavorless powder full of, you guessed it, carbs.  Yum.  6+ hours on the bike, no solid food, just two bottles of CarboPro + water, plus an additional bottle of water every hour.  I'm willing to try it, but I have to admit that a Clif bar tastes damn good after 3 hours on the bike, and I don't think that my flavorless water will.  Boo.

Her next tip: salt.  Aside from the GI distress, I've also had the occasional leg cramping during my runs off the bike, sometimes crossing the finish with a Frankenstein look, unable to bend my knees.  I thought it was because I wasn't getting enough food in me.  She says I'm getting more than enough food but not getting enough salt.  I am a sweater - not the warm wool kind but the kind that disgusts you in the gym.  I create salt lakes around my spin bike and live in constant fear of drowning the gal next to me in Bikram yoga.  It's disgusting but also evidence that I'm losing a lot more salt than the average Jo-sephine.  Houston in May could be miserably hot and humid, so I'll be digesting a salt tablet each hour in the hopes of replenishing the salt mine that I'm sure to lose that day.

Now on to the fun part - an evaluation of the overall diet.  Generally speaking, she said I was doing well - getting the calories that I need *mostly* from good sources.  Do you really eat kale?  Yes!  I love it, thanks to a salad recipe my friend Amy introduced me to that you can find here.  And sunflower seed butter?  I admit, it's an acquired taste, but I love it on my oatmeal.  Okay, so what does this signify?  "One box SOs."  Hmm... (I'd hoped she'd just overlook that entry.)  Shout Outs.  What are Shout Outs?  Girl Scout cookies.  You ate a BOX of Girl Scout cookies . . . in one day?  They're the low fat kind.  And besides, I consider it my civic duty to support the Girl Scouts.  Maybe you should just write them a check.  Touche.

Take Me Home, Country Roads

I have hazy memories of my time spent in Munich during Oktoberfest 2002, but I distinctly remember standing on a table with a bunch of British blokes and singing John Denver's "Country Roads" at least ten times during the course of my ... eight (?) hours in the Lowenbrau tent.  On Friday, I had deja vu (well, minus the beer, bratwurst, lederhosen and lecherous drunks) as my friend Tammie and I rode from Austin to Andice for our 80-mile long ride.  I could not get that song out of my head, as it was so fitting on a beautiful afternoon ride out in the hill country.  Towards the end of the ride, the emphasis was more on the "take me home!" rather than "country roads."  A stein of German pilsner would have been a significant improvement over the powdered electrolyte drink in my water bottle.  By mile 60, I was definitely ready to be done and could not fathom doubling that distance. 
Here's Tammie at the Andice General Store, where we stopped to refuel.

Tammie's doing IM Texas too. She got her first bike a year ago and has quickly become someone who I just try to keep up with!  She is also the most stylish woman on the race course.  After 80 miles, her makeup looked freshly-applied, whereas I looked like I'd just come from a family funeral.  Not sure how the girl does it, but I'm hoping she'll give me a tip or two!

Spectacular Spectating

I came to the realization this weekend that I might like being a spectator at races more than competing in them.   

 

I spent Sunday morning cheering on my long-time running buddy, Michelle, as she completed her first marathon in Houston.  Despite the humid, drizzling weather and slick roads, coupled with a week full of sick kids and little sleep leading up to the race, she did great!  She let me run the last few miles with her, and I left her at mile 25 but raced to the finish to see her cross the line.  I think I was probably more emotional than she was upon finishing.  Yes, I cried.  But I also laughed a lot while running with her due to the hysterical signs that read:

 

"If it was easy, I would be doing it."

 

At mile 20, "your training runs ended here."

 

"That's not sweat, it's your fat cells crying."

 

"Chuck Norris never ran a marathon."

 

"Cheer up, the worst is yet to come!"

 

"Where are you guys going?"

 

"You better hurry or you're not going to beat Oprah's time!"

 

Spectators passed out all sorts of food along the route:

-pretzels

-orange slices

-red licorice

-beer!

-bananas

-pickles

-and my favorite, the "Little Debbie refueling station," where a woman was seriously passing out LD cupcakes.  It would have been very easy to gain weight while running 26.2 miles on that course.  Fortunately, Michelle has more self-discipline than I do and limited our food stops to Gatorade and bananas. 

 

I'm so proud of her marathon finish and also of my friend Samantha, who finished her first half-marathon and then graciously hosted us all for lunch.  Rock stars, both of them! 

 

And each with two sporty kids to boot!  Thanks for letting me share in your exciting weekend, gals!

Injuries, Recovery and Hope

Fortunately, not my own injuries...  For the past two weeks, our dog Hope has been recovering from ACL surgery on her back knee.  She's had to wear a cone around her head this whole time to keep her from chewing out the staples, and she has used it as a battering ram around the house, scratching paint off walls, scraping our calves, and knocking over everything not nailed down.

She is by nature a very active dog, getting a long walk each day and having constant access to our backyard to run and play.  Keeping her in an enclosed space has been difficult to say the least, but the vet has insisted on it for her to recover.   This is what she had to say about that:

 

Our bathroom doorknob, or what's left of it, is now a constant reminder that Hope does not like to be trapped in such a small space.  After this episode, we moved her recovery to our bedroom, more specifically, our bed.   We are not dogs-on-the-bed people, but she has been so pathetic (and stubborn) that we've just given in.

 

I'm doing my own recovery this week as well.  The fourth week of every month is a recovery week in our training schedule, and I'm in week 4 of month 2.  Yay!  I need it!  Lots of additional bed time for me too, much of it with the cuddlebug that is our pit bull. 



How to Reverse Your Farmer's Tan

With all of the time that I've been spending outdoors lately, you would think I'd be rockin' a fantastic tan, but the London-like winter here in Austin has kept me pasty white.  We had a brief respite on Monday, and I took advantage of the nice weather (and having MLK Day off) to do a long swim in Barton Springs.  I thought to myself beforehand, "this should be a fine day to work on the tan," but I was forgetting the wetsuit.  The only tan I got was on the backs of my ankles.

Maybe this will at least counteract the sock tan that I'm sure to get later in the spring when I start riding without tights...

The good news is that I had a successful swim.  I did 3200 meters in 1 hour, 10 minutes - not fast, but a solid time for me.  The Ironman has a time cutoff for each event.  Athletes have to be out of the water 2 hours and 10 minutes from the start.  A friend of mine went to volunteer at the Arizona IM this past November, and he said the worst part of his day was watching the officials tell the last folks out of the water that they were finished racing for the day because they didn't meet this time cutoff.  How incredibly devastating it must be to have trained so hard for all three events and then to only get to compete in the first and shortest of the three.  For those of us that are weakest at swimming, this is a frightening thought.

The overall distance for the swim is 4000 meters, so if I kept up the pace that I swam on Monday for the additional 800 meters, I'd finish in about an hour and a half, giving me a 40-minute cushion.  BUT, I did the swim in a wetsuit yesterday, which provides a significant advantage.  It keeps me buoyant and allows me to use less energy than I otherwise would.  I expect that my time without a wetsuit would be 15-20 minutes slower.  Until race day, we won't know for sure whether wetsuits are legal, but Houston in May isn't exactly cool.  Wetsuits are allowed only if the water temperature is 78 degrees or lower.  No one expects this to be a wetsuit legal race.   Bottom line is this:  I'm in decent shape to finish under the cutoff but need to keep on swimming!

New Skips for Inspiration

Bad. Ass.  The only two words that can be used to describe my 2011 athlete obsession, Chrissie Wellington. 

Most people outside of the triathlon world can't name a single professional triathlete, but if you can name only one, it's probably her.  She's won the Kona Ironman three times.  She didn't race this year due to an unfortunate illness but then came back a month later and CRUSHED the women's Ironman world record  at Ironman Arizona.  She's all smiles, sportsmanship and service.  At the end of the Arizona race, she hung out for hours and gave finish-line hugs to all the amateurs.  Incidentally, she also eats "chips," as her UK homies would say, leading us to mistakenly believe that she's just like us.

Her half-iron PR: 4:07.  Mine: 5:56.  Like I said, just like us.  So, maybe she'll complete the Ironman, have time for a massage, a table full of burgers, a nap, and a press conference before I even see the finish line.  The important thing is this:  we will be wearing the same shoe. 

Behold my new Chrissie Wellington edition T7 Brooks racer.  Note the glimpse of the Union Jack on the heel.  Hey - if you can't win, at least you can be stylin' like the winner!

Winter Break

I have been an unapologetic slacker the past week.  No swimming, no biking, no running, no core, but plenty of muscle soreness nonetheless.  Jody and I flew out to Salt Lake City last Wednesday for a ski trip in Park City.  Our friends Erik and Avery joined us from D.C., and we had four beautiful days of sun and snow.  I'm back with refreshed muscles (well, except for my thighs...) and excited to gear up for month two of IM training!