Betty Review: Shipping/Packaging

So this is my first in a series of reviews of the awesome line of Betty products. I figured I'd start out with that oh-so-important first impression: shipping and packaging.

Shipping: Okay, I wasn't too impressed with this. First of all, for the amount I ordered I would have expected free shipping. (My total was $172.97. When I buy Betty, I BUY BETTY.) I still had to pay $9.99 for standard shipping despite my large total.

Secondly, it was sent USPS. There's no one right company to ship with, as I have heard plenty of complaints about various services depending on where you live, but it would have been nice to be able to select UPS, which is the most reliable shipping carrier in Lake Placid. Not only is the local USPS office less than quick with mail, the USPS tracking service is notoriously bad at updating. Grade: C

Packaging: This is where Kristen friggin' outdid herself. A handwritten personalized note from Kristen herself mentioning the specific items I ordered and a bunch of awesome Betty stickers were included with my items. Nice touches that really shows the pride the company takes in each order. Grade: A+

So although the shipping was a bit iffy, the actual package and handling was AMAZING.

Tune in next week for my review of their Sporty Headband. (http://www.bettydesigns.com/collections/featured-products/products/sporty-headband).

IMLP 2015

Sorry for the delay - it was a CRAZY weekend, which will be a blog entry unto itself. However, a quick word about my decision on doing IMLP again in 2015.

Training for and racing my first Ironman (IMLP 2012) was a life-changing experience. It taught me that I was stronger than I thought and able to do things I thought were impossible. (And I don't just mean the training sessions - balancing 20 hours a week of training while my job was going haywire was a balancing act of such epic proportions I literally used what I learned to give a presentation on time management to my organization.)

When I originally approached Ironman, it was with the "One and done" bucket list mindset. Even when I first finished, I was thinking in terms of half-Ironmans as my longest distance. While I enjoyed working on getting my speed back this season though, I found I missed the long, patient hours of Ironman training. In a sick way, I even missed how Ironman training by necessity takes over your life. (And the automatic weight loss while eating everything in sight doesn't hurt either. *G*)

I made the right decision spending 2013 and 2014 at the shorter distances, mainly working on my ride - my making the bike cutoff at IMLP by less than four minutes shows I was BARELY ready as a cyclist - but after taking a whopping 27 minutes off my Tinman bike split from two years ago with a mechanical AND downpour this year, I think after one more season my bike will be where I need it to approach IMLP again, this time with more than a "Let's pray to make that bike cutoff" approach.

So, in other words, IMLP 2015?

BETTYBETTYBETTY

As you may have noticed, I have completely changed both the design and title of my blog. Let me explain.

This summer, my friend Rachel showed up at one of the Mini-Tris wearing the baddest, awesomist tri suit I had ever seen - pink and black with skulls and butterflies. I asked her wear she got it, and she told me Betty Designs, a company that makes totally AMAZING S/B/R and surf clothes.

Shortly after, they launched their annual "Are You a Betty" campaign for their 2014 team.

I responded THAT DAY with a resounding "Heck YES I'm a Betty" e-mail. I probably should have taken more time to work on my pitch, but was SO EXCITED about the opportunity that I just couldn't wait.

Well, after a couple months of going nuts waiting, they released their 2014 team roster yesterday:

I checked over and over, and unfortunately I was not there. Boo!

However...

That made me realize just HOW BADLY I want to be a Betty and represent this amazing company. So, after consoling myself by ordering a whole bunch of new Betty swag, I decided on a plan of action, because I want IN for 2015.

Why 2015 aside from it being the next opportunity? Because, and here's my second Big Announcement: I'm going for it again and doing Ironman Lake Placid a second time in 2015. In awesome Betty gear whether I make the roster or not. (An entry on this tomorrow.)

So, first of all, both this blog and my Twitter handle (now IWannaBeABetty) have been changed to reflect my determination to be an ambassador for Betty Designs.

Secondly, and most importantly, I am also going to use the next 365 days to "Live Betty" to best of my ability - be it while working, playing, or training. I will also be doing weekly reviews of Betty gear, from water bottles to hats to triathlon tops and everything in between.

So here's to 365 Days of Betty, and many more, hopefully.

Also - Betty? I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your logo for my background and the images for this entry.  It's all from a place of love and admiration and not from a place of copyright and trademark infringement. I promise.

2013 Lake George Olympic Race Report

Here it is, the race report for the last triathlon of the year - how did we get to Labor Day weekend so quickly? Summer is sweet but very short around here, especially this year with the unusually rainy and cold spring/early summer.

So: Friday after work, Dr. Z. and I drive down to the fine resort town of Lake George. Registration and bike check-in (a nice perk) go without a hitch and before we know it we're sitting at a nice microbrewery enjoying some fine beer and cheeseburgers.

We check in at our hotel and my stomach starts hurting. Like, REALLY hurting. Not queasiness from race day nerves but burning-on-fire severe heartburn. Dr. Z. offers up some Pepto, but it doesn't help and I am up ALL NIGHT in agony (but not enough to think that I needed medical care.)

So 5:00 comes and I get up (already awake anyway). Stomach is STILL killing me and I'm not sure what to do - I've never gotten sick before a race before and here I am two hours before the gun unable to even sip enough water to take my morning medications. Dr. Z. convinces me to get my stuff together since we're here anyway and I have two hours to feel better.

Even at the race site, we're now down to one hour and I'm wondering how I'm going to manage to set up transition, forget RACE. I get my chip, get marked, transition in place, and it's time to wetsuit up. I still feel queasy (though not QUITE as bad) and have not had so much as a sip of water since dinner the night before.

My sassy pre-race face, which is really my "Forcing a grin because my stomach has me about to puke" face

The Swim:

My wave about to go off.

I started off REAL easy since I wasn't feeling well. I was in a "let's just SURVIVE this for now" mindset. I had a MUCH better start than two years ago, where I lost the pack right at the beginning after inhaling a bunch of water, but still ended up way off the back as usual. This also meant NO feet to follow. There was an interesting cross-currant that made it hard to stay straight, but I was pretty happy with my lines.



I had trouble sighting after the last buoy since it was so dark and overcast, but found feet for the last few hundred meters that helped me get back to shore. I was SHOCKED when I looked at my watch and saw 37 minutes. THREE minutes faster than two years ago!

Staring at my watch in shock as I come out of the water.

T1

I was so elated I actually RAN the long run to transition, passing several people. Wetsuit came off like a dream, shoes slid on, and I was out of there. FASTEST IN MY AGE GROUP AND SIXTH FASTEST OVERALL FOR WOMEN. Yep, even when I step down to the Oly distance, my transitions are SWEET.

Bike

So I get on the bike, elated over being out of the swim and transition so quickly, and this time I'm mentally prepared for the long climb at the start.

Big grin heading out. And yes, a huge hank of wet hair OVER my sunglasses and my inhaler is sticking out of my top. Sexy and I know it.

The first thing I do is put a couple chews down the hatch now that I'm finally hungry. I realize that I'm already in the hole and the rest of the race will be staving off The Bonk, but I simply couldn't get any calories in earlier. I get to work, keeping it comfortably hard so I can really run people down.  Unfortunately, I have nothing for the climbs - I'm a small rider and was still getting passed on the uphills and passing on the flats and descents. I actually do great on the flat section, averaging around 19-21 MPH and passing people like crazy. Too bad the OTHER 22 miles were hills.  *G* I do something I usually wouldn't do and slow at the aid station for a fresh bottle of water since 1.) it's humid as my crotch and 2.) I started the race dehydrated. First time I'm able to do a moving hand-up! Yay! Bike handling achievement UNLOCKED.

I don't have the searing split/time improvement I had at Tinman, but take three minutes off my previous time, coming in at a coach-predicted 1:30.

My ass and I coming into T2. You're welcome.

T2

My running shoes fold a little, making me only the THIRD-fastest one in my AG, but otherwise smooth transition. I do grab my cap (a mistake, but I'm self-conscious about my helmet hair), stuff my Garmin down my top, and boogie.

Run

Heading out on the run and putting on the Garmin

Ouch. Like the bike, it starts with an uphill. Unlike the bike, I was unprepared. The run course was way hillier than I remembered. Also, I was really starting to get that woozy feeling you get when you're really close to bonking and hitting the wall. Unfortunately, the extra bouncing I was getting from running made the tummy unhappy again so I was unable to put anything other than water and Gatorade down the hatch. I just stubbornly told myself I did the damn IMLP marathon on fluids only and I could do it again. (And ignored the fact that at IMLP I had eaten a buffet on the bike to prepare.) In the kerfuffle of illness I had forgotten to put on my HR Strap, but the pace numbers were unkind. I was expecting 8:45-9:00 pace and 9:18 was where it was.

Preparing to toss my cap to Dr. Z. Also a great example of my "PLEASE KILL ME NOW" hurt face.

I tossed my cap to Dr. Z. and started throwing water on my head, but it didn't help much since it was a humid heat with still air and overcast. The minute the water warmed up, it ceased helping since there was no evaporation.

Steep downhill on the last mile = WORST RUNNING FORM EVER.

So, my run was a definite disappointment, but while I can't do anything about the weather or getting sick, I need to get serious about hitting hills before I do this race again.

Heading to the finish line in the Park.

I crossed the line in 3:08 - a TEN MINUTE improvement from two years ago. On an empty and upset stomach on a muggy, sticky day. DAMN. Still not even MOP, but I came in about 50 places further up overall than last time. I do feel the need to go back because I know with better training (and with luck better weather an no illness) I can do better. I have a fire in my belly now, in a good way.

Picture Updates

Wow, disappeared again for a bit there. Had one last build before the Lake George Olympic to get done. And now we rest and recover from the SMASHING I had been giving my bike legs for two months.

So Monday, was my first day of recovery/taper. Had a nice little brick. Went down Adirondack Loj Road during the ride - the views are SPECTACULAR:

Beats the gym any day!

On Tuesday, my boyfriend surprised me with an early birthday present. Check it out:

I think it goes particularly well with my sundress.

Too late to add it in for Lake George, mainly because I've been riding my road bike in preparation and don't want to switch to Roo at the last minute, and aerohelmets ain't much help if you can't, you know, get into aero. However, I am MOST stoked to debut this bad boy at the Time Trials next year. It's even PINK!

Today's 8 mile tempo run was SOLID. I was FLYING for the first five miles. The last three had the hot sun and the junk in my legs from the last build catching up to me, but it hinted at the incredible fitness I've built up this year. I am MOST STOKED for both Lake George and the Green Mountain Half Marathon.

Onwards!

Week in Training

Week in Training:

Well, in general it was a tough week. About half the volume of my peak for IMLP, but a lot of it was at sprint pace and this is the time of year where I start losing steam a bit. (I start my training season on January 1st.)

So without further ado, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good:

• Did my longest swim (2K) since Tinman last night and DIDN'T die. (Yes, my swim volume has been THAT low.)
• This is probably worthy of its own log entry, but set ANOTHER PR at the Mini-Tri at Monday. Granted, most of that was from the swim actually being the correct length this week (biked a little slower, ran a little faster), but I'll take it. I was hoping to just break 1:20 this year, but my official PR is now 1:18:03. Yes, KNOCKING ON THE DOOR OF 1:17. CRAZY. I'll be looking for those four seconds at tonight's Mini-Tri, the last of the year.

The Bad:

• Tuesday's 45 minute swim left me very tired, which is pathetic.
• My 9 mile tempo run was quite slow thanks to completely fried legs from all of the hard biking I've been doing.

The Ugly:

• Had a good ole-fashioned meltdown at the lake, after getting out and giving up 34 minutes into a 55-minute swim, tears and all.
• Got the bejesus scared out of me by the most insane crosswinds I've ever dealt with on my bike in my life and ended up cutting the bike portion of Saturday's brick short.

So yes, the very uneven training I tend to have this time of year. Hopefully this week will go better.

Friday Film #22

I saw Red 2 last month. It had even less plot than Red, but was still a movie of brainless fun, perfect for Dr. Z. and I to see right before one of his big races (SkyHigh XTerra down outside of Troy).

Anyway, while he...appreciated...Helen Mirren, I was drooling over Lee Byung-Hun. Thank you, South Korea, is all I can say.

So here for your pleasure is a hot Korean man in an expensive suit kicking ass.

Rebooting...Once Again

As you may or may not have noticed, I got away from blogging this year. Once the training amped up I had many stories to tell, but not the time to tell them.

I've decided that I do want to blog again, so stay tuned while I try to "fix up" the blog and get back into the groove with this thing.

A nice shot I got of the IMLP swim start this year to hold you over.

The Feed Zone (a.k.a Allen and Biju need to marry me)

Ugh...although I love the pink, not only do I still need to create a new header, the fonts aren't displaying on my iMac. Maybe because it's seven years old. Heh.

Just wanted to post a quick picture of what I've been eating lately. Last week I dusted off my copy of "The Feed Zone" (it really ISN'T made for off-season - too high calorie and high carb) and have fallen in love with it all over again.

Not a picture of my copy. MINE is all bent and stained, I mean "well-loved."

Last year I didn't branch out from a few favorite recipes, but in the past couple days I've been trying some new ones and they're all AMAZING. Last night I made the pork chili before my Bike Club meeting, and came home to a DELICIOUS hot, spicy treat on a freezing cold, snowy evening.

I also love that they can be prepared in advanced. Today I am in meetings all day (boo!) and have a ten-mile tempo run after work. This does not lend itself to cooking. However, some granola with almond milk, Orzo and Basil Salad (My book literally opens to this recipe. I ate it THAT MUCH during IMLP training last year), and Butter Lettuce, Chicken, and Strawberry Salad (or whatever the real name is)  in the fridge means I'm covered.

I mean, who WOULDN'T want to eat like this? That right there is bright, colorful, easy-to-make HEALTHY REAL FOOD.

I will kick this junk food habit to the curb if it KILLS me.

Work(s) in Progress

As you can see, the blog is a mess right now. My old header had me still in training for IMLP, which is obviously out-of-date. Since it's a picture and I no longer have the original one without text, I figured I might as well overhaul it. For now, well, I like pink. Sue me.

I'm still in overhaul too after nine weeks of off-season. I read somewhere that you need two weeks for each week off to get back to where you were, which is eighteen weeks, or FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS, to get back to where I was at the marathon. Yikes!

It definitely is showing. I'm still around 114 pounds despite training harder. My paces and heartrates are also pretty sad. A bit frustrating when the season is centered around PRs! I keep telling myself that it's only February, my first race isn't until the end of June, calm down. It's time to get serious, but no need to freak out just yet.

On a positive note, I really am putting in the work. Lots of tempo work, to be precise. It's a funny contradiction after two years of base building. My engine wants more volume, but my legs are constantly fried, leaving me both antsy AND hurting. LOL!

I'm putting in pretty good volume on the long days though - I'm already up to 10 miles of running and 45 cycling, all at race effort. Believe it or not. (Notice I said race EFFORT. Once again, fat and out-of-shape here isn't putting down anything near race PACE.)

So, it's February, or as Garfield called it, "The Monday of Months." We soldier on, and dream of warm days and fast races.

114

114.

After IMLP, I really didn't train. I rested for five weeks, then did the Vermont Half coasting on the base I had built up.  About six weeks later I did the Empire State Marathon, once again pretty much coasting.  I mean, my long run for that was 15 miles. Seriously.

114.

I never really changed my eating habits to compensate. In fact, I ate a lot more junk food.

114.

I stayed away from the scale, but could tell that I was getting softer and my clothes tighter. I broke the zipper on my skinny jeans, which used to be my normal jeans.

114.

That's what the scale said on January 1st when training started and I finally had to admit that the excuses were over - I was done recovering, off-season was over, and I'm going for some HIM PRs, one of which is on a hilly course.

That's nine pounds above race weight. Include fat loss and muscle gain and it's more like 15 pounds to get to my race body comp of 105 lbs, 20% bodyfat.

My coach gave me a laughably low volume of work to start out with (less than I had been doing during my self-coached off-season), so I knew I wasn't going to BURN those pounds off, at least not yet.

So for the past two days, I've been eating more of this:

And less of this:

Am I craving unhealthy foods? Hell yes! Am I cranky because most of the time I'm letting myself be a little hungry? Yeppers. But I'm also already feeling lighter and cleaner. The scale said 113.2 this morning. It could be water weight gone from dumping the junk, it could be a daily fluctuation. But it did make it easier to keep at it today.

114. Today 113. One pound at a time. Getting not just leaner, but healthier and full of good, clean food.

Quick Holiday Note

I just had quite the Thankgiving weekend - very busy for a Thanksgiving without any family get-togethers.

Thanksgiving was 60 and sunny - UNHEARD of for up here this time of year - so Dr. Z and I went on a Thanksgiving Day ride down in Keene. On our road bikes with just some UnderArmour. Insane. The only downside was that the 19 miles felt closer to 30. It was painfully clear I haven't done any real cycling since IMLP!

Friday morning started off beautiful too, although the weather went to hell in the early afternoon. Took a day trip up to Montreal for a little side project I'm not ready to fully disclose...yet. Anyway, we didn't get home until 9, so that was another day eaten up.

Luckily the rest of the weekend was quieter, although the weather all of a sudden dropped 20 degrees and turned to full-on winter. Yes, 60 and sunny to 20 and snowing in 24 hours. Welcome to the Adirondacks. Looks like this time winter is finally here to stay. 

And now I have to run to the pool because I haven't swam since last Monday thanks to the holiday closure.

Friday Film #21

I've been a huge Les Mis fan since I was in high school and have even read the brick (not to mention meandering...THREE HUNDRED PAGES DESCRIBING THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO? *REALLY, HUGO?!?!) unabridged book.

Anyway, I stumbled onto this completely by accident one day while browsing around YouTube and just LOVED it. Have since exchanged several Tweets with Andrew Varela (playing Javert and yes, actually plays Javert in the 25th Anniversary U.S. Tour cast for real) and he is a really cool, hysterically FUNNY guy. Who enjoys wearing thigh-highs (don't ask).

Stay after the credits to see Javert order tongue from a taco truck. And if you can't put "Javert," "tongue," and "taco" into a dirty joke, well then I just can't help you.

I Love This Product - Tri-Swim

I've decided to start a new series - "I Love This Product." It'll be stuff that really makes my tri life better.  None of it's sponsored - I'm not fast enough to have companies send stuff to me.  (Although any companies that WANT to send me stuff can feel free to! *G*)

So...between the swim being my weakness and living in a cold climate that only allows OWS for three, maybe four months of the year, I spend a lot of time in the pool.

It does a real number on my skin and hair - in fact my hairdresser started me on argon oil last winter because my hair was in such bad shape. In addition, I stank of chlorine no matter how well I showered. It would finally wear off....just in time for my next swim session.

To summarize: Dry hair and itchy, stinky skin.

The solution?

The Tri-Swim line:

Seriously guys. I had gotten samples from my tri club but when one of the booths at IMLP was selling the full-size bottles, I picked up the entire line (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion).

This stuff is THE BOMB if you spend time in the pool. Normal products (and I use the GOOD stuff) just left me feeling (and smelling) like I still had chlorine in my hair and on my skin. I don't know how it works, but the Tri Swim stuff just obliterates any Eau de Pool. My skin and hair also feel NORMAL instead of gross and gunked up.

Yes, me naked in the locker room with my beloved Tri-Swim Lotion. You're welcome.

My favorite has to be the lotion. The smell is INCREDIBLE. It's this wonderful, clean scent.

The only downside is that each item is $10-$13. I don't mind that for the shampoo and conditioner, but it seems overpriced for the body wash and lotion. Despite that, it will remain a staple in my pool bag because it works so darn well.

What I've Been Up To

...I know, all this talk about getting the blog back up and running and I disappear for over two weeks. Hey, at least it's not two MONTHS this time.

Anyway...off-season. Yeah. I pretty much trained through last "off-season" because of the Cowtown Half Marathon in February, so this is the first time in two years that I'm not having Coach Karen tell me what to do. I was a bit lost not having that reassuring e-mail from TrainingPeaks waiting for me in my inbox every morning with my workouts for the day.

I've gotten to do some stuff that I haven't done in a long time thanks to how all-consuming Ironman training is. I went for my first hike since last Christmas on Sunday. I thought I was still in pretty good shape, but scrambling over rocks going straight up in the ice and snow is a whole different beast.

Top of Pitchoff Mountain

Then this week it was time to return to Karate, also about a year since my last class. I actually put on a white belt at first because I felt so rusty, but Sensei made me put my black belt on. It was really bad - I have NO flexibility, my accuracy in kicking is WAY off, and I can no longer smack things with my forearms like I used to.

Me putting yes, a teenager in an armlock. Hey, Selena is about my size and stronger than she looks!

It's funny - I think of one of the benefits of triathlon as being that you stay a very well-rounded athlete, but compared to pre-triathlon "Do Karate, Running, Hiking, Paddling, Snowshoeing, Skiing, etc. etc." me, I've actually become very focused as an athlete, with all the strengths and weaknesses that entails.

Luckily I'm not racing anything longer than HIMs next year, so although I fully intend to hit the SBR HARD HARD HARD and get some PRs, I should also have enough time to at least occasionally attend Karate class or pick up a paddle.

2012 Empire State Marathon Race Report

Wow. My first marathon. As mentioned in my previous post, I went into this very undertrained. My max week of milage was about the milage of someone's long run alone. My sole goal was just to finish, although in my words to my coach when discussing the race plan, "I'll be annoyed if I don't break my IMLP time (5:25)." Really though, I didn't have high expectations going into this one - it was more of a "I'm not ready to have my season end in late August." (Just like the Vermont Half was a good part "I'm not ready to have my season end in late July."

Anyway, things did not get off to a good start. There was nowhere to eat the night before except Denny's or the hotel restaurant. I chose the hotel restaurant because it seemed to have more lighter fare to choose from. This ended up being a gross mistake. Not only was it horribly overpriced, I spent the entire night in the bathroom. Yes. All those carbs were going straight though. I was seriously worried that I would have to visit every portapotty on the course. This in addition to having a nasty upper respiratory cold.

So, we get up at 6, which is pushing it since the race starts at 7:30. WHY they felt the need to start a late-October marathon in upstate New York that early is beyond me. If anything, you want to wait for it to WARM UP that time of year.  Point being, all I have time to down is half a bagel. Fine for shorter races - didn't work here.  In the future, I will definitely be leaving more time so I can eat a heavier breakfast.

So we get to the race site, I pick up my packet, use the porta-potty, and basically try to keep from freezing my butt off.

Shivering in the cold.

Changed into my "disposable" hoodie.

Almost go time.

 They finally start rounding us up for the start. Who gives the opening speech but Katherine Switzer herself? Amazing! I was so disappointed that I couldn't see her from where I was standing. The downside of being 4'10". I meant to try to find her after the race, but as you'll find out, I got a wee bit distracted.

So they have someone sing the national anthem, and we're off.

The start. I'm really NOT at the very back, I swear.

Mile 1: Right away I realize two issues: 1.) I really really need to pee despite using the porta-potty right before the race and 2.) I'm hungry. Also, my quads don't feel super-fresh or ready to go.  On a positive note, I don't have my usual race-day tachycardia so am actually able to stick to my HR plan.

Mile 2:  I feel silly stopping so soon, but it's the first porta-potty and my teeth were floating. I try to get in and out of there as quickly as I can. (Yes, I know. I'm wearing tri shorts and should have just peed myself. I'm not THAT hardcore. Yet.)

Mile 3: Take my first 1/2 gel, still feeling really good although the hellacious headwind is not fun. I try to tuck in behind people the best I can.  At least this part of the course is pancake flat.

Mile 4:  I get passed by...a guy dribbling a basketball? Really? Still on flats with a howling headwind. Someone hands me a gel that dropped out of my race belt. Hmmm....that's never happened before. I just throw it in my top.

Mile 5: The first runner from the half-marathon (which started half an hour later) flies by. The guy next to me goes, "Holy SHIT!" I look over to him and say, "My thoughts EXACTLY." I'm really looking all over for Dr. Z at this point because I desperately want to dump the hoodie and am really hoping I don't have to throw it away.

Mile 6: Dr. Z finally catches up with me on his bike and I toss him my hoodie. I take the second half of my first gel right on schedule.

Miles 7-13:  The hills start. Holy crap. Luckily I'm still staying on plan, although I do let me heart rate climb a bit while jogging up the hills. Still taking gels on schedule. Very happy that my GI system is staying happy considering last night's poopfest. At one point I realize I've lost ANOTHER gel so I yank all the remaining ones out of my belt and throw them in my top.

Dr. Z couldn't resist a butt shot. You're welcome.

 I hit the halfway mat in 2:11.  These first 13 miles really did go by quickly and easily, even once the hilly section started. Every time I saw an aid station I was like, "I just ran another mile already?"

Halfway Mark

Miles 13-18: This is where is stops being easy and fun. I'm not about to blow up, but I'm really starting to work. The 13.1 mile mat is at the bottom of a hill so gnarly I have to sidestep vomit at the top of it, but I keep running - no walking here.

Full-on Hurt Face

At one point we have this stupid, really short out-and-back that's been added on. It's stupid because the course is already about a tenth of a mile long. Luckily the GI is STILL happy and I'm taking my gels on schedule. This is still all hills and my quads are really starting to hurt towards the last few miles.

After ten miles of hills - yeah, NO KIDDING. Dr. Z thought this was hysterical.

Miles 19-22:  We're finally back on the flat section, this time with a tailwind. Unfortunately at this point my quads are so fried it doesn't help much. I find people to run with to keep me going, but lose them and have to find new people after every aid station - the downside of having a plan to walk the aid stations. (I know, I could have started running through them at this point, but I really did like how the walk breaks broke up the miles.)  It is at this point I finally pass the Dribbler back.

How can he still be smiling at mile 20? Asshole.

Mile 23: This is where shit gets real. I'm not tired, my GI system feels just fine, but my legs HURT. On FIRE hurting. At mile 23.5 at 2:55 into race time, I walk for the first time (not including aid stations). I tell myself I can walk until I hit 3 hours, although I'm seriously not sure I can start running again. I almost start crying. Luckily someone else goes by me and I get moving again.

Miles 24-25: At this point, I tell myself that I can settle into my Ironman Shuffle and will still break 4:30, which keeps me going. I take my last gel, right on schedule. Just never had an upset tummy.

Mile 26: At this point I've turned into the parking lot of the stadium where the race started. My true 26.2 time is 4:25 and change - wish I had hit "Lap" on my Garmin to get the split. I'm completely tunnel-visioned at this point, but make it through at 4:27:30 GUN time, with a 26.38 mile course.

I'm in the background, coming down the finish line.

Finish: This is where it gets ugly. I cross the finish line and my legs just give out.

Legs give out.

Trying to get up.

I try to get back up, and the race announcer has me sit in his chair by the finish line. Unfortunately, at this point I start having an asthma attack, and brilliance her has forgotten her inhaler back in Lake Placid.

The EMTs come over and I spend the next half hour in medical on the nebulizer. I really did feel better after about ten minutes on it, but they always make you do a full treatment. I must have had my lungs listened to about ten times.

Once I finish up, they release me and I am one very sore but very happy girl. I thought Coach was nuts putting 4:30 as my time in TrainingPeaks, but I smashed that goal on a hilly course with a headwind so bad it pushed the truck around the entire way home. Oh yeah, and with almost NO training.

I have GOT to do another marathon with proper training someday. I really think I have a sub-4 in me. And now for nine weeks of well-earned rest. What a way to end the season!

Net Time: 4:27:01
Women's 35-29 AG: 23/41
Women: 106/228
Overall: 323/542

2012 Season Reflections

2012 Booty

Since my race report is going to be delayed thanks to Dr. Z taking his camera home with him this morning, I shall instead entertain you by doing some rambling navel-gazing about my 2012 season. I've inserted random pics from the year to make it a little less boring.

Night before the HITS Hunter Mountain Oly

First off, I never really had an off-season after 2011 thanks to doing the Cowtown Half Marathon in February.  However, I was still trying to get my run back from my IT band injury in 2010, so was happy to spend the winter running my brains out. It meant less time trapped on the trainer at least.

It was awesome - I finally met my lovely coach face-to-face, and I had a tough but good race. I didn't PR like I hoped, but I came damn close for a hillfest of a course that was .15 miles long by several people's Garmins.

Me before my first sprint tri, three weeks after deciding to get into triathlon and do IMLP 2012 in three years. I had no idea where this journey would take me.

After that, it was time to get back into swimming and biking. Life became All About Ironman. It was crazy. My training got up to 18-20 hours a week towards the end, which aside from being physically grueling  was a time-management nightmare with a full-time job. It was amazing though - my coach had more faith in me than I did and the brutal training regime taught me that I was far stronger than I ever realized. It was the most insane 4 months of my life.

Dede Greisbauer and I at the IMLP mini-camp

My life just revolved around Ironman - it had to. Even the one race I did during that time - the HITS Hunter Mountain Oly - was just a run-through for IMLP.

The morning of Ironman, I felt ready. Calm. It was crazy. I got FIVE HOURS OF SLEEP THE NIGHT BEFORE. I had just developed a lot more confidence in myself as an athlete. It was helped even more when I set a HIM PR at the Vermont Journey Half only five weeks later on almost no training.

The run of the Vermont Journey Half

Or so I thought.

When I went into the marathon yesterday I doubts. A lot of them. I have a lot of faith in my running, but my volume was abysmal. Thanks to my IT band flaring up a few weeks ago, my long run was FIFTEEN MILES. And yet, despite all that, I ran faster than I thought possible. On a day so windy the truck was getting blown all across the road on the way back. Clearly I still have issues believing in myself as an athlete.

So where does this all leave me? I'm not sure. It's easy to identify the "hard" skills that need work - I'm painfully obviously in need of more swim lessons and many nasty sessions in the saddle leaving me curled up in the fetal position in a pool of my own vomit next to the trainer. I need to keep my run volume decent through the off-season since I can't build up milage quickly. That's the easy stuff.

The Kinvaras I ate up this season.

I think even more important than all that is to have faith in my abilities. Training IS important, but I've also learned that I am good at executing on race day and I have to learn to have more confidence in myself that I can pull it out when it matters, because I can.

So next year's key word is going to be "Believe." Because I can do this. And I will do it.

Week in Training - Final Pre-Marathon Taper

(....Yes, I've set this to publish while I'm running my marathon.)

Swimming: Only one swim this week - should be more next week as part of recovery. It did go pretty well though. No PRs like last week, but I also wasn't going all-out. Now that I'm back in the pool where I can measure my speed (feel free to buy me a Garmin 910XT), I am amazed to see that I am consistently swimming a moderate pace of 2:10-2:15/100.  I'm hoping to get that down to 2:00/100 with the help of some off-season swim lessons.

Biking: Nil. As in "none." Just like last week, Coach wanted me to stay away from the bike just to make sure my IT band didn't act up.

Runs:  Just some short, easy runs at marathon pace. The first one did not go well - legs STILL felt like crap, but they've loosed up nicely and I actually felt downright antsy during yesterday's shakeout. Also, the race itself is a run, duh. More on that Monday.

So all in all, a very low-volume taper week that has me raring to go (okay, except for this cold I can't shake) for the last race of the year.

Back on Monday with a race report, I swear!

Blog Lost, Blog Refound

Wow....I know I need to kind of "reboot" here and get this blog back off the ground. The wheels kind of fell off with blogging this season. It's not that I don't like blogging; I'm constantly thinking of fun entries with pictures that I want to write up. It's more about finding the time.

IMLP training got INSANE at the end - I was logging 18-20 hours a week and that doesn't include laundry, bike maintenance, changing clothes, etc., etc. After taper started, I thought I'd have more time, but then work exploded. I've literally been doing two people's worth of work since July.

Luckily that all ended yesterday. I FINALLY handed off my old account to another person, and tomorrow's marathon is the last race before I shut it down for two months and take some much-needed R&R.

So...let's get this show back on the road!