Peaking on the Bike

...That's PEAKing, not PEEing. We clear? Cool. ;-D

On Saturday I had one last hard, long ride to do before tapering. 70 miles, and NOT at an easy pace - high Zone 3/low Zone 4. Ouch. Because I am very slow on the bike, I was going to be out there a while.

How long?



This long. That's five hours' worth of hydration and nutrition. Since this was from my last 70-miler, which was a brick, you also see some fuel for the run (the two Fuel Belt bottles and the Hammer Gel), but you get the idea.

When I got up, the weather was perfect and I was feeling good, so I decided to hurt myself a bit out there. It was two loops down to Wilmington and back with a final loop of the IMLP run course. I was willing to risk having to granny gear the last loop - I wanted to see what I could do.



Ready to rock.

The first loop was easy, of course. I finished with a 14.8 average (yes, almost a MPH faster than two weeks ago), and still plenty in the tank. Dr. Z. hopped aboard for the second loop and I could tell right away he was feeling strong. Because I wanted to push it, I decided that as long as my HR didn't skyrocket I would put on my big-girl panties, loosen my bra, and go with him as long as I could. I was beat by the end of the descent into Wilmington, but I stayed at his well. (And that was with him trying to pull away for the way back since I'm a better climber.) Second ascent back to Lake Placid was taken a bit easier since his back started bothering him, but I still had a 14.8 going.

The last little loop was mine. Only some small rollers aside from Big Nasty and I felt good and mentally strong as well knowing I only had ten left. I cruised it good and even with the climb up Big Nasty actually INCREASED my average to 14.9. The best part? When I logged everything later, I realized that my HR was about the same.

That's right. In two weeks on the same course with similar conditions, I upped my speed by nearly a MPH without really working any harder. My 56 mile time was 8.5 minutes FASTER. Does my coach rule all or WHAT?

So, now feeling great about the bike going into taper. Yay!

Friday Film #5

I have a special treat for you fine readers this week - not one, but TWO Friday Films, both awesome.

Film #1 - Credit for this goes to Steve in a Speedo (Link on the right), who tweeted it yesterday and posted it on his own blog today.



Film #2 - The alternate video for "The Lazy Song." I have no words except to say that Leonard Nimoy rocks my world.



3K swim tonight followed by my last long bike and long run this weekend before I start tapering. Gulp!

First OWS Swim of the Season! YAY!

Yep, Dr. Z. and I had heard rumor of people swimming in Mirror Lake despite the fact that at this time last year the water was still in the 40's due to an unusually cold spring, but we were leery of getting our hopes up too much until we tried it ourselves. Our original plan of going after work Thursday was trashed when a nasty thunderstorm rolled in. (In fact we've had thunderstorms every afternoon/evening for three days now, which is VERY unusual around here.)

Yesterday was more of the same - like I said, weird with the thunderstorms around here, but today we finally got to test it out BEFORE the afternoon thunderstorms arrived (and they did).

First of all, there is nothing sadder than a Northern triathlete trying to get on her wetsuit after almost nine months of pool swimming. Even with liberal application of BodyGlide it took me FOREVER. The fact that I'm still five pounds over race weight didn't help.

So...it was time to jump in. I was pleasantly surprised by how RELATIVELY warm it was (we're still talking in the 50's). My hands had me worried at first and I had to do a lot of "putting the face in the water and blowing bubbles" to get used to it, but once I started actually swimming - no problem at all. We swam out to the Mini-Tri buoy and back, which was 400 meters. At first I had to take a lot of breaks because as a "touch-turner" in the pool I'm used to a millisecond break every 25 yds. We came back to shore and after shooting the breeze with some other triathletes decided to do one more round. This time I made it the entire way back without any rest. Not only that, I didn't have the usual clausterphobic feeling I get when I start using a wetsuit again. All in all, I was EXTREMELY happy with how smoothly the transition to open water went. Yay!



Post-swim grin and proof I wasn't the only one crazy enough to get in the water.

Friday Film #4

This always makes me smile. Of course, I love "Improv Everywhere" and would totally be an Agent if I lived in the City.



Lunch The Musical

Breakdown

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - T.S. Eliot

Well, it happened. I started training in Tinman on February 1st and have been slowly adding milage and adding time and putting a ton of training in the bank. Two weeks ago and originally this week were over 16 hours of training, a level of training I had never done before, not even for the two HIMs I did last year.

I was holding up fairly well until the end of two weeks ago. That Saturday had been my first ever 70 mile ride and it was followed by a two mile jog. I actually felt pretty good after it. The next day, however, it was very cold, windy, and rainy so I was forced to do two hours of running on the treadmill to avoid getting sick. It sucked, but I got through it by reminding myself that recovery week started the next day.

Now, usually on recovery weeks, I start getting antsy about halfway through. This time, I wasn't myself until Saturday, day six of recovery week. This gave me two days of feeling normal again before another 16 hour week started.

And "start" it did with my first flat of the season. A flat in which both CO2 cartridges were used up before I realized that I had put the punctured tube right back on my bike and had to call for a pickup. (Lesson learned: Never put the two tubes next to each other when changing a flat.) I was already extremely cranky about the condition of Route 86 BEFORE the flat and this did not add to my mood.

The next day, my run went well but I completely and utterly blew up on the swim, which was 3500 of speed work. I usually find short, fast sets a fun, quick way to blast through lots of yardage, but I had to get out of the pool halfway through. That's two out of three workouts only partially completed.

Wednesday? ANOTHER flat, this time on my front tire. I did manage to change it successfully and finish my ride, but STILL. No breaks this week.

And yesterday - carnage. I dragged myself through a run that should have been easy but felt hard. Then I hauled myself to the pool for a workout I didn't feel like doing. I did complete it, but my times were 10 secs/100 off what they should have been. I spewed a lot of negative thinking in my logs. (Which, by the way, is a most excellent way to ensure a call from your coach.)

In retrospect, I should have communicated my exhaustion to my coach earlier in the week. LIke I said, stubbornness and that never-ending quest to get a "gold star" and do everything perfectly got in the way of listening to what my body needed.

Luckily, today is a rest day and tomorrow's brick has been knocked down to a shorter (but still pretty long) bike ride. My coach and I will see how I feel on Sunday afternoon and go from there. I'm hoping I'm mentally and physically ready for what she originally had planned, but I need to let go and be okay with her taking it down a notch if that's what I need.

And now for something lighter - stay tuned for this week's Friday Film.

Friday Film #3

Now that Blogger is back up (Although Twitter is now DOWN - it's like they actually expect me to WORK or something!), I can post this week's Friday Film.

It's a non-triathlon goodie that never ceases to amuse. Funny cute guy singing about his kitten = Pip in love forever.



Enjoy and have a great weekend! Will be back on Monday with tales of Saturday's 70 mile ride/2 mile run brick and Sunday's 10.5 mile run and 4K swim. If I survive.

Toughest Bike Ride Ever

Saturday's long run went uneventfully, which is more than I can say for the epicness that was Sunday's brick.

First off, despite forecasts to the contrary (which is WHY I switched my run and brick days IN THE FIRST PLACE), the weather SUCKED. It was cold, windy and dark overcast. Not exactly "Let's get out there and hammer on the bike all day" weather. Lance himself would have said "Fuck this shit" and gone back to bed.

So, Dr. Z and I drag ourselves out to Tupper Lake to ride the course yet again. We're almost 6 miles in and going down the screaming descent that is Heartbreak Hill on the way back when I feel a "thunk" in the back and my bike drops. I have absolutely NO control and am on the ground before I know it. On the ground, thanks to the swerving out-of-control bike, in the middle of Route 3, a country highway with a posted speed limit of 55 and an unposted speed of about 65-70.

Amazingly enough:

1.) There weren't any cars behind me.
2.) I only suffered a scraped knee despite the fact I was going 27 MPH.
3.) Dr. Z was still with me (he was going to turn back in another 4 miles and I was going to be unsupported the rest of the ride).

I got myself out of the road and found the problem. My rear wheel had come the FUCK OFF MY FRAME. Detached. The only reason it hadn't gone flying into the other lane is because the chain held it to the bike.

So we eased back up Heartbreak Hill after re-attaching the wheel and I drove directly to the bike shop. The guy looked at it for almost an hour and he's still not sure why that happened. I will say that from now on checking the skewers will be part of my pre-ride routine. Damn.

So anyway, I still have 45 miles to put in, so since it's already 2 p.m. and I'm SLOOOOOOW on the bike, I don't have time to go back out to Tupper. I decide to do one loop down to Wilmington and back and a second shorter loop long enough to get the rest of the milage. I get out there and I'm already out of sorts because my knee hurts and I hate having my plans go awry. Then the wind picks up and it's one of those crosswinds that feel like a headwind no matter which direction you're biking in. My legs hurt so much and I just can't keep my HR down. Some tears were indeed shed.

I finish up the bike and hand it off to my dear sweet boyfriend for cleaning while I put the 1.5 mile run cherry on top. I get back and he says "Did you know your brake cable needs to be loosened? The rear brake has been rubbing in the "closed" position."

Unbelievable. Nasty fall, nasty crosswind, and nasty rubbing brakes. At least I'll be ready for whatever Tinman day throws at me.

Friday Film #2

Sorry I missed last week's Friday Film, but I've been replaying this clip constantly for three weeks now. If you don't immediately feel happy after watching it, you are dead inside.



Stephen Colbert singing "Friday" on Jimmy Fallon.

First 4K Swim Ever

Sorry for the lack of posts but I've been training like an animal while trying to actually keep my job and it's just been CRAZY. Coach has me doing a bike block, which I need, but I just rode four days in a row and the legs are SHOT. (It doesn't help that we've had absolutely HORRIBLE weather - 40's and pouring - all week so I've had to do half of the rides on the dreaded trainer. Why oh why couldn't it be a swim block?)

Anyway, with the college pool about to close (yes, the only pool in Lake Placid, a town of swimmers and triathletes, closes for several weeks TWICE A YEAR, but that's a rant for another time.) I had a 4K swim. (I will be doing one 4K swim a week until the pool reopens at the end of the month.) I was a bit nervous going into it, but excited too. Nothing like a new challenge, especially in the pool.

Luckily the actual sets were pretty easy - some 600's thrown in there, but mostly 100's with plenty of rest. Helped keep the new distance manageable. I kept all my paces mostly around 2:25 until the last 600 at the very end. Although my "engine" felt fine, my back and shoulders were just shot. I could tell I was going at a snail's pace and my watch confirmed it: 16:00 or a 2:40 pace. Ouch. However, the rest of my splits were not groundbreaking but good. Considering that 1.) I've only swam once a week the past 2 out of 3 weeks and 2.) It was a 33% increase over my previous longest swim, I can't complain at all.

Now back to hitting the bike hard until the pool resumes normal hours (or the lake warms up out of the 30's).

Friday Film

I've been a fan of Simon's Cat since the first cartoon - "Cat Man Do." Releases of new cartoons are few and far between (usually 2-3 a year), and the latest was just released yesterday. It's more "Awwwwww" than the usual "funny," but enjoy:



Happy Easter Everyone!

Team Triple Threat Tough

Got back from running errands to find a welcome package from my team on my doorstep. Hooray!



TRIPLE THREAT TOUGH BABY! GRRRRRRR!!!

If you want to join Team Triple Threat Tough, go to their website, hire Coach Karen, and tell 'em I sent you.

Rest Week...Thank GOD!

My last rest week was a week early thanks to my canoeing vacation. (Not only that, I spent said rest week paddling HARD - 128 miles in 4.5 days in a fully loaded camping canoe.) After that and then four build weeks, I NEED a rest.

However, the FINAL icing on the "take me out 'cause I'm DONE" cake was the weather this weekend. I had my long bike and long run before I got my rest and I intended to go out strong. Unfortunately MOTHER NATURE intended to beat me the hell up. (Yes, I'm taking the weather personally now.)

I watched all week as the forecast for the weekend just got worse and worse. Saturday morning we were under a high wind warning with gale-force gusts expected. I decided the earlier I got out there the better and stuck to the IMLP run loop - not as tough training as doing the Tinman route but a hell of a lot safer and would allow me to bail out if necessary.

The first loop (each is about 12 miles) was okay - I was still getting my bike legs under me. It was windy, cloudy, and cold but nothing I couldn't handle. (Aside from not being able to feel my feet.) I started my second loop, hoping to get into my groove, and was feeling good when shortly after the turnaround to head back to the start, it began to HAIL. For REAL. Stinging your face hail. I was really hoping it would pass through, but when it showed no signs of stopping six miles later when I got close to home, I gave up and headed indoors for the rest of my ride. I was NOT pleased. Grrr.

The next day, it was eight miles on my feet of more of the same. I can run in worse weather than I can bike in, so I stayed outdoors, but once again it was in the 30s with hail and even worse wind than the day before.

So yeah, not feeling guilty about the sub-six hour training week I have. (And anyway, it goes right back up to more volume than ever next week.)

Yet Another Swim PR!

Wow. Just wow. I don't know where these numbers keep coming from, but today's swim was a relatively light one - 100 WU, 2x900 Steady, 100 CD.

On the way to the pool I figured out that anything between 21:00 and 22:30 (2:21/100-2:20/100 pace) was reasonable and anything outside that range probably meant that I miscounted.

So I got in the water and did my warm up. I had that slow, clumsy "swimming in syrup" feeling the entire time. It was reflected in my time of 2:30. I wasn't too upset - I've had such amazing swim sessions lately that one bad one wasn't going to upset me too much.

I took my rest interval, too a deep breath, and dove in for my longest set since October. I went into what I call my "cruise speed." I wasn't even breathing hard until the end. When I finally touched the wall, my watch read 20:49 (2:18 pace). What. The. FUCK?!? I quickly debated whether that meant I missed a 50 and should leap back in. I finally decided that I had been swimming faster than THAT and that I'd take a "wait and see" on what my next 900 said. I REALLY didn't feel that I had lost count anyway.

So, rest interval over, I dove in for some more punishment. More than I signed up for, actually. Shortly after I started a bunch of little kids got into the pool and started splashing around, make waves. I tried to look at it as mass swim practice AND incentive to finish the hell up as quickly as I could. I really started to hurt at about 600 yards in when a "swim angel" appeared in the lane next to me going the perfect pace to keep me honest. I latched on and tried to hold on, which I did successfully until the final 50 when he kicked it and dropped me like a bad habit. Once again, I touched the wall at an astounding 21:27 (2:22 pace). To me, this confirmed my time for the first set.

I cooled down a bit quicker than I should have, but I was sick of being pummeled around by waves AND my goggles had started leaking.

So...unless I had a really bad day AND miscounted BOTH sets, I just killed it in the pool. Holy CRAP.

Now I just have to get my bike up to this level.

Oops!

*dusts off blog*

*dusts off anyone who actually is still reading this poor neglected thing*

What can I say? It's been a crazy busy month. Shortly after the last entry Dr. Z and I went on our annual canoe camping trip down the Buffalo. It was awesome - 126 miles in 4.5 days AND I kept up my run training. (Since I have from February to June to go from zero running to HIM (all with a very conservative increase in mileage), Coach Karen decided I couldn't afford to take the week off.

Since we've gotten back, it's just been shear craziness. Work has been INSANELY busy and as promised, Coach Karen REALLY ramped up the training in April. All this means that my house is currently a disaster area.

So, here's a summary of how my training in the three disciplines is going:

Swim: This is what I've been working the hardest (especially since it will be hard to find a place to swim next month, but that is a different entry altogether), and it shows. Before I was busting ass to try to stay sub-2:30/100 on anything longer than 100 yds, and now after a bunch of 3K workouts my new "cruising speed" seems to be 2:21/100, even for 600 yd sets. (Haven't done anything longer yet.) I also set three PRs last week, including an insane (for me) 58.22 50 yard.

Bike: This is currently my weakest area (says a lot about how much my swim has improved that I'm saying this!). What little time I spent in the saddle over the past few months was too easy, as I found out once I got off the trainer. I definitely don't have the engine I had at this time last year. Even Roo can't give me speed out on the road right now. It's all good though - Coach Karen assures me that as much as this is Swim Month, next month is Bike Month. If she can do for my riding what she's done for my swim, I will be more than ready to go for Tinman.

Run: This goes. I'm back up to 10:30 miles (the fastest I'm currently allowed to run) and my heart rate averages have slowly been dropping. In other words, I may have to keep the running easy, but I AM getting my run fitness back. I'm still run-walking my long runs though.

So that's the past month in a nutshell. Hopefully I can be a bit better about updating.

Roo's Home!

Hello Everyone!

Yes, I disappeared again. Sorry about that. Work and training have me seriously nose-to-the-grindstone.

Finally got Roo home on Thursday night. She had been cabled up last weekend, but I want pink bar tape and they were trying to find some. (They don't have as many supplies in the off-season.) Anyway, they finally just threw some black tape on her for now and said they'd replace it free of charge when the pink comes in. That with a pink bottle cage and pink bento box will be a very cool look.

So today was supposed to be my first ride on her, but thanks to a lovely cold/asthma type thingie that's just shredded my lungs, I'm taking a "wait and see" approach. I'd take a "talk to coach" approach, but (as luck would have it) she's doing an adventure race today. Sigh. I'm hoping I can at least spin lightly this afternoon/evening.

In positive news, my swims this week were bumped up to 2200 yards each - 1.25 miles exactly, as it happens, make them the second-longest swims I've ever done. (Longest being a 1.5 mile open water swim when I was peaking for the Vermont Half last summer.) I am going to be SO much better prepared for the Tinman swim this year. Hurrah! That's the nice thing about picking up a new sport (I've only been swimming for a year and a half): there's a very steep rate of improvement.

Next week the schedule is really shaken up since I'm departing for my annual Canoe Camping Marathon Paddling trip with the hunny on Friday. My first swim/run bricks ever - how fun!

My New Bike (and Bike FIT)

Being 4'10" has many challenges, but none so frustrating as of late as trying to find a bike that fits. My first bike (which I still have and use) was a mountain bike. It fits because it's a children's frame.

Then I got serious about triathlons. Unfortunately, they don't MAKE serious road or tri bikes in kid's sizes, so I settled on a 43 cm. Trek 2.1. She worked great as a road bike, but once I added aerobars I ran into nothing but trouble. And back pain. Great back pain that caused me to ride half the Vermont Half with one hand on the horn and the other on my lower back.

So with no end to my tri infatuation in sight, I started looking at Gurus last year. They made (at the time) a custom aluminum bike for around $3000. Unfortunately, they stopped making the aluminums and now only make carbon frames, which is WAY out of my price range.

Luckily, Brian at High Peaks Cyclery NEVER gave up and found me a potential bike. I came in, got on her, and it looked like she would not only work, but be a vast improvement.

So without further ado, everyone, meet Roo.



And for fun, here's a quick little picture I made to compare the fit on my old road bike to the fit on my new tri bike. Needless to say, I'm much more comfortable.



(Sorry for the blurriness - it was a quick phone pic.)

She should be ready to come home tomorrow. I can't wait!

"Recovery" Week

Well, it has arrived: My first recovery week. I thought it would free up time to catch up on work and household stuff before I dive in for another three weeks (including the annual canoe camping trip with Dr. Z.), but as it turns out, I'm busy as ever with tri stuff:

Monday: Short swim - only 1200 yards, but any time saved was more than lost with my rest week chiropractor visit. (As it turns out, my upper back was screwed up and I really needed it.)

Tuesday: Short bike, but once again, any time saved was taken up by stopping at the tri shop to see about my new bike.

Wednesday: Regular distance run, so no time saved at all.

Thursday: VERY short swim. This will be the one day I save time.

Friday: My first full DAY OFF since training started. Time saved? HA! I have my bike fitting in the morning (Probably a couple hours), followed by a one hour sports massage in the afternoon.

Saturday: Shortened bike ride, but there's an extra Karate class. Not tri stuff, but still - BUSY.

Sunday: Short run. Okay, I'll save time here. Unless the new bike is ready, then I'll be busy fussing with her and getting her on the trianer.

So, yay for rest weeks? I guess? LOL!

Killer Swim Set

Yesterday was the first (and only in these first two weeks) tough, non-Zone 2 session I had. I had been dreading it ever since receiving my schedule from Coach Karen. (Actually, it felt good to actually bust it out a bit. Zone 2 is essential for early-season HIM/IM, I know it, but it still gets BOOOOOORING for this former miler/5Ker/go-balls-to-the-wall-all-the-time girl.)

So it was 50's, but on less rest than I had ever done hard 50s on. The first two came in at 1:05, not bad for being sore from shoveling and not having anyone pulling me along. (I have trouble going fast in the water without a rabbit in the next lane.) Unfortunately, the times went quickly downhill from there.

I took my pulse using the lap clock right after finishing (before going into my cooldown) and my heartrate was about 180. WOW! Any other discipline, Coach Karen would have my head. Because it was swimming, she was doing the online equivalent of cackling evilly:

YAWN!

Don't know if it's the craziness at work, adapting to being in training again, or the weather which just keeps dumping more and more snow which needs to be shoveled, but I am POOPED!

Luckily,

1.) My workouts have all gone really well except for Monday's swim, which was affected by spending all weekend shoveling out from the Snowpocalypse. So far my coach's biggest value has been as someone I'm accountable to. It has really helped me to get in the workouts knowing she's looking over my shoulder.

2.) My team won the Superbowl. GO PACK!

So I'm too tired to write up a REAL post. In the meantime, here's a totally random commercial that cracks me up EVERY. TIME. I lose it when he says, "Bang."

100 in 2:11! Woohoo!

I know, I know...I haven't posted since Monday. Between still catching up on work after being gone for a week and instituting Coach Karen's Plan of Pain, I've been busy.

(I kid, I kid. She really is easing my out-of-shape ass into the swing of things.)

Anyhoodle...

Tuesday - First official session on the trainer. Nothing hard, just Z2 right now, but BOY do I need to harden my ass back up. Even with bicycling (as opposed to tr) shorts I was squirming around. The lady-parts were NOT happy. (And nobody likes unhappy ladyparts.)

Wednesday - Hit the roads. That's right, a light jog in SNOWPOCALYPSE. Who am i kidding? I freakin' LOVE running in the snow! Will be buying YakTrax however - all that sliding around got me out of Z2 even at a ridiculously easy (i.e. Turtles were passing me) pace.

Today - SWIMMY SWIM SWIM! After I warmed up, I hit my first 100 in an insane 2:11! Crazy! Unfortunately, I paid for that (and the FIVE TIMES I shoveled during SNOWPOCALYPSE) and my times went steeply downhill from there. Still, not a bad workout at all considering.

Tomorrow is another run - it's been sunny and low 20s all day and supposed to be more of the same for tomorrow, so the streets should be much clearer. Hooray for radiant melting!