Red cups are baaaack...

and me too! Since the Starbucks red cups are back, it means it's November! Not quite sure how October FLEW by, but the biggest highlight of the month:  Susan ROCKED the Chicago marathon!


Since she beat my marathon best time by an hour, I guess I'll let her still hang with this Ironman. :-). Seriously, I couldn't be happier for her. I was slightly more anxious about her race plan...ok, maybe a more accurate picture was I was the only one anxious and Susan was relaxed and ready to go. I really wanted her to have a great day for all the training that she had put in preparing for the race.  Her hard work paid off- she had an AWESOME day! 

She finished, had fun, and her time was within seconds of her goal. Congrats SusieQ!


I survived October "off-season" which probably now should be renamed "Slow-tober-fest".  For the past couple of weeks, I maintained running several times a week, jumped on the bike/trainer when I felt like it, and started to hit the pool again late in the month.  My only "scheduled" workouts were strength and core three times a week.  Not horribly bad, but starting my November workouts, it's funny how the Garmin numbers can take a tumble so quick.  I'm pretty confident that taking the month to mentally re-charge with the light workouts is going to have a big pay-off since I am really excited about getting back to training.


Three days into my 2012 plan...and I am really excited for 2012!

Goodbye IMWI....HELLO CHICAGO MARATHON!

Ok...my IMWI time is up!  I finished putting together some of the video that Susan took during the very, very long day up in Madison. Please note...I just like the song...it wasn't selected for any self serving reason.  I think the video captures how much fun I had and how it would not have been possible with all the love, support, guidance, and encouragement I received along the way. So for those who helped me...I raise my glass to YOU! Thank YOU.

Moving on....it's Chicago marathon weekend and it will be Susan's first marathon! Whoo hoo! I'm sooooo excited for the race - she's put in all of the miles and it will be a fun day to go support her reach the finish line!

Good luck SuzieQ and all the Chicago marathon peeps!!

Tattoos, 5ks, and Green Lights

Hello October!

The past couple of weekends have been relaxing, fun, and kind of uneventful ...which I guess is what happens when you put yourself in a mandatory recovery timeout to recuperate from the physical, mental, and emotional roller coaster of Ironman training. I was given the suggestion by an Ironman / BQ'er along with congratulations..."Take your recovery as seriously as you trained.". Between coach's feedback and those words, I decided they must know what they are doing! After two days of rest, the novelty of downtime wore off, but I saw the value of unplugging from the rut of "what workout do I NEED to do today?". Two weeks of total off time and a week of fun unstructured workouts and I feel like a million bucks! Definitely refreshed mentally and physically on track for targeting my BIG goals for 2012.

This past weekend wrapped up an awesome month of September and kicked off an exciting October!  The three things that got me pumped:  tattoos, 5ks, and the green light!

I got my tattoo...and still can visit the parents in NJ!
This past Tuesday I went to get my Ironman ankle tattoo and a phrase I wanted integrated, the artist couldn't figure how to get the spacing correct, so I decided to hold off.  I added just the mileage numbers to my existing swim / bike / run tattoo on my wrist. If I couldn't get what I really wanted, then I wasn't going to do it.

So I kept looking at my wrist and I just love my wrist tattoo. I don't really see a reason of getting a tattoo if I can't see it all of the time, so I put my original design on hold - and decided to get the Ironman word logo on my wrist. Its my accomplishment and my motivation...next year I'm gonna ROCK! (and the IM's after that too!)

I just love it. I'm sure there are plenty that think I'm crazy for the location, or an idiot because I didn't do the world championship Kona, win an IM, or complete Wisconsin with a time of xx:xx...but whatever. (Obviously I won't post my pride and joy on slowtwitch, ha ha....).  In the end..."Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." Its my journey and I can choose to express it anyway I want.

5k Sunday!

Sunday, Susan and I ran the Bucktown 5k for fun and the best news of the day was that my sister RAN her FIRST 5k in NJ!  I'm so unbelievably proud of her.  I LOVE hearing the excitement of the first race...the unknown and then the huge feeling of accomplishment crossing the finish line.  Whether it's a 5k, 1/2 marathon, marathon, Ironman...whatever distance...it's all about M-O-V-I-N-G, setting a goal, and going after it.  To make it even more special, she was running the Susan G. Komen race and raising money to fight breast cancer for people like our mom and so many others that we love.  Congrats to the TEAM BFF!  You girls R-O-C-K! 

This group and so many others this past year have motivated me to start thinking about using my passion to some how help others.  I'm not sure how I'm going to do it in 2012...it may not help a million people, but I'm going to make an effort to give back. 

It's October!  It's Green light time for 2012!
Game is back ON with training and I'm ready to go at it. October will be a little "Lori-structured" training... emphasis back on strength which I have not been able to do right over the past year and drilling down big time on the nutrition.  I'll start back up with the JHC and be a lean-mean-racing-machine!  (Ok, maybe I'll lay a little off the "mean"...)  My strength workouts kick off this week with KRU in Andersonville and I'm really excited for the small gym atmosphere and I expect to net some big results over the next couple of months.  The tattoo dictates a little more time off the swim routine, but I think the swim / bike / run / strength / nutrition wheels are in motion and synced up to start chasing some awesome goals for 2012!

Sunday, October 2nd was Livestrong Day and Bixby was kind enough to entertain me by wearing my Oakley Livestrong sunglasses for a couple minutes. Funny pup!  If she could bark through the blog, she'd bark "Let's kick cancer's butt!".  Live strong people. 

 

And to wrap up....it's Chicago Marathon week!!  To SusieQ and the Chicago marathon peeps - GOOD LUCK!!

My Journey to IRONMAN

"LORI BECK, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!"

Truth be told, I didn't actually "hear" Mike Reilly say it, but there are videos and pictures to show that I did in fact cross the finish line after swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles.

I live life on the "one day at a time - it's a we program" and this journey to Ironman was only made possible by getting on that path of the good life.  It's funny to think back to a December 2005 brunch conversation that got me started in triathlons.

Friend:  "The three of us are doing the Naperville triathlon in June."

Me: "No.  That involves swimming...which involves a bathing suit.  I only know how to doggy paddle.  I don't own a bike. And I don't particular care for running...especially if there isn't a ball and points involved."

Friend:  "Lori - You've done a good job pulling your life together, but you're still a mess.  You're out of shape and you use to be an athlete."

So I registered for the "stupid" triathlon.

I bought a bike.

I picked up running shoes.

I taught myself to swim by watching people at the pool.

I did the race.

I fell in love with the sport of triathlon.

(The only reason I don't mention the friends names is that I was the only one who drank the triathlon juice...)

My target year for Ironman was 2010, but the plan was delayed a with a summer off sick. Ironman Wisconsin was my 21st triathlon race since the that first race in the summer of 2006.  For me, the multi-year approach of doing the various levels to build up to the Ironman distance was the right thing to do.  I've been able to be coached by some amazing people and have met so many incredible friends along this journey.   

Here's a recap of my first Ironman race day!

Transition Set-up / Bike Check:
Nothing like pumping up tires before the sun comes up in very little light and them just not feeling "right".  I had trained on my Zipp wheels since April outside and had not any flats, and here it was race morning and something wasn't right.  I was using my  lucky pump and didn't think that could be the problem, so I ran the bike down to the maintenance area and the guy put air in and said "If you just pumped these to 105 and they are now to to 40 PSI, you have a problem..."  After a couple of minutes, the tires seemed to hold the air, so I racked the bike again, left transition and ran into Susan and said "Just let me have a moment - and had a 2 minute freak out about the tires."  Luckily, Susan can handle my little "anxiety moments" really well and directed me relax, go back in, check the tires, and come back out.  The tires seemed good....and at the end of the day...that "lucky" pump is getting donated! :-)

Pre-Swim
We headed down the helix to the swim start area and I wanted a little space to get my wet suit on.  Susan took a video and I think it's one of the funnier ones because I look like I saw a ghost.  I asked her how she let me get in the water with 2500 triathletes looking like that!  The nice think was that a familiar face from my gym popped up along with her friend and they were doing the race for the first time as well.  The one woman out of the blue, said "I saw you at the Madison Open Water Swim a couple of weeks ago.  WE can do this!"  Little positive angels when you least expect it...

Swim - 2.4 miles - 1:33
Wow.  My least favorite part about triathlon is the swim start which is typically in waves of like 80 women and a tiny air horn.  Starting off with 2500 women AND men with a cannon blast @ 7am...way different!  The "word" on the triathlon streets is to expect a 5-10 minute swim improvement from the Madison Open Water Swim with the additional swimmers.  I figured my anxiety with swimming coupled with that many people definitely cancelled that edge out, plus ADDED on another 5-10 minutes.  Having swam 1:46 at that swim, I figured if I could get out of the water within 2 hours (cut off is 2:20) I wasn't going to sweat it.

I started towards the back and in the middle and had quite a bit of room around me while treading water waiting.  Kind of enough room that I wished that more people were closer so if there were any snakes around, they would scare the heck out of someone else!  When the cannon went off I just thought face down, relax, it's your swim - get 'er done!

Here's a cool video from YouTube of the swim start race day morning:

I felt great and relaxed the entire swim.  I had the expected get swum over and jockey for some space, but besides fixing my goggles quickly 4 times, it pretty much was head down and relaxed swimming for me.  Just as I was coming up to exit the swim, I looked at my watch and saw 8:32 and had the first of MANY huge smiles on my face!  My official swim time was 1:33, but I never expected to have a 1:3x as the swim time...and no panic attack or snake sightings were icing on the cake!

Transition 1

Got stripped by the wet suit strippers...haha...

Headed up the helix and realized my one contact was having some problems.  Luckily, I was able to take a couple of seconds  and take it out,and put it back in and it was all fixed up!  But if I didn't "see" you on the helix, that's the reason why!  Had some coke to get some quick calories while switching fully to bike attire, and then hit the road!

Bike - 7:25
The bike course is described as a lollipop - stick out to the 40 mile hilly loop (completed twice) and then the ride back.

Starting on the bike, heading out to the loop, I felt pretty good.  My heart rate was running high - z4, but I didn't feel out of breathe or that I was pushing it so I pulled it back slightly and started focusing on the nutrition plan.   

I hit the loop about the time I expected, and was excited to ride and see how different the course would be race day with people out watching compared to the lonely training rides.  After riding several times this summer, it felt like home court. 

First loop - I stayed focus and hit all of the nutrition targets I needed to and everything was feeling good.

Second loop - Still feeling pretty good, but time wise, there is a significant decrease from my first loop. Part of it was loosing a little focus, some of it was focusing too much on slowing down to make sure hydration was taken care of - a lot of the little things that I think with some strength training and experience, I'm going to see a huge decrease in this bike time next year.  Overall, I felt strong on both loops and didn't have some nagging knee stuff that I had on a couple of my training rides. AND NO BEE STINGS!!!  Definite bonus! 

The ride back to Madison from the loop was strong, a little slow down with the route of the course, but the course is the course.

Nutrition wise, I felt good the whole ride and I knew I was doing well on hydration which is the key to getting to the finish line.  (I'll spare the details....)  I was ready to get off the bike ~ 108 miles...which is awesome that I didn't have to start doing the little positive cheers a lot earlier on the bike...I needed to save that self talk for the run!  

Transition 2
Switching from bike to run gear is a little bit of a blur. I just remember being a little stiff...I guess 7+ hours on a bike can do that to you!

Run - 6:18
Thoughts off the bike in the first 7 minutes:

Picture courtesy Jeff Thompson!

First thought:  "I feel pretty good!" 

Second thought: "Wow...I have to run a marathon."  (Translated PG version.)

Third thought:  "Where the heck are the clouds?"   (Translated PG version.)

Fourth thought:  "When is the sun going down?"     (Translated PG version.)

Fifth thought:  "What TIME is it?"

I had a watch on and could have easily figured out the time, but that's essentially the direction my thoughts were going.  A couple of miles into the run - probably 3-4, I was jolted and scared by a tarantala on the street.  Yep, I went into the race freaked about snakes, little did I think that at mile ~118 I would get scared by kids messing around with a puppet tarantala on the course.  About a mile down the road I found a little humor in the fact that I was just scared by a puppet, and was a little relieved that I wasn't loosing my mind and seeing things.

Around mile 9-10 I felt like I had hit the marathon wall and had a little panic.  In the two other marathons I've done I hit that point of "how am I going to finish this?" at around mile 17 and mile 22.  Mile 9?  I had a LONG night ahead.  I couldn't do the basic math during the second loop of the run that is typically like breathing "26 - x miles left over y amount of time"....I kept on asking trees if I had enough time to finish.  I was "running" along side a guy that was walking briskly and after a couple of minutes said to him "Guess this doesn't speak too much for my running speed if your walking just as fast!"  But we both laughed and kept plugging along the course.

There was amazing support on the course.  I kept seeing Susan pop up all over the course along with all the friendly familiar faces of coaches, friends, training buddies, swim friends...and all the amazing volunteers and spectators with their cheering it was just an amazing experience.

Running that last mile into downtown and around the capitol and the reality that the finish line was going to happen...I just can't even put into words how absolutely amazing it felt!

The best thing of having a 15:40 first Ironman race....I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT - and had plenty of minutes to enjoy! 

Although I have done a lot of this Ironman training solo, this accomplishment was not possible without the help, guidance, support of so many people.  I am truly fortunate in the past couple of years to have amazing coaching resources, nutrition counseling, and training buddies that have become friends.  The coaches and athletes of Tri-Umph, Jen @ JHC Coaching, and Kim @ Fuel Your Passion...thank you for giving me the foundation and path to make my dream possible.

To my family, friends, and the anonymous ones...thank you for your love, support, and understanding on this journey!  Your kind messages helped me get through many of the more difficult moments!

To Susan...like I said when I first saw you after finishing - "WE" did this.  Thank you for making this season possible and for your unbelievable patience everytime I said "Do you REALLY think I'm ready?  Can I REALLY do this?"  You never had a doubt and always answered my questions with real examples of why I could and why I would do it.  I would have stuck a sock in my mouth way back in May!  I can't begin to say how much I appreciate how much time you sacrificed and took care of Bixby while I trained!

Will I do it again?  ABSOLUTELY!  It's on the calendar - Ironman Wisconsin #2 - September 9, 2012.  I can't wait to train for a full year with a healthy wrist (finally!) and hit the strength workouts 100%, another year of experience on the bike, and improve my swim and run.  I may even be MORE excited about 2012...

IMWI JITTERS

One more sleep..

It's the day before my first Ironman and I'm nervous and so excited! After talking to a guy who's completed 7 Ironman races and he said he still gets nervous...I think I'm ok, so I'm going to roll with it!!

Today started off with a quick swim in Lake Monona and a short bike ride to shake out the legs and make sure the bike was switching gears ok. Athletes get the chance to register for the 2012 race before it opens to volunteers/public on

Monday...guess I drank enough of the Ironman training juice to bite that bullet! "Silly C" (my bike!) was racked and transition bags were dropped off...now it's rest up to race!

The past couple of weeks I've been prompted with the question several times "How can you do a race on the anniversary of 9/11?". For the people that ask me, I know they were directly affected by the tragic events of that day. They work in NYC - they lost loved ones. I, like most, remember that day so vividly. And the days following. September 11, 2001 and the people that were affected will never be forgotten. Although I am not "doing" the race for any charity, I am proud of all those that are racing and raising awareness and funds that support the people that have fought to defend freedom and provide safety. I have much respect for the courageous racers wearing the special bib numbers that represent their service to this county and their communities. It's cool that the Ironman organization recognizes them on the anniversary day. No doubt September 11 is being remembered and honored by this Ironman community.

Remembering back to the day of 9/11, my life looked incredibly different. Had I known the twists and turns life was going to take, I'm not quite sure I would have signed up for the ride, but today I am so blessed for the changes that have come my way.

Tomorrow I know I'm going to start swimming 2.4 miles at 7am.

Then I'm going to bike 112 miles.

Then I'm going to run 26.2 miles.

And I'll finish before midnight.

My mind will hit hurdles, my body will hit pot holes...but the journey is a gift that I want to take to get to the finish line to hear the magic words...

If you have a couple of extra nice thoughts (a.k.a. prayers) on Sunday, please send them out to the athletes, countless volunteers, and supporting spectators for a safe race day.

If your interested in tracking me, I'm bib #569 for Ironman Wisconsin - I think these Links will work on race day:

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/wisconsin?show=tracker#569

http://live.ironmanlive.com/Event/Ford_Ironman_Wisconsin

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/wisconsin/?show=tracker&race=wisconsin&year=2011#

GPS TRACKING (not the official Ironman site, but I'll be wearing GPS on the bike, maybe run if it's not annoying me to help Susan know where I am)

http://track.myathletelive.com/VEmap.aspx?name=046792

IMOOOOOOOO....5 days!

Last week I was able to stop taking off my shoes to count...and today it's down to one hand - FIVE more sleeps until IMWI!  Whoo hoo!!

I saw these cows on my lunch time run today and just had to stop and take a picture.  Not sure if they are always there and I run on the other side of the street, but I thought the timing was P-E-R-F-E-C-T!  Cows on the sidewalk in Chicago...they must have been wishing me good luck to head up to Wisconsin.  Or maybe I just needed the laugh!

In addition to Susan (jokingly I hope?) threatening to take away my phone so I stay off the forums reading about the snakes in Lake Monona and the weather forecast every 11.3 minutes to check radar...I can easily tend to get into serious mode with this little Ironman journey.  Reality is...I'm going to win it just like I've won all of my races.  I have my own little imaginary race category, and I take the top podium spot every time!  

Since "winning" is not the issue and I've detailed all I possible can control in my multi-tabbed race plan it's now time for me to stop thinking and switch over to really trusting the process.  I'm as ready as I'm going to get for the day.  At this point it is all about executing on the physical training, nutrition, and staying mentally positive and F-O-C-U-S-E-D.  I'm not underestimating the challenge that Ironman is going to be, but if I'm going to succeed, I need to loosen up just a little bit and remember that this is not putting the roof over my head or food on the table.  It's time to for me to remember why I signed up - for the challenge and for FUN!

And it has been a lot of fun.  No doubt.  And I've learned so much.

The next couple of days I'm going to enjoy and head up to Madison Friday morning relaxed and ready.  It's time to soak up the most of this first journey before the cannon goes off at 7am Sunday and the "work" begins!

Taper Time...

Taper has started for Ironman Wisconsin, and I think the first indication it was absolutely time get recharged physically and mentally was the appearance of the "short fuse" and the feeling of everyone joined "Team-Pick-on-Lori"!

Overall, the week went well.  Heading into the weekend, I was so excited it didn't involve a hotel.  Since Racine 70.3 the weekend of July 16-17, every weekend has involved a trip out of town - either up to Madison to train and one weekend was a fun time at the NJ shore.  Being the homebody I am, 6 weekends away and coordinating Bixby duties was probably more tiring than the training.  Taking off from my front door for Saturday's last long brick seemed like an simple 4.5 hour training day without packing up the car and bike!  Granted, I probably should have head out to Barrington to ride the hills instead of riding on the Northshore, but tacking on another hour out, and another back...mentally I couldn't do it.  So I made the best of the roads I have accessible to me and called it a day.  And the couch called my name.  As much as I wanted to nap, I got sucked into not just one, but TWO Ryan Reynolds movies that I have seen more times than I like to admit...waste of time, but it was time on the couch with the pup so I can't complain!

All through the weekend, I couldn't stop watching the news and look for updates on Hurricane Irene.  I was bit worried about my family with the path of the Hurricane blowing up through NJ.  After a night of compulsively watching The Weather Channel, I was so relieved to hear they were ok.  The Sunday run didn't go perfect, but I had a good swim in before the "short fuse" popped!

A little hungry, anxious, tired .... and I really should learn by now to go to sleep!  But like always, some lessons take a little longer for me to learn.  As the days are counting down, it's even more important that I break it down to Rule #62:  "Don't take yourself so damn seriously!"

As I went down my list of "Team-Pick-on-Lori" with one of my biggest fans yesterday, it was kindly and gently pointed out that really, no one was on that team.  (I have a VERY strong imagination! :-) )  So as the countdown has REALLY begun, it's time to relax, re-charge, finish up the workouts, trust the process, stay in the moment, give myself and people around me a little slack, and get plugged into the positive people that truly fill my life up! 

I REALLY AM EXCITED!

Do Overs...

Some days I miss those days on the playground in grade school playing kickball and a bad "pitch" came in and it was ok to say "Do over!".  Everybody reset...and then came the next "pitch"...Or in golf, you hit a bad tee shot and it's Mulligan time!

This past week was a vacation from work.  And on many fronts it was a great week - got to spend a couple of days at the Jersey shore with the family, beating my sister in Zim-Zam on the beach, and boogie boarding with the lil' guys and Susie Q.  But training wise, the weather was....extremely frustrating.  The Sunday long run ended with downpour, hail, and a fried iPhone.  The other runs during the week just seemed to wake up the rain gods, but luckily we were able to enjoy some nice weather together inbetween the storms.

The end of the week was back in Chicago and got a good bike ride and run in.  I had a problem getting into the lake in Evanston with some algea stuff going on...and it seems like all of the local pools I can get into are doing some kind of maintenance.  Getting in the remaining swims the next couple of weeks is going to be some fun scheduling.

Friday came around way too quick and once again it was a trip up to Madison - the last training trip before race weekend.  I was signed up for the Madison Open Water Swim Saturday am which is a chance to swim the 2.4 mile IMWI course.  I got up at 5am and started the nutrition plan and was too damn anxious.  I have a bad habit of reading too many forums and have read one too many about the algea eating snakes in Lake Monona that were suppose to have died off, but the relatively warm winters the past couple of years allowed them to survive and get BIGGER.  Aside from the snakes, 2.4 miles is a long way...there's no black line at the bottom of the pool to follow to make it straight and short, there's no wall to push off and coast, and there's no wall to stop for a breather.  Anxiety was running high and I had "lost" my breakfast, so I just tried to keep moving forward and prepared my stuff for the post-swim bike ride and headed over to the swim.

Driving over, the sky was getting DARK.  I picked up my packet and the lightening started and it was clear there was going to be a delayed start.  I had over 2 hours of hanging around with me and my anxious thoughts looking out of the parking garage to the swim course.  I switched the iPod to some "settle-down-positive" music to get my mind set changed. 

Here's the course picture from the MOWS web site - the loop is 1.2 miles, so the IMWI course is 2 loops:

The storm FINALLY passed and prepping up with the wet suit bumped into some training buddies which settled the nerves a little and got a couple of last minute tips and popped some Endurolytes!  (Thank you Mark & Mark & Krista & Angela!)

And to describe the swim in short....I made it!  I know it doesn't exactly replicate the IMWI swim because there will be ~2500 more people starting the swim in the water, but I do have these take aways:

• I finished the distance with plenty of time to spare under the IMWI cut off time.
• i saw a snake, and I survived.
• Spelling people's names and counting keeps me moving forward.
• If the water temp is that hot, I need to do sleeveless, or get my head wet before putting on that stupid swim cap.
• I need to have more than a 1 song play list in my head "Tonight Tonight" by Hot Chelle Rae may not have been the most positive songs to be going through my head! :-)

With the delayed swim start, it messed up "my" plan for the bike ride and the remainder of the day.  I refueled while driving out to Fireman's Park and headed out on the first 40 mile loop with an alternate nutrition plan.  Like the last time I rode the course, I had another bee sting and towards the end of the first loop was starving.  I did a refueling break at the end of the first loop, tried to get calories in...had a little "clip-in" fall (yep, embarrassing!) and headed out for loop two.  After 8 miles in, decided to call it a day and head back.  The schedule of the day was off track, nutrition was off, and I was riding solo.  Just too many factors were coming into play that I didn't feel safe riding out the second loop, so called it a day. 

I drove the 2:45 hours home and put the bike on the trainer.  Nothing like being up since 5, having a non-stop day, driving for almost 3 hours, and trying to put a bike on a trainer.  But I just wanted to try to finish the day out.  It wasn't as I planned, but as several of the training days of this "first Ironman" journey have been....I'm learning more and more that it is A LOT more than just swim, bike, and running.

So that wrapped up my "Bad-urday".  Sunday was a bit better and was able to get an 18 mile run in...mostly trailing Susie Q as she is training for her first marathon in Chicago in October!  Whoo hoo!

Between all of the moments - especially the past week that brought out the frustration, fear, anxiety, and self-doubt of getting to the starting line at Ironman...I am able to go to that moment 8 years ago that I heard that I could "DO ANYTHING."  Being able to feel the challenges and face them has been such an incredible gift that I am incredibly grateful to face one day at a time.  19 days to go where I will be on that startline and I absolutely WILL get to that finish line...no matter what challenges that day presents.  I can't wait!

Loopty Loop! Loopty Loop! Loopty Loop!

Oh yeah, kids.  I FINALLY rode the "loops" of the IMWI course.  And with the theme of "one is never" enough, the past three weekends have been spent driving the 3 hours up to Madison, staying over night, biking 80 - 109 miles (and a couple of post bike runs), and then driving the 3 hours home.  The most painful part might have been my singing in the car to stay entertained.  :-)

Now I no longer have to hear from the IMWI finishers "What do you mean you haven't ridden the course YET?!?!"  Since I was suppose to ride the course in May and bailed at the last minute, I had a couple of weeks of those comments getting under my skin and the fear factor was starting to build more than I care to admit.  I kept thinking that the hills of the course were possibly worse than the Horribly Hilly course that I rode back in June - and if that was the case, I was going to have to post-pone my Ironman journey for another year.  Yep, extreme thinking at it's negative best! 

The IMWI bike course is 112 miles which consists of a 16 mile stretch to a 40 mile loop ( which is done 2 times) then the 16 mile stretch back.  Even though I had not ridden the course, I had read plenty of blogs, listened to a copy podcasts, and watched a cool video on Simplystu.com that covers the whole 112 miles in 30 minutes.  I some what knew what I was "riding" into, but after spending time on the course the past three weekends, I fully understand that the experience of the ride is immeasurable.  I have to drive an hour from my house to get off the pancake flat northshore Chicago roads and be able to switch gears a bit.  On the IMWI course, the gear changing gets a workout!  Uphill / downhill / false flat...constant descisions and finding the right gear without mashing the pedals is a bit of a challenge.

As tiring as the trips were the past couple of weeks, especially following the Racine 70.3 weekend, each weekend was worth the trip and a couple of lessons learned.  Mostly, I just need to keep my head in the game and enjoy the ride.  No doubt, it's a challenging course, but it's also pretty fun.  The last time riding the loop on Saturday I had some more positive thoughts going through my head than I had the previous weeks and I'm glad I had the chance to get familiar with the course and a couple of more chances at trying to nail down the nutrition piece.  Riding flat over the same distance just would not have given me the same frame of mind.

Heading into this Ironman training, I've had the mindset that the training will take care of the swim.  I've experienced a marathon twice to know what I'm getting into.  But my big concern was the bike - which is the biggest part of the day.  Rolling into the last couple of weeks before taper, I have a little more confidence in that area.  I'm going to finish out the next couple of weeks training "in a box" and I'm going to race "in a box" too. I'm not going to focus on what other people are doing, have done, or what their time is going to be.  I'm shooting to get to the start line and cross over the finish line.  Next year will be about setting time goals and hitting them.  This year it's about becoming an Ironman and it really doesn't matter what the heck that clock says - I will cross that finish line on September 11th and I will become an Ironman!

I had to include this photo to 1) thank SusieQ for taking care of Bixby during my playtime in the cheese state and 2) my 14 year old "pup" seems to be in her own Ironpup training!  After my long workouts she likes to try to keep extending her long walks!  Granted, the extra blocks sometimes makes me want to pack a snack...but she's such a trooper!

No Whammies, No whammies...STOP!

This week has been a blast!

I took Monday off to enjoy "my" day.  Since it was race week the training volume was lighter so it was perfect timing to get plugged in and recharged. Yes, it is true - those meeting makers DO make it... :-) 

By race day, I was ready to roll! Sunday, July 17th, 2011...hot, sunny day in Racine. WI! The pro's went off at 7am, but my wave was #19...so that meant a start time of 8:16. With temps expected to hit into the 90's...and 70.3 miles to cover ... "endurance" sport really took on its meaning.

1.2 mile Swim: 46:14 (Last year 46:08)

My time out of the water on my watch was 44min which was a lot better than Kansas. I don't know where the timing mats were, but it doesn't matter. The two races I've done this year I've had disastrous swims. And the last was a short sprint triathlon. I wanted to feel good about this swim. Heading out to the first turn buoy I wanted to keep my head down and breathing in check. As I turned the buoy and was in the straight away (~1 mile) the thought went through my head "This is like swimming with Scott." I've had a couple of good swims at Gilson in the past couple of weeks and last Saturday did my first 3 loop with Scott which nets out to a full Ironman swim. Head down, relaxed...spotting every couple of strokes...I didn't have a panic attack and got the little confidence boost I need heading into the last 8 weeks of training.

T1: 5:43 (Last year 5:10)

No explanation...free time I'm giving away.

56 mile Bike: 3:15 - avg: 17.18 mph (Last year: 3:37 - 15:47 mpg avg)
This course is f-l-a-t. One good thing about hills is what goes up, must come down which means FREE speed. Not sure what I was doing in T1, but I forgot to put on my HR strap. Since I wouldn't be able to see any spikes or drops with the HR, I really had to be smart with my nutrition plan and stay focused on how I was feeling. With the heat and hitting the run after the noon hour, I didn't want to blow it on the bike. I was 3/4 through my first bottle and saw the results of an extremely bloody bike crash and after passing, puked probably everything I had drank to that point. After a couple quick prayers, it was back to staying focused so I could have a safe ride. And it was back to starting the nutrition over and getting a gel in to make sure I wasn't going bonk on the bike. I saw several people ending their day on the bike, and I knew I had longer and just as hot rides logged that I would be good if I stuck with the plan.

22 minutes better than last year on the bike...I'll take the improvement! A little more hard work over the next year, and I think I'll be closer to where I want to be.

T2: 4:12 (last year - 4:09)
I guess I like giving away things for free...just another thing to add to the list to work on! I had to hit the port-o-potty before the shuffle...I mean run. I know triathletes "go" on the bike, but until I have a Kona spot at stake, age group win, or my bladder is about to burst because it's an emergency....I'm not doing it! :-)

Run: 2:42 / 12:23 pace (last year: 2:53 / 13:13 pace)
This was a tough one - especially within the last 1.1 mile. I could easily over analyze the Garmin file to what miles I should have picked it up or when my cadence dropped lower than target, but running with a bag of ice down my back to try to keep cool and making sure I took in fluids I needed...cadence, pace, etc. really do not matter. I got across the finish line safe, on my own two feet without having to go to the medical tent.

With temp as high as it was, and as many athletes that I saw go down...the PR (for my mom...PR=personal record ;-) ) was a huge bonus. My time was 31 minutes faster than last year on the course and 14 minutes better than my best 70.3 time (Kansas). Finishing the race safe was really good enough!

All around,it ws a really fun weekend. It was nice to have dinner with the Tri-Umph crew and see people from some of the winter training groups have some great races in the brutal temps.

8 weeks of training until IMWI!

And once again, special thanks to Susan for making the week/weekend/day easier! Awesome job getting the marathon training done on a hot day while supporting me on the course. The bar is being set very high! ;-)

And a special, special shout out to my big sister Lisa who started going after her goal on Sunday and got ZUMBA certified!!! Take that dancin' out of your kitchen and share your talents with others. Never settle for less! I'm so proud of YOU!

+ or - ...the choice is mine!

It's July and I'm known to be anti-July. One of the best things that has ever happened to me occurred in July...yet I like to focus on the memories of the bad July days.

I'm kinda sick and tired of my sick and tired attitude, so this July it's going to be different and I'm bringing "+ Lori" to the table!

Choices...yep, I've got choices.

July training has started off well with another couple of learning hurdles. On tap Saturday was a 100 mile ride plus a run. Since my work week was a bit hectic, I scratched the drive up to Madison to ride the IMWI course and headed out to Barrington. The roads are a little rolling with a couple of hills. Nothing like the IMWI course, but unlike the pancake flat Northshore Chicago!

The temp was 91 degrees with the heat index close to 100. A pothole caused me to loose a bottle as I was finishing the 2nd hour which put me behind in the nutrition/drink plan. I finished 92 miles and called it quits and hit the run.

I know "ironman-in-training" are not suppose to quit, but if quitting gives me the chance to not ride my bike in a dehydrated state off the road into a tree or an oncoming car...I'll short the workout and find out what I need to do for next time.

So once again...I got the feedback on what I should have done in that situation...and what I would need to do in a race. And I'll keep plugging forward and not get wrapped up that I missed out on 8 of the 100 miles.  Comparing the first 75 miles to a ride I did in May on the same route, I had improved A LOT.  Baby steps...I'm taking them. 

The weekend also had some swimming which was easy, uneventful, and actually relaxing.

4th of July Monday was a long run and it was long and hard, and way too slow. This week I'll do a sweat test to evaluate how much I need to be drinking on these rides and runs, because this weekend with the hot weather proved to be an issue with dehydration and cramping.

Even though it wasn't perfect and no training break throughs were made, all the training was logged and again, I was able to learn more about the process. With some of these back to back longer workouts, it just makes it clearer compared to training for the shorter triathlons how critical managing the aspects outside of the workout are becoming. I can't sit at a desk for 12 hours and think I'm going to have a great run. I can't go to sleep at midnight and expect to wake up at 4:30 for a focused swim. I can't skip meals and think there's enough energy to get through the long workouts. One of the reasons I fell in love with the sport is because it forced me to have some time management. This Ironman training is now just forcing it to the next level...and I only see the benefits of it. Balanced work/life/play/relationships...eat healthy....sounds like a good deal to me!

Just to wrap up a couple of my favorite pictures of the week...

Wednesday am swim at Gilson...

Seeing a baby deer on the Sat bike ride...(saw it's mom, dad, aunts and uncles on the ride, too!)





Having coffee on the balcony with Bixby Sunday morning...





It was the first long holiday weekend that I've spent in Chicago that I can remember the weather be amazing the entire time.  It was an awesome weekend getting training done, meetings in, getting some extra sleep, and relaxing in the A'ville 'hood.  Seems like a good way to start an awesome month ahead!

A little PRIDE and a BIGFOOT...

The weekend of June 25-26 was a fun weekend in Chicago...PRIDE weekend and then Sunday am a little trek up to Lake Geneva, WI for the RAM Bigfoot Triathlon.

The BIG event for PRIDE weekend in Chicago is the parade on Sunday.  I didn't like parades when I was 3, so I have no desire to go watch a parade 3 decades (plus) later.  It is awesome to hear that 750,000 people watch/support the parade, but that's about 749,994 people more than I want to be around at one time.  But...Go gays! ;-)

By choice, to participate in the PRIDE activities, I like to opt for the Proud To Run event, but with the triathlon on Sunday - I opted to do a longer training day Saturday and go be Susie Q's athletic supporter!

Saturday am started off with a nice, chilly swim in Lake Michigan @ 5:30am and then headed down to Montrose and the lakefront with Susan for the race start. 

I have to back up a step to really set the picture for Susan's race.  In October 2009, we were driving to run the Bucktown 5k and although she had been running, she didn't think she had yet run the full 3 miles.  She said "I hope I break 30 minutes."  My response was "No pressure. You haven't run the 3 miles.  Look to finish.  You can't do any worse than my first 5k in Chicago at 51:41".  We laughed.  She ran a 27:46 and a bunch of 5k's, 10ks, and two half marathons under her, has been plugging forward since!

Last year, she came in second in her age group.  This year she was out for the AG win!  

And she did it!  Whoo hoo!

And I found out that being a cheerleader at the events is harder than it looks!  Susan tends to pop out all over the course...not quite sure how the heck she does that with perfect timing!

After the race there was a little awards presentation. 

The rest of Saturday afternoon was riding my bike "Silly C" looping up along the North shore.  It wasn't the greatest ride since nutrition wise, nothing was feeling great.  I was short of my targeted time, but managed to log 83 miles.

Dinner was the first "solid" meal of the day which ended up being a lesson learned for Sunday.  Well, either that or I swallowed some bad lake water.

Sunday...BIGFOOT time!

After the long ride Saturday, the sprint tri was on tap (750m swim / 20K Bike / 5k run).

Woke up with a stomach bug, but since Susan was doing the race, there was no option to bail.  So a little "suck it up buttercup" motivation at 4am and hit the road!

Weather couldn't have been better!  It was the first race/event of the year that I was not freaking over the radar and since it was a sprint triathlon, it was suppose to be a "fun" day.  So I was a little bummed with the bad stomach situation and had enough marathon and 1/2 marathon events to have the sign ingrained in my head:

Yep, it was one of those days.  And although it took a bit of the "fun" out of the race, it was actually a good learning experience.  I didn't do anything nutrition-wise that I was supposed to do on the race (drank nothing, no gels), but I knew what I was doing would not cut it if I was doing the Olympic length, 70.3, or Ironman - I would have had to make other choices.  The fact that I'm aware of what's going on is a step in a good direction!  It was a good "opportunity" to have the discussion with my advising "peeps" of what I should be doing.

I didn't "race" it like I would have liked to, but after the swim and bike ride the day before, I wasn't intending on "racing".  Race recap:

• Swim - Average as I was getting my head into the game.  I made a little error of going too wide, but overall ok.
• Bike - Since I "survived" the swim without incident, I figured I would plug on the bike. I was concerned about not taking any nutrition in, but it wasn't extremely hot, and it was a short race.  I actually finished 2nd in my age group for the bike split! (I think all of the speedy's were doing the Olympic or at Pleasant Prairie tri!) 
• Run - Got of the bike my stomach was not feeling great.  The 5k was a recovery jog.

I waited at the finish line cheering on people and waiting for Susan to finish.  She did one triathlon last year, but this one actually had a "real" swim, so as I was standing there I started to wonder how her race was going and really hope she didn't have a bad experience on the swim!  She flew through the finish line and said she had a BLAST!  And she did AWESOME!!!  Whew! That could have been a long ride home!  :-)

We cheered Christine from Tri-Umph rockin' her first triathlon of the season and a couple other tri-folks!  We cheered the 17 year old that did the race tandem with his vision impaired 14 year old brother across the finish line.  That was SO amazing to be part of cheering that accomplishment.

It was such a great weekend. 

Chicago weather = awesome. 

Seeing the 'hood filled with people celebrating (err, partying) for diversity = awesome. 

Being able to "feel" and be excited for other's accomplishments...inspiring.  It's the clarity that I am utmost grateful for having the gift of one day at a time.

Horribly Hilly Hundreds Ride Recap

Heading up to Wisconsin after work on Friday afternoon, the combination of Chicago rush hour traffic and construction gave me plenty of time "think" about the Horribly Hilly ride the next morning.  "Thinking" and solo Lori...not typically a good combination!

For the past couple of weeks, this has been the weekend that I dreaded. Heading into Kansas 70.3 last weekend, I was excited and was just bummed that I hadn't felt well with the training weeks leading up to the race.  But the Horribly Hilly was on the Horizon as the ride that just scared me.  Like a Disney movie, it didn't seem "Lori-rated". 

Maybe it was the name!  Or maybe it was the description on the website:

200K: The 200K version of the HHH offers 124.2 miles of wonderful riding — if you like hills! You'd better, because you'll be going up over 40 significant rises, from 50-ft. bumps to the 910-ft. final climb, for a total of 10,700 feet of elevation gain.

NEW FOR 2011: 150K route = 100 miles

100K: The 100K ride offers a very challenging (but not as long) opportunity to test your riding skills, with 5,700 feet of elevation gain over 67.1 miles...Even though it is shorter, the 100K is a serious undertaking, and on the whole, is harder than flatter century rides.

When I signed up, I clicked the box for the 200k.  More is always better, right? 

Then my training schedule said to do the 100k (67.1 miles), but then this week, Coach said to try to shoot for the 100 miles.

After the long drive to Verona, and plenty of time to "think", I had convinced myself that there is NO way I could do a 100 miles on this course.  I had never done century ride on flat road, how the heck was I going to do it on this course?!?!?! 

I'm not a cyclist.  I'm not a swimmer, or a runner.  I'm a basketball player turned triathlete.  No matter what "single sport" is taken out of the mix, it's not my "strong event".  I wish I had the background of being an awesome swimmer, cyclist, or runner...but in triathlons, my rockin' free throw shooting and 3-pointers are not going to get me far.  But it's one reason I LOVE this sport...there's always a new challenge!

Lesson NOT learned yet from last week, I once again went to bed obsessing about the weather with the TV and iPhone apps.  If Susan has to put up with my incessant talk about the weather for one more race/ride weekend, I think she's going to delete all my weather apps or send me to school for meteorology ..

Saturday morning came quick and I got up and hit the nutrition routine that I've been working on for long training days/HIM.  Sticking with a plan and the less decisions I have to "think" about and make, the better!  I got a HUGE, well needed pep talk from Susan and got a little Bixby update for the day.  So I was all relaxed and pumped...and then I entered Blue Mound State Park.

Oh MY.

Driving up a huge, loooooong hill to the parking lot, I started to sweat (with the A/C blasting) and that calm feeling flew out of me. I parked the car and thought "If I just sit here long enough, these people will start the ride, then I can leave."  I had that quiet moment where that inner voice was a little louder and said "If THEY can do it, YOU can do it.  Get out of the car."

So I did. And I got my bike "Silly C" all pumped up and ready to ride.

I heard a couple of familiar voices, and was happy to catch-up with some triathletes I hadn't seen in awhile.  From the parking lot, I hooked onto the Ironman couple Louie and Tammy.  They said they didn't know exactly what distance they were riding, but would ride slow enough to stay with me.

Half way down the hill to the first landing, we had stopped for Mark to check his bike and I said to Tammy with my heart beating in my throat:

"Are ALL the hills like that?"

Which Louie overheard and responded...

"Yep, Lori...it's called HORRIBLY HILLY."

As we started down again I asked "Will I have breaks by the end?"  A question I would ask about another 20 times...

I had two statements in my head:
   1.  Quit
   2.  THEY are all doing it.  YOU can do it.

The only reason I didn't do option #1 is because I didn't want to go back UP the hill...little did I realize I would be riding back up that hill with 106.x miles logged!

Luckily for any one that actually reads this, I don't remember mile for mile.  :-)

There were a lot of AMAZING long uphills where I actually found I was stronger than I thought.

There were incredible downhills that took my breathe away...and had a couple "That was COOL!" moments!  I was on my breaks a heck of a lot, but still was hitting 36 mph...

I really liked the rollers where there was time to just get into aero and plug for a little, but on this course, with these hills...there wasn't too much of it!

Louie and Tammy were SO unbelievably kind to stick with me and to wait up for me.  Since they had been flexible on the distance, at ~75 miles, I piped in, "I'm not sure I have the full 124 miles in me.  I think I'm good for 100 miles."  Starting the day from thinking I was not going to be able to do it, to committing to doing the 68 miles, to then hitting 75 miles...I didn't need to prove anything to anyone by completing 124 miles.  I have a full summer of training yet to go...

Luckily, Tammy was happy with that and Louie was cool with it, too.  So we kept plugging on the 200k course, and made some adjustments to make it shorter.

At ~92 miles, I thought I was done.  Mentally, I was close to that moment of loosing it. Since we were making "shortcuts" on the 200k course, I didn't really "know" how much longer until the finish, but I knew it was going to be more than the 100 miles.  I had a couple of quick chats with Tammy and Louie and asked them some Ironman questions...and got distracted and got my head back in the game.

We got to the base of Blue Mound Park.  "All" that was left was a hill a couple miles long done early in the ride, a quick downhill, sharp right turn up a steep hill to the parking lot.  That's it.  3 mile grind left = 910 feet elevation!

I kept thinking "I'm ONLY hacking through this hill I did earlier.  THEN I'm walking to the car."

After I got up the monster hill and had the little 3 second downhill breather before heading up the hill to the finish, my thought was "THERE IS NO WAY I'M GETTING OFF THIS BIKE AFTER 106.x miles to WALK across the finish line."

I never knew I really had a "dig deeper" until that moment.

Cresting that hill and RIDING under that finish line...AMAZING. 

It was a training day that "changed" me.  One of my awesome non-triathlete friends who is familiar with that area in Wisconsin told me Sunday night, "You will never be the same."  She is absolutely right. My little "7-11" journey that has given me the opportunity and a chance to see and live life in a different, healthier way has just been amazing.  Each day in itself is a gift and hitting these cool mile stones really shows me the promise that set me on this path "....If I stay ____, I CAN do ANYTHING."

Completing this ride and going above and beyond what I thought I could do, made me even more excited about the IMWI training that is in front of me. 

Since we varied the 200k course down the 107 miles - Total Ride:

Besides the great feeling for finishing the ride, it was also another one of those reminders of trusting in the "plan".  Coach told me 100 miles - I was thinking I couldn't do it, but she knew I could based on my training.  Nutrition wise, I'm sticking to the fueling plan...and it's working.  Good results DO come when I take my solo-thinking out, and use it in combo with those that are experienced and have the expertise!

It was so nice to see friendly faces on the course that I don't cross paths with often these days - Robbie, Arthur, Mark, Andy, Angela, Krista, Jeff.

Special thanks to Louie and Tammy for their patience and support riding with me.  The ride would have been MUCH different without your help...especially Louie singing Bon Jovi!

And an extra special thanks, once again, to Susan for taking care of Bix so I could go to this training...(especially during the Custard's Last Stand Street fair when parking is a bear!)... and making an incredible, healthy dinner for me when I got home!  Your support, patience, and encouragement is so much appreciated!  :-)

(And my HP is DEFINITELY a triathlete.)