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!