The Ironman experience was truly priceless but when I first signed up I decided to keep a spreadsheet of the costs associated with training to get to the big day. I think the cost is a very personal thing because there is a way to do it on a strict budget or a way to go all out but I tried to do it within a reasonable budget.
The first expense is of course the sign up cost which let me tell you is a little tough to stomach at $821.50 inclusive of the insurance and active.com fees. I decided to go the coaching route which added a monthly cost but there are also lots of books and resources to be self-coached so that is not a required expense. I did not track my additional grocery spending but training not only increased my food intake but it also caused me to buy more healthy, fresh foods.
Every training session needs fuel and there are many options for race nutrition from gels, gus, powders and even real food. I chose Generation Ucan and supplemented with some squeezable fruit pouches, over all I spent about $500 on Ucan. Your bike will need accessories but I ended up spending some money to get a new bike that was carbon after I won a bike in a raffle. I needed new tires after getting a flat and then bought an aero bottle holder, new seat, aero bars and several pairs of new shorts in the great "comfort" experience of 2015.
There were many training camps offered throughout the summer that I did not attend because I wanted to keep the budget under control. I did, however travel to do a free camp in Chattanooga to get a feel for the course and I think that was the best thing I could have done. Seeing the course for myself and knowing I had concurred it was a big confidence booster although it was definitely expensive to fly with the bike.
The thing about the Ironman is that it isn't just that one day you spent upwards of $700 dollars to participate in, it is the gym memberships, the pool memberships, the early morning work outs, the hundreds of miles on your bike, the countless miles on your shoes, it all adds up. I think it is important to keep this in mind when you sign up because the stress of training coupled with the stress of paying for everything can be overwhelming. You don't need all the bells and whistles but some of the whistles, like coaching, make the overall experience better and probably more successful.
My total over all ended up being around $7,000 but I am sure that doesn't count a lot of things I should have added. Looking through the list I realized a lot of the things I spent money on I could continue to use and therefore get more bang from my investment...so with that happy news I am delighted to share I will be doing Ironman Louisville next year!
See, never say never, I guess I was one and done until that one was done and then well I need to beat my time ;-)
Showing posts with label #IMchoo15. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #IMchoo15. Show all posts
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Saturday, October 3, 2015
On the Road to Ironman...
I need to do a race report, and I will soon but first I felt that there are a lot of emotions that I wanted to wrap up so that the race report can be more focused on the race.
A little background on me, I was NEVER considered athletic, in fact I was down right scrawny throughout middle and high school. My siblings were both extremely athletic and used to physically remove me from situations if they found I was annoying. It was very powerful to be called an athlete and feel athletic as well to have my brother call and tell me that he was proud of me (then he called me crazy :0)
2012 I turned 30 and my best friend talked me into training for a half marathon and so started my fitness journey. I HATED the entire process and I knew I would never do another race ever again, but as we all know you should never say never. We did the diva half marathon in October and the minute I crossed that finish line I was hooked on the race endorphin high. I have never in all my other races hurt as much as I hurt after this first half marathon, I was sore for DAYS.
When the opportunity to start my tri journey presented itself I was worried and concerned about swimming as well as the bike but I decided that my 30s were a time to conquer fears. The first tri I signed up for was a half iron distance, 70.3 miles of swimming, biking and running perhaps not the recommended first distance but I like to really go for it when I sign up. Eventually my friend Jo convinced me to sign up for a mini tri so that I could get a feel for transitions and the tri experience.
September 2014 is when the journey to Ironman really started because I signed up for Chattanooga and I was wearing a walking boot unable to swim, bike, run or even walk very well. This is not the ideal situation and I don't recommend unless you are prepared to really throw yourself into training. The nerves really got to me at certain points because I felt I was missing valuable time to be improving my skills but trying to ensure I recovered properly from my stress fracture.
Doing an Ironman your second triathlon season is not something I recommend to the faint of heart. I am not a strong swimmer or biker and although my skills have greatly improved they caused some heartache during training about time cut offs. I got the option to upgrade my bike by winning a raffle in April and instead of going with a time trial (triathlon) bike I elected to go with a carbon road bike and add aero bars. This decision was smart because adapting to the carbon bike and aero bars was still difficult, the bike is much lighter and tends to be harder to control. I took two spills, including one only a month out from Chattanooga which really shook my confidence and limited my swimming.
Leading up to the race I felt very calm and settled because I knew I had put in the work and the day would be what it was but the training had already given me such a thrill. There were so many days I didn't want to cycle one more mile, the pool was the last place I wanted to be and towards to end all I wanted to do was sleep but I stuck with it. Just getting to the starting line of an Ironman, uninjured and ready to give it your all is an accomplishment and I was feeling very proud of myself.
Race day is about execution, following the plan and being able to adapt when things don't go to plan. Fitness only gets you so far which is actually a good thing for me! :)
A little background on me, I was NEVER considered athletic, in fact I was down right scrawny throughout middle and high school. My siblings were both extremely athletic and used to physically remove me from situations if they found I was annoying. It was very powerful to be called an athlete and feel athletic as well to have my brother call and tell me that he was proud of me (then he called me crazy :0)
2012 I turned 30 and my best friend talked me into training for a half marathon and so started my fitness journey. I HATED the entire process and I knew I would never do another race ever again, but as we all know you should never say never. We did the diva half marathon in October and the minute I crossed that finish line I was hooked on the race endorphin high. I have never in all my other races hurt as much as I hurt after this first half marathon, I was sore for DAYS.
When the opportunity to start my tri journey presented itself I was worried and concerned about swimming as well as the bike but I decided that my 30s were a time to conquer fears. The first tri I signed up for was a half iron distance, 70.3 miles of swimming, biking and running perhaps not the recommended first distance but I like to really go for it when I sign up. Eventually my friend Jo convinced me to sign up for a mini tri so that I could get a feel for transitions and the tri experience.
September 2014 is when the journey to Ironman really started because I signed up for Chattanooga and I was wearing a walking boot unable to swim, bike, run or even walk very well. This is not the ideal situation and I don't recommend unless you are prepared to really throw yourself into training. The nerves really got to me at certain points because I felt I was missing valuable time to be improving my skills but trying to ensure I recovered properly from my stress fracture.
Doing an Ironman your second triathlon season is not something I recommend to the faint of heart. I am not a strong swimmer or biker and although my skills have greatly improved they caused some heartache during training about time cut offs. I got the option to upgrade my bike by winning a raffle in April and instead of going with a time trial (triathlon) bike I elected to go with a carbon road bike and add aero bars. This decision was smart because adapting to the carbon bike and aero bars was still difficult, the bike is much lighter and tends to be harder to control. I took two spills, including one only a month out from Chattanooga which really shook my confidence and limited my swimming.
Leading up to the race I felt very calm and settled because I knew I had put in the work and the day would be what it was but the training had already given me such a thrill. There were so many days I didn't want to cycle one more mile, the pool was the last place I wanted to be and towards to end all I wanted to do was sleep but I stuck with it. Just getting to the starting line of an Ironman, uninjured and ready to give it your all is an accomplishment and I was feeling very proud of myself.
Race day is about execution, following the plan and being able to adapt when things don't go to plan. Fitness only gets you so far which is actually a good thing for me! :)
Spectator Bags!
I wanted to wait until after my race so that I didn't ruin the surprise for my spectators but I put together a post because I know many people were asking about the goodies.
I went on Oriental trading and bought 12 draw string backpacks, cowbells that matched my team colors as well as some glow in the dark bracelets. The site runs some good sales and is a great place to pick up things in bulk. I found small things of wipes on sale at my local CVS and threw those in each backpack because you never know what the toilet paper situation will be like! Someone in a group I'm in found some TRI tissues so I had her send me some and put a packet of tissues in each bag. I saved old NUUN containers and used them to put advil in each bag because let's face it the day is very long for your spectators. I also threw in hand sanitizer because again its a long day and you never know what the bathroom will have.
I bought some paint and glitter to decorate each bag as well as the cowbells to make them a bit more personalized.
Each bag contained a BINGO card that I created with typical things you might see at an Ironman event and the winner was promised a massage and the game was a BIG hit! They used pens to write the time they saw the item in question and my dad was so competitive he started it as we waited in the swim line at 5am! This was also something fun for me while I was doing the race I would see things and think to myself oh that's on one of the cards so it passes the time.
I found a spectator guide to the area online and added some key information about where our house was located, the shuttle information and added some other resturant information more specific to the tastes of the people from my group. At the last minute they called for rain so I went to a dollar store and threw in ponchos.
Then I took into consideration each personality to fill the bag with snacks I felt they would like, some ideas include candy, trail mix, nuts, airplane liquor bottles, gum, and hard candies.
I also hand wrote a personalized note to each person thanking them for their support as well as coming to cheer.
My T-shirts were made using custom ink and were a HUGE hit apparently!
If you need any help thinking of ideas or are too pressed for time to put together spectator bags but really want them just reach out to me via the blog and we can discuss pricing.
Happy Racing!!
I went on Oriental trading and bought 12 draw string backpacks, cowbells that matched my team colors as well as some glow in the dark bracelets. The site runs some good sales and is a great place to pick up things in bulk. I found small things of wipes on sale at my local CVS and threw those in each backpack because you never know what the toilet paper situation will be like! Someone in a group I'm in found some TRI tissues so I had her send me some and put a packet of tissues in each bag. I saved old NUUN containers and used them to put advil in each bag because let's face it the day is very long for your spectators. I also threw in hand sanitizer because again its a long day and you never know what the bathroom will have.
I bought some paint and glitter to decorate each bag as well as the cowbells to make them a bit more personalized.
Each bag contained a BINGO card that I created with typical things you might see at an Ironman event and the winner was promised a massage and the game was a BIG hit! They used pens to write the time they saw the item in question and my dad was so competitive he started it as we waited in the swim line at 5am! This was also something fun for me while I was doing the race I would see things and think to myself oh that's on one of the cards so it passes the time.
I found a spectator guide to the area online and added some key information about where our house was located, the shuttle information and added some other resturant information more specific to the tastes of the people from my group. At the last minute they called for rain so I went to a dollar store and threw in ponchos.Then I took into consideration each personality to fill the bag with snacks I felt they would like, some ideas include candy, trail mix, nuts, airplane liquor bottles, gum, and hard candies.
I also hand wrote a personalized note to each person thanking them for their support as well as coming to cheer.
If you need any help thinking of ideas or are too pressed for time to put together spectator bags but really want them just reach out to me via the blog and we can discuss pricing.
Happy Racing!!
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
26 DAYS
Oh wow, 26 days until the race! I was doing pretty well nerves wise but over the weekend I had my second bike accident in as many months and I'm pretty beat up.
I thought the crash in July was bad timing but this crash during build weeks is DEFINITELY bad timing. I'm nursing some pretty disgusting roadrash on my shin and hip coupled with cuts on my ankle, knee and hand. To be more accurate, Z is nursing some brutal cuts on my leg and hand :) I could not be doing this without him!
I have also rented myathletelive which is supposed to be better at tracking me during the even itself so be on the look out for instructions on how to keep track of me on race day in 26 DAYS!!
I thought the crash in July was bad timing but this crash during build weeks is DEFINITELY bad timing. I'm nursing some pretty disgusting roadrash on my shin and hip coupled with cuts on my ankle, knee and hand. To be more accurate, Z is nursing some brutal cuts on my leg and hand :) I could not be doing this without him!
The shirts for the sherpa support team have come in and I will let you get a sneak peak at the front but I'm keeping the back a secret.
Bib numbers were released this week and I will be lucky number 1098 which is either the code for a jailbreak or a tax form depending on which of my parents you talk to :)
I have also rented myathletelive which is supposed to be better at tracking me during the even itself so be on the look out for instructions on how to keep track of me on race day in 26 DAYS!!
Saturday, August 15, 2015
The saga of Ms Susie
Now that I have aero bars on my new bike I have run into quite the issue while doing longer rides. PAIN. I'm not talking a little bit of pain, I'm talking raw, chaffing, extreme pressure. Ms Susie is NOT happy and if Ms Susie ain't happy, ain't no one happy. I began the search to find a solution to this issue a few weeks ago to no avail.
Last weekend during my 70 miler I came to a completely breaking point, during part of the ride I couldn't even sit in the seat it hurt so badly. After sitting with some frozen peas I decided I needed to take immediate action to ensure that I was able to complete my Century Ride this weekend.
I realized that my kit shorts were feeling pretty baggy which means they tend to shift and bunch a lot while I am riding, I think I shouldn't have ordered mediums on top of the fact I have lost weight/body fat recently. On a few trainer rides I tried other shorts I bought last year but nothing was able to fix the pressure. I ended up ordering bike shorts from Coeur because they were highly recommended on several boards. Another friend suggested Fushion shorts and I ordered a pair of those too.
Last weekend during my 70 miler I came to a completely breaking point, during part of the ride I couldn't even sit in the seat it hurt so badly. After sitting with some frozen peas I decided I needed to take immediate action to ensure that I was able to complete my Century Ride this weekend.
I realized that my kit shorts were feeling pretty baggy which means they tend to shift and bunch a lot while I am riding, I think I shouldn't have ordered mediums on top of the fact I have lost weight/body fat recently. On a few trainer rides I tried other shorts I bought last year but nothing was able to fix the pressure. I ended up ordering bike shorts from Coeur because they were highly recommended on several boards. Another friend suggested Fushion shorts and I ordered a pair of those too.
I also read up online about seats including a very informative article on the Cobb Cycling site that I HIGHLY recommend for anyone having issues.
http://www.cobbcycling.com/articles/Innie_Or_Outie
Their female fit specialist is extremely responsive and I ended up rush ordering a Plus seat. My bike mechanic, other wise known as Z was able to watch several online videos and we got the seat all set up. I did a very short spin on it and I think it will be MUCH better for my ride. The opening in the seat is very much at the right spot and I felt that I could get fully down into aero without any pressure or pain.
http://www.cobbcycling.com/articles/Innie_Or_Outie
Their female fit specialist is extremely responsive and I ended up rush ordering a Plus seat. My bike mechanic, other wise known as Z was able to watch several online videos and we got the seat all set up. I did a very short spin on it and I think it will be MUCH better for my ride. The opening in the seat is very much at the right spot and I felt that I could get fully down into aero without any pressure or pain.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
87 Days! Bye Bye June
June is but merely a memory so time to take a look back on a monthly recap. June is the first month that I have been able to be consistent with my schedule although I have missed a few OWS due to weather and going down to watch Jamie do her Ironman!!
Training weekend went very well and I'm so pleased that I went because it did increase my confidence going into the race. Work has still been very busy but I have limited my focus to training, work, sleep and Z and I feel better. I do need to get this move done but Z is helping with all of those details and I should spend some more time with friends which I am going to try and arrange but right now sleep is my biggest priority.
Less than 90 days until the race so I've given up soda, candy, fried food and alcohol. Time to really buckle down and make sure that I put myself in the best situation possible for the race.
JUNE TOTALS:
Swim: 29,301 yards (WOW)
Bike: 223.7 miles
Run: 6
Total: 246.34 (now we are talking)
Training weekend went very well and I'm so pleased that I went because it did increase my confidence going into the race. Work has still been very busy but I have limited my focus to training, work, sleep and Z and I feel better. I do need to get this move done but Z is helping with all of those details and I should spend some more time with friends which I am going to try and arrange but right now sleep is my biggest priority.
Less than 90 days until the race so I've given up soda, candy, fried food and alcohol. Time to really buckle down and make sure that I put myself in the best situation possible for the race.
JUNE TOTALS:
Swim: 29,301 yards (WOW)
Bike: 223.7 miles
Run: 6
Total: 246.34 (now we are talking)
January Totals: Feb: March:
Swim: 9,801 meters 18,756 yards 8,625 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles 123.5 Miles 92.76 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles 13.5 (Alter G) 24.8 miles
Total Miles: 56.71 Total Miles: 147.6 Total: 122.92 miles
Swim: 9,801 meters 18,756 yards 8,625 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles 123.5 Miles 92.76 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles 13.5 (Alter G) 24.8 miles
Total Miles: 56.71 Total Miles: 147.6 Total: 122.92 miles
April Totals: May Totals
Swim: 7,464 yards Swim: 7191 yards
Bike: 67.58 miles Bike: 44.3
Run: 53.58 miles Run: 4
Total miles: 125.4 Total Miles: 58.07
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Follow the Leader!
Today was a HUGE day for me, ok maybe all caps is overkill but it certainly felt like a really big day for me :)
One of the greatest gifts of triathlon is friendship. I've been blessed to meet so many new and inspiring people from online forums and my teammies. Today I met up with Jaime in Jersey for a nice 40 mile ride to beat the incoming rain. The caveat was she had never ridden from the GW so I would have to be the lead biker which is a first for me normally I just put my head down and follow the leader.
The first obstacle of the day was the bridge itself and I was very nervous to be doing it alone even though I have accomplished this feat in the past. I tried to ride up the ramp but when I hit the sharp curve things did not go well and I ended up kind of stuck. Luckily no one else was there to witness my klutzy actions and I was able to unclip, jump off the bike and walk it up the rest of the way. I was a bit nervous in the areas around the towers where you have to turn and things are tight if someone is coming but it went pretty well.
Jaime and I met up at Strictly's bike shop and set off on our way up 9W, planning to do about 20 miles and then turn around. I forgot to start my watch but realized fairly quickly and started tracking, but I was trying my base salts for the first time and planning to take them when my watched beeped every 5 miles however my watch was beeping every mile. (At no point did my brain say to me "Wait it only beeps every mile on RUN mode").
We found a nice flat parking lot and I was able to practice getting into and riding in my aero bars, things started out very shaky but Jaime gave some great advice to put my weight back and let me abs absorb the shock instead of my shoulders. Once I leaned back things felt more comfortable and we set back off on our way. I may have taken us past some tree pruning which was a little nerve wrecking and we may have almost gotten on a highway but I did managed to admittedly stumble on the coffee shop in Nyack where everyone meets up!
After checking out the GPS we decided to go back a different way so we rode down to the water and then realized we missed our turn so we went to ride back and were smack dab in a hill. I was in my big ring and at first couldn't change to the small ring, I freaked a bit and felt VERY clipped in (I felt like I was going to fall and couldn't even get my foot out) but I was able to get into that little ring and shift properly to get up the hill. SUCCESS!
We made a few stops on the way back so I could check the GPS but luckily Jaime is nice and calm and not type A. There are some beautiful river views and nice houses in that area and I was able to get in and out of aero bars several times on nice flat roads, even with cars! After the horrible hill climb back up to Englewood cliffs I realized that I had inadvertently taken us the safer route to cross over 9W instead of having to make a left off the road, score!
Riding the GW back was a bit heart attack inducing as there were a lot more people out and about including walkers who were not looking to see bikes and did not listen when you yelled 'On your left!' I had a near miss through one of the tower sections and I decided to walk the ramp. The cross city ride was dangerous, people have no idea the actual rules of the road or they just don't care at all and I had a close call with an impatient taxi driver but I made it back in one piece!
All in all I felt it was a very successful day and training peaks thought I had run a 3 minute mile so it agreed today was ground breaking...ironman fail. :-)
One of the greatest gifts of triathlon is friendship. I've been blessed to meet so many new and inspiring people from online forums and my teammies. Today I met up with Jaime in Jersey for a nice 40 mile ride to beat the incoming rain. The caveat was she had never ridden from the GW so I would have to be the lead biker which is a first for me normally I just put my head down and follow the leader.
The first obstacle of the day was the bridge itself and I was very nervous to be doing it alone even though I have accomplished this feat in the past. I tried to ride up the ramp but when I hit the sharp curve things did not go well and I ended up kind of stuck. Luckily no one else was there to witness my klutzy actions and I was able to unclip, jump off the bike and walk it up the rest of the way. I was a bit nervous in the areas around the towers where you have to turn and things are tight if someone is coming but it went pretty well.
Jaime and I met up at Strictly's bike shop and set off on our way up 9W, planning to do about 20 miles and then turn around. I forgot to start my watch but realized fairly quickly and started tracking, but I was trying my base salts for the first time and planning to take them when my watched beeped every 5 miles however my watch was beeping every mile. (At no point did my brain say to me "Wait it only beeps every mile on RUN mode").
We found a nice flat parking lot and I was able to practice getting into and riding in my aero bars, things started out very shaky but Jaime gave some great advice to put my weight back and let me abs absorb the shock instead of my shoulders. Once I leaned back things felt more comfortable and we set back off on our way. I may have taken us past some tree pruning which was a little nerve wrecking and we may have almost gotten on a highway but I did managed to admittedly stumble on the coffee shop in Nyack where everyone meets up!
After checking out the GPS we decided to go back a different way so we rode down to the water and then realized we missed our turn so we went to ride back and were smack dab in a hill. I was in my big ring and at first couldn't change to the small ring, I freaked a bit and felt VERY clipped in (I felt like I was going to fall and couldn't even get my foot out) but I was able to get into that little ring and shift properly to get up the hill. SUCCESS!
We made a few stops on the way back so I could check the GPS but luckily Jaime is nice and calm and not type A. There are some beautiful river views and nice houses in that area and I was able to get in and out of aero bars several times on nice flat roads, even with cars! After the horrible hill climb back up to Englewood cliffs I realized that I had inadvertently taken us the safer route to cross over 9W instead of having to make a left off the road, score!
Riding the GW back was a bit heart attack inducing as there were a lot more people out and about including walkers who were not looking to see bikes and did not listen when you yelled 'On your left!' I had a near miss through one of the tower sections and I decided to walk the ramp. The cross city ride was dangerous, people have no idea the actual rules of the road or they just don't care at all and I had a close call with an impatient taxi driver but I made it back in one piece!
All in all I felt it was a very successful day and training peaks thought I had run a 3 minute mile so it agreed today was ground breaking...ironman fail. :-)
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Training Weekend Rundown
Months ago it was mentioned on Facebook they would be doing a free training weekend in Chattanooga. Knowing that I am super Type A I decided that it would be money well spent to head down and get the chance to train on the course I will see in September. I felt that seeing and feeling the elevation would mean more to me than a map. Frankly on previous races I never spent much time looking at course maps so this is a first for me.
Day 1 Thursday
I borrowed a HUGE bike case and had Scottie taken apart and packed, we were supposed to fly to Charlotte but our flight got canceled due to storms so we headed to Atlanta. Scottie got on the first flight out but I ended up stuck at Laguardia for hours waiting for another flight. I finally landed in Atlanta, reunited with Scottie and then rented a car to drive 2 hours to Chattanooga. The drive was fairly uneventful other than periods of blinding rain! I arrived about 2am to my friend, Catherine's house.
Day 2 Friday
A noon ride of the course was on the menu but first Scottie needed to be put together so I located a bike shop downtown and headed over to have them reconstruct my bike. They did a pretty good job (the bike shop that took it apart made sure to put tape markings) however the aero bars were definitely not right but since I am not really used to them it didn't matter too much. I headed to the meet up point and luckily my new pal Melissa had a jug of water for me. We filled up our bottles and I hoped for the best as it was HOT and HUMID and I wasn't feeling so prepared for that. The group set off right at noon and I knew I was severely out gunned pretty quickly. I feel bad with the intention of just doing my own thing but at a stop light they waited for me and once I caught up I told them to just go ahead. At this point my heart rate was almost 190 and I was getting very overheated, sweating like a crazy and having some trouble breathing.
Once they went ahead and dropped me (about 5 miles in) I pulled to the side and texted coach who of course dropped some knowledge and then yelled at me to do my own thing. Unfortunately I had overdone it at the start so it was a little hard to get things back together but I ended up doing about 26 miles. I beat myself up the WHOLE time, I was frustrated, there were tears, and I was convinced I was going to let everyone down but I kept riding. Once I got the bike all back into the car I decided to think about the positives; the ucan worked like a charm with no issues even with the heat, I had gone down all the hills without needing to feather my brakes, I had ridden all alone in an unfamiliar place and hadn't just gone right back. Basically my bike confidence had actually improved even though it did not feel that way.
I went home, took a shower and promptly passed out on the bed in the deepest sleep of my life! I even still had the towel wrapped around my head, I am really surprised my friend did not take any photos. We went and picked up my packet for the swim Saturday and then had some yummy BBQ!
Day 3 Saturday
The morning started off with a 2.4 mile swim in the river and I was NERVOUS but I managed to not throw up which was pretty impressive. Luckily both Melissa and Ann were doing the swim so having people to hang out with on the little bus up to the start calmed me a bit. We started at a dock in front of a BEAUTIFUL house that overlooks the river but there was a delay in the start which did little to help my nerves and made me wish I had brought water. People were in wet suits but I had opted to go tri suit because I'm positive that IM chattanooga will not be wetsuit legal.
As people were jumping in the water I heard them complaining it was cold and someone had advised me the day before that it wasn't very clean. This is where I was reminded everything is relative. The water felt amazing on my skin since I am used to swimming in 58 degree water so far this year and I could not only see my own hands as I swam but I could see the feet of the people in front of me! The start was a little confusing but once I got into a nice groove (after some prompting from Ann) I felt great. My swim workouts have definitely improved my swim fitness and also my patience with the sport, for the first time I never checked my watch to see how long I had been in the water. I did not have a single panic attack and I never rolled to my back for the first race EVER. I did end up almost in the middle of the river and had to be prompted by a canoe guy to get back on course...oops. Towards the end I saw the finish and I decided to sprint which my left calf did not feel like doing and it completely cramped up but even then I did not freak and after some solo right leg kicks then no kicks I was able to get the cramp out enough to walk out. I ended up swimming 2.74 miles due to my little tour and the current was definitely on our side so I was very happy with my time even with the cramp. Note to self HYDRATE!!!
Post swim we took a little 4 mile walk around part of the run course because I was explicitly told NOT to run and I am behaving. It didn't feel too bad and goes through a neighborhood and then along the river that we just swam in which is kind of fun.
Day 4 Sunday
The goal was to tackle one full loop of the bike course and the start time was moved earlier due to the oppressive heat. We set out with the C group and it was a much more enjoyable ride. The course is very beauitiful and the hills are not bad compared to what I see in Jersey which gave me some confidence. Again my ucan worked very well in the new bottles I was testing out, basically I used the bottles from my run hydration belt mixing the ucan with a little water. I did have nuun in my water bottles but ended up trying some base salts finally. I actually really liked the base salts and came home to order some. I also tried out some new toe socks at the recommendation of my friend and I have ordered some of those too!
The ride went well and we averaged somewhere in the neighborhood of 15mph, one down hill I was up to 30mph! That one will be fun on race day although I am nervous about how crowded it might be with other bikes. For the most part cars were respectful but we had a few close calls on some of the smaller roads where cars didn't wait to have time to pass.
Summary
I am so happy I went down to see the course and after my mini meltdown the weekend provided me exactly what I wanted. I met people I will be racing with and formed friendships (including some that I have known online but never in person), I got to see and experience the course, I tested out my nutrition plan (now to make tweaks), I feel 100% more confident about the swim and I did another travel weekend alone including lugging around the huge bike case that caused me to get quite a few stares and people saying "That is such a huge case for a little girl." You should have seen their faces when I explained it was my bike and I was training for an ironman, so much for calling me a little girl...that's little bad ass to you thank you very much! :)
Day 1 Thursday
I borrowed a HUGE bike case and had Scottie taken apart and packed, we were supposed to fly to Charlotte but our flight got canceled due to storms so we headed to Atlanta. Scottie got on the first flight out but I ended up stuck at Laguardia for hours waiting for another flight. I finally landed in Atlanta, reunited with Scottie and then rented a car to drive 2 hours to Chattanooga. The drive was fairly uneventful other than periods of blinding rain! I arrived about 2am to my friend, Catherine's house.
Day 2 Friday
A noon ride of the course was on the menu but first Scottie needed to be put together so I located a bike shop downtown and headed over to have them reconstruct my bike. They did a pretty good job (the bike shop that took it apart made sure to put tape markings) however the aero bars were definitely not right but since I am not really used to them it didn't matter too much. I headed to the meet up point and luckily my new pal Melissa had a jug of water for me. We filled up our bottles and I hoped for the best as it was HOT and HUMID and I wasn't feeling so prepared for that. The group set off right at noon and I knew I was severely out gunned pretty quickly. I feel bad with the intention of just doing my own thing but at a stop light they waited for me and once I caught up I told them to just go ahead. At this point my heart rate was almost 190 and I was getting very overheated, sweating like a crazy and having some trouble breathing.
Once they went ahead and dropped me (about 5 miles in) I pulled to the side and texted coach who of course dropped some knowledge and then yelled at me to do my own thing. Unfortunately I had overdone it at the start so it was a little hard to get things back together but I ended up doing about 26 miles. I beat myself up the WHOLE time, I was frustrated, there were tears, and I was convinced I was going to let everyone down but I kept riding. Once I got the bike all back into the car I decided to think about the positives; the ucan worked like a charm with no issues even with the heat, I had gone down all the hills without needing to feather my brakes, I had ridden all alone in an unfamiliar place and hadn't just gone right back. Basically my bike confidence had actually improved even though it did not feel that way.
I went home, took a shower and promptly passed out on the bed in the deepest sleep of my life! I even still had the towel wrapped around my head, I am really surprised my friend did not take any photos. We went and picked up my packet for the swim Saturday and then had some yummy BBQ!
Day 3 Saturday
The morning started off with a 2.4 mile swim in the river and I was NERVOUS but I managed to not throw up which was pretty impressive. Luckily both Melissa and Ann were doing the swim so having people to hang out with on the little bus up to the start calmed me a bit. We started at a dock in front of a BEAUTIFUL house that overlooks the river but there was a delay in the start which did little to help my nerves and made me wish I had brought water. People were in wet suits but I had opted to go tri suit because I'm positive that IM chattanooga will not be wetsuit legal.
As people were jumping in the water I heard them complaining it was cold and someone had advised me the day before that it wasn't very clean. This is where I was reminded everything is relative. The water felt amazing on my skin since I am used to swimming in 58 degree water so far this year and I could not only see my own hands as I swam but I could see the feet of the people in front of me! The start was a little confusing but once I got into a nice groove (after some prompting from Ann) I felt great. My swim workouts have definitely improved my swim fitness and also my patience with the sport, for the first time I never checked my watch to see how long I had been in the water. I did not have a single panic attack and I never rolled to my back for the first race EVER. I did end up almost in the middle of the river and had to be prompted by a canoe guy to get back on course...oops. Towards the end I saw the finish and I decided to sprint which my left calf did not feel like doing and it completely cramped up but even then I did not freak and after some solo right leg kicks then no kicks I was able to get the cramp out enough to walk out. I ended up swimming 2.74 miles due to my little tour and the current was definitely on our side so I was very happy with my time even with the cramp. Note to self HYDRATE!!!
Day 4 Sunday
The ride went well and we averaged somewhere in the neighborhood of 15mph, one down hill I was up to 30mph! That one will be fun on race day although I am nervous about how crowded it might be with other bikes. For the most part cars were respectful but we had a few close calls on some of the smaller roads where cars didn't wait to have time to pass.
Summary
I am so happy I went down to see the course and after my mini meltdown the weekend provided me exactly what I wanted. I met people I will be racing with and formed friendships (including some that I have known online but never in person), I got to see and experience the course, I tested out my nutrition plan (now to make tweaks), I feel 100% more confident about the swim and I did another travel weekend alone including lugging around the huge bike case that caused me to get quite a few stares and people saying "That is such a huge case for a little girl." You should have seen their faces when I explained it was my bike and I was training for an ironman, so much for calling me a little girl...that's little bad ass to you thank you very much! :)
Thursday, May 28, 2015
BIG SUR Race Recap
April 26th, 2015 we ran the famous Big Sur Marathon
Leading up to the marathon we learned that my Aunt Rita was not doing very well so I picked hot pink as well as a headband that said "Save them all big and small" to run in her honor. My first marathon was run in Packy's honor so it made sense to honor Aunt Rita. Big Sur was on my list after my friend Marci mentioned it in 2014 about the time registration was already sold out. We knew that 2015 was going to be our year and had alerts set for the 4 different days they would allow a couple hundred spots.
I signed up for this race while wearing a boot and unsure when I would be allowed to run. Smart? eh probably not but I REALLY wanted to go see California for the first time and it seemed so far away time wise. Coming towards the race I wasn't allowed to run in January as expected and the weeks faded away faster than my tan lines (let's face it my bike tan lines will NEVER fade). ANYWAY my longest run pre-marathon was 10 miles, recommended? NO. But hey who likes to follow things like recommendations.
I left to San Fran with the express orders to enjoy, take selfies and not over do it.
How could I not stop and enjoy the view!?
The race starts at 6:40am and you have to take a bus to the start, the buses leave at 3am because they have to drive the whole course and make it back before the roads close. I woke up at 2:30am to have my hot cereal and then packed a bagel and my prerace Ucan in a throw away bag. It was chilly and I really should have taken advantage of the bag check or brought a throw away shirt but I didn't think how cold it would be. The bus ride was pitch black and it was kind of eerie to drive the course and know the long downhills would equate to LONG uphills on the run later.
We had fun waiting and reading silly signs on porta potties and talking to other runners and then suddenly it was time! As the sun started to rise I realized we were by a HUGE mountain and the view was breathtaking to think it had been there in the darkness the whole time. The race started with a nice rolling downhill and I tried to keep to a good consistent pace. I knew that the 600 foot elevation climb starting mile 10 and ending mile 12 was going to be my prime opportunity to walk and take my second Ucan dose so I tried to keep consistent running until then with one bathroom break.
If I am speaking honestly my foot/ankle started bothering me about mile 6ish but nothing horrible that made me think I should stop. Was this a smart call? Maybe not but hey we each make our own journey and on this day I thought about my Aunt and how she had been facing immense pain and still going to work daily. The incline at mile 10 proved even greater than I had imagined and it was a fabulous time to take my ucan and reflect. My half marathon split was 2:38 which give the elevation gain was very respectable.
The wheels kind of came off a bit after that and I slowed for sure as my foot bothered me a bit more. By mile 20 I took advil from a delightful runner I had met who was completing a marathon in her 49th state. Wow the people you meet can be so inspiring during these things. About mile 21 which was near a cut off I met two girls who were doing their first marathon and the one was near tears convinced she wasn't going to finish. At that point I decided doing a run walk with them to encourage them through the wall was my purpose.
At mile 23 I had the most amazing strawberry I have EVER tasted in my entire life coupled with some fabulous cheering and ponies in tutus. The crowd support was amazing considering there was no real way to get to the course unless you live along the Pacific Coast Highway. The view were amazing, nature is so powerful and beautiful and it was the perfect setting for the introspection that I needed to do.
I ran my heart out across that finish line, all the pain from my ankles was gone and I threw my hands up in the air and I had an even greater feeling than my first. About 2200 feet of total elevation gain is no joke, I knew I was undertrained, I knew I just wanted to finish and I did. It gave me a lot of confidence going into the ironman that I can gut out a marathon even when everything hurts. My Ucan worked very well, I started to get a bit hungry towards the end but it took me a bit longer than I had planned. Still working on the overall Ironman nutrition plan but feeling pretty dialed in.
Probably the coolest medal ever.
I HIGHLY recommend Big Sur but HILL TRAIN. The elevation is no joke but the view and people totally make up for it. The road is very slanted and at times will probably cause some hip issues, especially toward the end. The down hill grades can be very steep and I believe caused my ankle issues. I think starting next year they are turning it into a total lottery but sign on up, I highly recommend it if you like a spring marathon!
My videographer and support!
I called after the race to tell my aunt that I finished and she passed away a few hours later. I know I honored her and continue to honor her by not slacking and never giving up, just the way she lived.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
FOUR months!!
I promise that a Big Sur Race report is coming but not today.
Four months from today will be Ironman Chattanooga! I'm glad that as a gift to myself today I had a great swim, I even figured out what 'breakthrough' in training peaks means and checked it. The day really started off like any other, except I hadn't slept well the night before so I was pretty nervous about my stamina for such a long swim. The walk to the pool was steamy due to humidity so sliding in the cool water felt amazing instead of the freezing cold sensation for most the past months.
From my first 400 warm up I felt great, everything was in sync, arms were doing what they needed to, kicking was on point, kept the core sucked in and breathing was great. I never felt like I got out of that groove and the whole swim went by pretty quickly well except for the SPRINTS that Jax so nicely added at the end when I was already tired and whoa nelly. I'm pretty sure my brain said to me "Why are you trying to drown?" I did get a slight cramp in my right calf during the second to last sprint but was able to get it to go away in my ten second break between sprints.
I hate single arm drills, because they suck but also because they are missing from the Garmin ;)
I do feel my swimming is improving, I would like to see the per 100 meter average go below 2 minutes but that is a lot to ask.
I will however have to change my response when people say, "What is your swim time goal for Chattanooga?" because right now I say "Not dead". I guess it might be time to come up with a time goal.
The tool my dad built me to track my sets is so helpful because in my 8 sets of 75 I would ALWAYS lose track but now I can easily look and know which number I'm on.
All in all I am not feeling where I wanted to be at this time in my training BUT I do feel I am where I can be for what my body is allowing. Coming up in June I will be venturing to Chattanooga for a training weekend on the course and I feel like this will be the true test of my mental state.
That's all for now but I promise I have some good ideas for blog posts running around in my head and I'll post them soon! (Especially now that I know people are reading! haha)
Four months from today will be Ironman Chattanooga! I'm glad that as a gift to myself today I had a great swim, I even figured out what 'breakthrough' in training peaks means and checked it. The day really started off like any other, except I hadn't slept well the night before so I was pretty nervous about my stamina for such a long swim. The walk to the pool was steamy due to humidity so sliding in the cool water felt amazing instead of the freezing cold sensation for most the past months.
From my first 400 warm up I felt great, everything was in sync, arms were doing what they needed to, kicking was on point, kept the core sucked in and breathing was great. I never felt like I got out of that groove and the whole swim went by pretty quickly well except for the SPRINTS that Jax so nicely added at the end when I was already tired and whoa nelly. I'm pretty sure my brain said to me "Why are you trying to drown?" I did get a slight cramp in my right calf during the second to last sprint but was able to get it to go away in my ten second break between sprints.I hate single arm drills, because they suck but also because they are missing from the Garmin ;)
I do feel my swimming is improving, I would like to see the per 100 meter average go below 2 minutes but that is a lot to ask.
I will however have to change my response when people say, "What is your swim time goal for Chattanooga?" because right now I say "Not dead". I guess it might be time to come up with a time goal.
The tool my dad built me to track my sets is so helpful because in my 8 sets of 75 I would ALWAYS lose track but now I can easily look and know which number I'm on.
All in all I am not feeling where I wanted to be at this time in my training BUT I do feel I am where I can be for what my body is allowing. Coming up in June I will be venturing to Chattanooga for a training weekend on the course and I feel like this will be the true test of my mental state.
That's all for now but I promise I have some good ideas for blog posts running around in my head and I'll post them soon! (Especially now that I know people are reading! haha)
Thursday, May 7, 2015
May!? NO WAY
The month of April was a bit difficult for me and was another month of inconsistent training, this time due to nagging foot/calf pain and a complete meltdown.
Was it crazy to sign up for an Ironman so soon after becoming a triathlete? Probably
Is it completely INSANE to also take on a new role at work while Ironman Training? DEFINITELY
Throw in a new relationship, a need to move in to a new apartment the month before your race, timezone travel, lack of sleep and some reoccuring foot pain and BOOM you have a complete meltdown on your hands. One day I managed to throw away my license, credit card and $50 after a run because I tried to hastily clean up my apartment. This resulted in me sobbing into my cell phone while digging through the huge trash bags in front my apartment. Luckily Z is the most patient person alive and talked me into just going back inside to order a new credit card and license.
I spent a lot of the time icing my leg to prepare for Big Sur and sleeping instead of working out. They say that rest and recovery are also important disciplines of training but when you are doing them they feel counter productive. All I could think about is the looming race which is counter productive to getting rest.
A race update for Big Sur is coming and at some point I promise to find more time to blog.
Here are the rather disappointing April Numbers; here is hoping to a more consistent May...
Was it crazy to sign up for an Ironman so soon after becoming a triathlete? Probably
Is it completely INSANE to also take on a new role at work while Ironman Training? DEFINITELY
Throw in a new relationship, a need to move in to a new apartment the month before your race, timezone travel, lack of sleep and some reoccuring foot pain and BOOM you have a complete meltdown on your hands. One day I managed to throw away my license, credit card and $50 after a run because I tried to hastily clean up my apartment. This resulted in me sobbing into my cell phone while digging through the huge trash bags in front my apartment. Luckily Z is the most patient person alive and talked me into just going back inside to order a new credit card and license.
I spent a lot of the time icing my leg to prepare for Big Sur and sleeping instead of working out. They say that rest and recovery are also important disciplines of training but when you are doing them they feel counter productive. All I could think about is the looming race which is counter productive to getting rest.
A race update for Big Sur is coming and at some point I promise to find more time to blog.
Here are the rather disappointing April Numbers; here is hoping to a more consistent May...
January Totals: Feb: March:
Swim: 9,801 meters 18,756 yards 8,625 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles 123.5 Miles 92.76 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles 13.5 (Alter G) 24.8 miles
Total Miles: 56.71 Total Miles: 147.6 Total: 122.92 miles
Swim: 9,801 meters 18,756 yards 8,625 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles 123.5 Miles 92.76 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles 13.5 (Alter G) 24.8 miles
Total Miles: 56.71 Total Miles: 147.6 Total: 122.92 miles
April Totals:
Swim: 7,464 yards
Bike: 67.58 miles
Run: 53.58 miles
Total miles: 125.4
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Six Month Countdown...Bye March
Wait, where is the calendar going? The days are FLYING by, what do you mean I will be doing an Ironman in less than 6 months?
March was a dicey month with travel and sickness. We were away at the beach which was FABULOUS at the start of the month and then in the middle drove down to my family's home to celebrate my birthday. While we were away for my birthday I wasn't feeling my best and turns out I had a sinus infection which severely hampered my training efforts obviously as I just struggled to breathe and work. I would love to have a solid month of training under my belt sooner than later.
I need to be better about blogging as well! I have tons of topics floating around my head but with work and trying to keep myself on my training schedule I'm stretched a little thin.
Nutrition changes are going very well and I need to sit down and write what I have changed up so far and how I think it is impacting me. I need to be better about this in the long run but I'm starting small to make sure I stick with it.
I need to stay healthy for April, hit more of my workouts and blog more! Updates to come :)
March was a dicey month with travel and sickness. We were away at the beach which was FABULOUS at the start of the month and then in the middle drove down to my family's home to celebrate my birthday. While we were away for my birthday I wasn't feeling my best and turns out I had a sinus infection which severely hampered my training efforts obviously as I just struggled to breathe and work. I would love to have a solid month of training under my belt sooner than later.
I need to be better about blogging as well! I have tons of topics floating around my head but with work and trying to keep myself on my training schedule I'm stretched a little thin.
Nutrition changes are going very well and I need to sit down and write what I have changed up so far and how I think it is impacting me. I need to be better about this in the long run but I'm starting small to make sure I stick with it.
I need to stay healthy for April, hit more of my workouts and blog more! Updates to come :)
January Totals:
Swim: 9,801 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles
Total Miles: 56.71
Swim: 9,801 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles
Total Miles: 56.71
February Totals
Swim :18,756 yards
Bike: 123.5 miles
Run (Alter G) 13.5 Miles
Total Miles: 147.6 (now I just need to do most of that distance in one day :-P)
Total Miles: 147.6 (now I just need to do most of that distance in one day :-P)
March Totals:
Swim: 8,625 m
Bike: 92.76 miles
Run: 24.8 miles
Total miles: 122.92
Saturday, March 7, 2015
The devil is in the details
How many times a day do you find yourself thinking, "I wish I was as skinny as that person" or maybe "I wish I was as fast or as strong." The risks of comparing yourself without the full details is that you don't know how often that person trains to be that fast, how many years it took them of 5am work outs, you don't know if that skinny person feels terribly about themselves or if they struggle to put on weight.
A few weeks ago I did metabolic testing to give myself some valuable knowledge as I forge ahead with Ironman training. I wanted to find out my exact heart rate zones so I could heart rate train properly as well as find out my body fat percentage and my metabolic rate just for extra information. I wasn't very shocked to learn my body fat percentage but when I shared the information with some friends they seemed very surprised to learn the number and the response was always "but you are so skinny."
Let's start with what is your body fat percentage? Your body fat percentage is your total mass of fat divided by your total mass. There is a certain level of essential fat in your body that is necessary for life functions and that percentage is different in men and women. For men they must have 3-5% for life functions, women must have 8-12% for normal life functions. Please note I am not a doctor, I did not stay at a holiday inn express last night and nothing I am talking about is intended to be medical advice!
My number is....drumroll...27.5%. This puts me in the average range for women and I would ideally like to be in the fitness range and I believe I can make the necessary changes to get there before Chattanooga. This is not my BMI, personally I don't think BMI is every really accurate because it only uses your height and weight not actual information about your body fat. Let's explore a little bit about why my body fat percentage is 27.5% and what it means. Where your body fat is stored is more important than the number of how much you have. Of course we have all heard "a moment on the lips forever on the hips" some people carry their body fat on the thighs, hips and butt, some carry it around the middle and some have visceral fat which is stored around the organs. Unfortunately for me I have the later so I'm what you might call skinny fat and now I need to make some changes.
Every day your body burns calories just to exist and that is your metabolism at work, I learned that my metabolism is 12% faster than the average person my age, height and weight. Essentially I burn 12% more calories just to exist and then add in all my work outs and I need to ensure I am taking in enough calories to sustain life. That my friends is how someone gets skinny fat, they don't eat enough calories so their body thinks it is in a famine and begins to store fat for when the food runs out. My focus in the coming weeks will be on ensuring I get to at least 2100 good calories per day, proper fueling before work outs and proper refueling with protein after work outs.
My avoidance of nutrition has gone on long enough and I need to take it seriously to make sure I get the results that I want from Chattanooga. Nutrition can make or break race day, the devil will be in those details and I want to make sure I set myself up for success.
My avoidance of nutrition has gone on long enough and I need to take it seriously to make sure I get the results that I want from Chattanooga. Nutrition can make or break race day, the devil will be in those details and I want to make sure I set myself up for success.
January Totals:
Swim: 9,801 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles
Total Miles: 56.71 (if my math is correct)
Swim: 9,801 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles
Total Miles: 56.71 (if my math is correct)
February Totals
Swim :18,756 yards
Bike: 123.5 miles
Run (Alter G) 13.5 Miles
Total Miles: 147.6 (now I just need to do most of that distance in one day :-P)
Total Miles: 147.6 (now I just need to do most of that distance in one day :-P)
Thursday, February 5, 2015
What does impressive even mean?
This is going to be a bit stream of conscious so I apologize ahead of time.
Today after a rather trying day at work I was invited to happy hour which of course I declined by saying I had swim tonight so I couldn't go. The person said "oh are you training for something?". I said, "yes, an ironman." My coworker responded, "Wow that is so great, you are extremely impressive." Here's the thing I was NOT feeling impressive today, I wasn't even feeling semi-impressive.
I woke up this morning and started my day as I have the past week, with 100 bicycle crunches, hey I'm going to the beach in three weeks and sometimes you have to be concerned with the vanity muscles :-) I must say though I am not noticing much of a difference.
I headed to Performance Health to run on the Alter G for 30 minutes and three miles later I was feeling pretty good. Off to work where well let's leave the details out but say it has been challenging lately.
After work it was manual therapy at 7pm, you might think oh that sounds like a massage, Katrina you are crazy that sounds delightful. No, no it is not delightful. Over the past several months Jason, my therapist has unceremoniously torn my tendons apart from one another after they fused together. Generally I wither in pain and leave with bruised skin and actual finger impressions. Today after messing with the foot for a bit he moved to a calf cramp that has been plaguing me. Don't get me wrong after I feel better, during I wonder what the heck I'm doing to myself while trying not to try to punch him. After I get this body buffing thing which is kind of relaxing and at least dulls the pain, then I had to sort my schedule which many times feels like another job.
At this point I was exhausted and NOT feeling like swimming, it was freezing, I was tired and in pain. I texted my delightful coach to tell me to get my butt to the pool and she obliged. Dragging myself to the tram to Roosevelt island it was freezing and I thought to myself in September this is the night you are going to think back to and know you are ready. You are dragging yourself to the pool because you have a goal and a dream and you have to put in the time to get there even on the days you don't want to.
Swimming just doesn't provide me the stress relief of other work outs and I don't understand why. For 1600 meters in between horrible coughing fits I tried to convince myself that the water was washing away the worries of the day. It wasn't the prettiest but it wasn't the worst and hey it was a work out completed.
When I got back to my locker I had a simple text that made me smile, "How was your swim?" I have a sherpa, he even timed my intervals during my trainer session yesterday, I'm so lucky. I'm pretty sure I would not be so happy if I didn't have him helping me to keep balance.
Then I came home to a card from my first and most loyal sherpa, MOMMY.
Today I didn't feel impressive. I did suck it up and go workout even though I just wanted to sleep, does that make me impressive? I certainly think the people in my life that support me and deal with me on a regular basis are impressive.
Today after a rather trying day at work I was invited to happy hour which of course I declined by saying I had swim tonight so I couldn't go. The person said "oh are you training for something?". I said, "yes, an ironman." My coworker responded, "Wow that is so great, you are extremely impressive." Here's the thing I was NOT feeling impressive today, I wasn't even feeling semi-impressive.
I woke up this morning and started my day as I have the past week, with 100 bicycle crunches, hey I'm going to the beach in three weeks and sometimes you have to be concerned with the vanity muscles :-) I must say though I am not noticing much of a difference.
I headed to Performance Health to run on the Alter G for 30 minutes and three miles later I was feeling pretty good. Off to work where well let's leave the details out but say it has been challenging lately.
After work it was manual therapy at 7pm, you might think oh that sounds like a massage, Katrina you are crazy that sounds delightful. No, no it is not delightful. Over the past several months Jason, my therapist has unceremoniously torn my tendons apart from one another after they fused together. Generally I wither in pain and leave with bruised skin and actual finger impressions. Today after messing with the foot for a bit he moved to a calf cramp that has been plaguing me. Don't get me wrong after I feel better, during I wonder what the heck I'm doing to myself while trying not to try to punch him. After I get this body buffing thing which is kind of relaxing and at least dulls the pain, then I had to sort my schedule which many times feels like another job.
Swimming just doesn't provide me the stress relief of other work outs and I don't understand why. For 1600 meters in between horrible coughing fits I tried to convince myself that the water was washing away the worries of the day. It wasn't the prettiest but it wasn't the worst and hey it was a work out completed.
When I got back to my locker I had a simple text that made me smile, "How was your swim?" I have a sherpa, he even timed my intervals during my trainer session yesterday, I'm so lucky. I'm pretty sure I would not be so happy if I didn't have him helping me to keep balance.
Then I came home to a card from my first and most loyal sherpa, MOMMY.
Today I didn't feel impressive. I did suck it up and go workout even though I just wanted to sleep, does that make me impressive? I certainly think the people in my life that support me and deal with me on a regular basis are impressive.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Don't give up on a goal because of the time it will take, time passes anyway...
January 2015 is just a memory...are you happy with how the new year is going? Where do you stand with your goals?
I find it better to set small monthly goals rather than overall year goals at the start of the year. Breaking things into smaller portions makes you more likely to meet the challenges and remember it takes 21 days to build a routine!
January brought my new coach into my life which has started the path of consistent post foot saga workouts. I had my last round of biopuncture and have now started to see some promising results with the foot during swim and cycle work outs. The alter G has let me do some runs at up to 90% of my body weight and I wait to hear tomorrow that I can run on a regular treadmill. Progress is slow but consistent at least.
Recently I saw that some people were giving the year a word, sort of defining how they plan to look at the year. I have chosen patience because I believe it not only stands for my training but also my personal life. The title of this blog is a quote that has been on my mind a lot over the past years as I struggled with setting on a new path. The time will pass anyway, don't spend so much of your day looking so far into the future, live in the now where time is currently passing. Don't put something off because it requires too much effort or time because that time will pass anyway and you won't have an accomplishment to show.
It feels great to be getting to a point of "real" training and I can't wait, oh wait yes I can be patient to see the gains from training come slowly over the next months leading up to Big Sur which is my first race of the year. Sometimes we get so caught up in the future we don't enjoy the now enough and I'm going to try and be better. Racing tends to lead us to always look ahead to the next race but we need to recognize each work out and what it means to building us into athletes.
I set up nutrition tracking much to my chagrin but I wanted to at least track calories to make sure my training is fueled properly. I have started cooking my weekly meals again to make sure I'm not spending a lot of money to eat unhealthy food at lunch.
Here's to patience and my second word for the year, happiness. Patience with myself will lead to complete happiness. Patience with training and not rushing into things will make sure that my foot is fully healed. A wise man told me "in the scheme of 8 months, 2 weeks is a drop in the bucket".
What word describes your year? How can you set small goals to make that word a reality?
January Totals:
Swim: 9,801 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles
Total Miles: 56.71 (if my math is correct)
Total Workouts: 28
I find it better to set small monthly goals rather than overall year goals at the start of the year. Breaking things into smaller portions makes you more likely to meet the challenges and remember it takes 21 days to build a routine!
January brought my new coach into my life which has started the path of consistent post foot saga workouts. I had my last round of biopuncture and have now started to see some promising results with the foot during swim and cycle work outs. The alter G has let me do some runs at up to 90% of my body weight and I wait to hear tomorrow that I can run on a regular treadmill. Progress is slow but consistent at least.
Recently I saw that some people were giving the year a word, sort of defining how they plan to look at the year. I have chosen patience because I believe it not only stands for my training but also my personal life. The title of this blog is a quote that has been on my mind a lot over the past years as I struggled with setting on a new path. The time will pass anyway, don't spend so much of your day looking so far into the future, live in the now where time is currently passing. Don't put something off because it requires too much effort or time because that time will pass anyway and you won't have an accomplishment to show.
It feels great to be getting to a point of "real" training and I can't wait, oh wait yes I can be patient to see the gains from training come slowly over the next months leading up to Big Sur which is my first race of the year. Sometimes we get so caught up in the future we don't enjoy the now enough and I'm going to try and be better. Racing tends to lead us to always look ahead to the next race but we need to recognize each work out and what it means to building us into athletes.
I set up nutrition tracking much to my chagrin but I wanted to at least track calories to make sure my training is fueled properly. I have started cooking my weekly meals again to make sure I'm not spending a lot of money to eat unhealthy food at lunch.
Here's to patience and my second word for the year, happiness. Patience with myself will lead to complete happiness. Patience with training and not rushing into things will make sure that my foot is fully healed. A wise man told me "in the scheme of 8 months, 2 weeks is a drop in the bucket".
What word describes your year? How can you set small goals to make that word a reality?
January Totals:
Swim: 9,801 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles
Total Miles: 56.71 (if my math is correct)
Total Workouts: 28
Saturday, January 24, 2015
A single step forward is still progress...
"Don't try to rush progress. Remember-- a step forward, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction."
Coach sent this to me this week and it was perfect for how I was feeling after an extremely long recovery and no real progress in my opinion. My second metatarsal in my left foot was broken on May 17th, of course I didn't go the doctor about it until July so that was my bad but it is JANUARY! I watch the countdown clock click down closer and closer to IM Chattanooga (245 Days) and I'm trying not to freak out but it is hard not to look at what other people are doing training wise and get concerned.
Rule number 1: STOP LOOKING AT OTHER PEOPLE. Why do we waste so much of our time comparing ourselves to others? Sometimes we even say oh well we are using it as motivation when in reality we are using it to make ourselves feel badly about what we can't do. I need to stop looking at other people and comparing my workouts, looking at their stats and seeing that mine don't measure up and then stressing about it. I am coming back from an injury, I need to respect my body and the process of healing and recovery which leads to rule 2.
Rule number 2: Respect the Process. Stop expecting to be right back where I was when I got injured. It took months of training to get me where I was when I got hurt and I can't really expect to be right back there after months of no training. My brain seems confused as it thinks I should be putting up the same splits and same endurance. I have to start back small and gradually, another reason I got a coach to make sure I don't over do it and get hurt.
Rule number 3: Remember healing takes time. This one doesn't even just apply to training but to all aspects of life. The PRP injections were extremely painful and took between 6-10 weeks for the full effect to be felt. Patience is not my strong suit and I wanted immediate relief and results. Now I am 14 weeks out from the very first round and finally I can say that the foot is healed. At manual therapy on Thursday at Performance Health my therapist said those blissful words, it seems healed. Ahh I think I heard a choir of angels. Often times we find ourselves wanting to fast forward through the hard and trying times but in reality those are the times we learn the most about ourselves and those around us. I think walking around the city in that boot after the PRP injections was worse pain than any work out or race I have ever done. Trying to walk down the stairs from my third floor apartment with my trash actually reduced me to tears more than once, those walking boots are impossible on stairs!
Rule number 4: "Take it easy" to quote the new man in my life. Starting slowly to get back into a routine of working out 6 days a week, just single workouts for now but I forgot how tired it makes me. New training schedule coupled with some really intense hours at work and I am completely exhausted but very happy. My routine involves icing every single night and so far this week it feels we have turned a corner although I am taking it easy and still mostly wearing sneakers at work.
Rule number 5: Don't forget to enjoy the journey. Every single small step is part of the journey and if you aren't enjoying the journey then you aren't enjoying life. Here's to an amazing next 245 days of accomplishments leading up to Ironman Chattanooga.
Coach sent this to me this week and it was perfect for how I was feeling after an extremely long recovery and no real progress in my opinion. My second metatarsal in my left foot was broken on May 17th, of course I didn't go the doctor about it until July so that was my bad but it is JANUARY! I watch the countdown clock click down closer and closer to IM Chattanooga (245 Days) and I'm trying not to freak out but it is hard not to look at what other people are doing training wise and get concerned.
Rule number 1: STOP LOOKING AT OTHER PEOPLE. Why do we waste so much of our time comparing ourselves to others? Sometimes we even say oh well we are using it as motivation when in reality we are using it to make ourselves feel badly about what we can't do. I need to stop looking at other people and comparing my workouts, looking at their stats and seeing that mine don't measure up and then stressing about it. I am coming back from an injury, I need to respect my body and the process of healing and recovery which leads to rule 2.
Rule number 2: Respect the Process. Stop expecting to be right back where I was when I got injured. It took months of training to get me where I was when I got hurt and I can't really expect to be right back there after months of no training. My brain seems confused as it thinks I should be putting up the same splits and same endurance. I have to start back small and gradually, another reason I got a coach to make sure I don't over do it and get hurt.
Rule number 3: Remember healing takes time. This one doesn't even just apply to training but to all aspects of life. The PRP injections were extremely painful and took between 6-10 weeks for the full effect to be felt. Patience is not my strong suit and I wanted immediate relief and results. Now I am 14 weeks out from the very first round and finally I can say that the foot is healed. At manual therapy on Thursday at Performance Health my therapist said those blissful words, it seems healed. Ahh I think I heard a choir of angels. Often times we find ourselves wanting to fast forward through the hard and trying times but in reality those are the times we learn the most about ourselves and those around us. I think walking around the city in that boot after the PRP injections was worse pain than any work out or race I have ever done. Trying to walk down the stairs from my third floor apartment with my trash actually reduced me to tears more than once, those walking boots are impossible on stairs!
Rule number 4: "Take it easy" to quote the new man in my life. Starting slowly to get back into a routine of working out 6 days a week, just single workouts for now but I forgot how tired it makes me. New training schedule coupled with some really intense hours at work and I am completely exhausted but very happy. My routine involves icing every single night and so far this week it feels we have turned a corner although I am taking it easy and still mostly wearing sneakers at work.
Rule number 5: Don't forget to enjoy the journey. Every single small step is part of the journey and if you aren't enjoying the journey then you aren't enjoying life. Here's to an amazing next 245 days of accomplishments leading up to Ironman Chattanooga.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Peace out 2014, a year of major accomplishments and major setbacks!
2014 started as most New Years do, with promise and lofty goals. The year ended with many of those goals accomplished and some important lessons and learning as most do.
This time last year, if I am truly honest with myself and go back to my blog I was recovering from foot surgery and I was ITCHING to do something, I hadn't really learned to swim yet, hadn't been on the new bike I had bought and frankly wasn't so confident about my running post surgery. I had a long way to go before my first half iron in June but I was feeling excited mixed with the anxious feeling of needing to get off the couch.
Swimming proved to be an arch nemesis and I switched exclusively to swimming a 50 meter pool that was much further from my house in order to push myself. That worked wonders until I had a complete and utter meltdown at my very first ever open water swim in May, ok well maybe not complete because I didn't cry but let's face it I contemplated giving up MANY times. People always say to me, "Oh I wish I could do what you do but...(insert reason here, I'm scared, I can't swim, I freak out, I want to quit, I don't have time)." Well I have news for you and if you read my blog you know this, but I want to quit many days, I have meltdowns where I cry on the floor over something stupid because I have been training for weeks and I'm sleepy and sore and I've reached my limit, I get overwhelmed with my dreams and goals, BUT I don't give up, I don't quit, I stay the course. That is the important lesson to learn and that I hope I have conveyed in the last year. I was never a natural athlete, this does not come easily for me and this journey has taxed me more mentally than physically.
Looking back on 2014 I'm disappointed in myself for getting hurt and therefore not meeting the very high goals I had set for myself at the start of the year. I'm frustrated and tired of the injections, the physical therapy, the constant doctors appointment, and most importantly the lack of a training schedule presenting me with solid base and improvements as I head into an even bigger 2015. The injury has taught me valuable lessons and I need to focus on those lessons in my periods of frustration and self doubt. I know that if push comes to shove mentally I can make my body work through pain, not of course broken bone pain again but in the instance of a grueling race I can have mental toughness. I will never forget the words said to me by someone who has known me from the awkward first days of college, "You are way stronger than anyone has ever given you credit for". Those words have stuck with me since they were uttered in June and they have powered me through.
When I think to all the physical pain I have endured I remember Packy and the fact he suffered far worse and he never gave up and he never complained. I'm sure he had internal complaints and some hidden meltdowns but to the outer world he portrayed his strength and that is important. As far as me, I am going to endeavor this year to be more honest via the blog as far as feelings of doubt, being scared, etc so that you can see that I'm not Teflon, this process is hard and anyone going through it or thinking about it should have a real picture not puppies and kittens. I want people to say, "I decided to try it because after reading you try it I think I can do it."
Triathlons are hard, learning new sports is hard and sometimes demoralizing, long course events require extreme commitment and sacrifice. The benefits to me far out way the sacrifices, amazing friends, inspiring and teaching others, the feeling of crossing the finish line and let's face it looking pretty good in skinny jeans is a plus :-)
So 2014, I must say you were pretty positive. I'm so lucky to have the best parents/cheering squad in the business who followed me even to another country to support an endeavor that I am not sure they always understand. I have not had one major race without them and that means the world to me. I set a new half marathon PR and I set a new 5K PR during a sprint tri relay that my team won. I accomplished my goal of a half ironman race, I didn't get the time I wanted but I learned so much about race nutrition and myself, especially when I learned I did it with a stress fracture. I had my first DNF, I struggled with my feelings of being pulled for not making the bike cut off but realizing that everything in life holds a lesson and that was an important lesson for me. The understanding that you can only push yourself so far before you need to listen to your body and understand that rest is necessary. The understanding that a DNF is not a failure, it is not a negative but a positive message of a new goal and what I needed to work on. I accomplished the goal of learning how to take care of myself, rest according to orders and heal.
2015 is the year of the Ironman...more on that tomorrow.
This time last year, if I am truly honest with myself and go back to my blog I was recovering from foot surgery and I was ITCHING to do something, I hadn't really learned to swim yet, hadn't been on the new bike I had bought and frankly wasn't so confident about my running post surgery. I had a long way to go before my first half iron in June but I was feeling excited mixed with the anxious feeling of needing to get off the couch.
Swimming proved to be an arch nemesis and I switched exclusively to swimming a 50 meter pool that was much further from my house in order to push myself. That worked wonders until I had a complete and utter meltdown at my very first ever open water swim in May, ok well maybe not complete because I didn't cry but let's face it I contemplated giving up MANY times. People always say to me, "Oh I wish I could do what you do but...(insert reason here, I'm scared, I can't swim, I freak out, I want to quit, I don't have time)." Well I have news for you and if you read my blog you know this, but I want to quit many days, I have meltdowns where I cry on the floor over something stupid because I have been training for weeks and I'm sleepy and sore and I've reached my limit, I get overwhelmed with my dreams and goals, BUT I don't give up, I don't quit, I stay the course. That is the important lesson to learn and that I hope I have conveyed in the last year. I was never a natural athlete, this does not come easily for me and this journey has taxed me more mentally than physically.
Looking back on 2014 I'm disappointed in myself for getting hurt and therefore not meeting the very high goals I had set for myself at the start of the year. I'm frustrated and tired of the injections, the physical therapy, the constant doctors appointment, and most importantly the lack of a training schedule presenting me with solid base and improvements as I head into an even bigger 2015. The injury has taught me valuable lessons and I need to focus on those lessons in my periods of frustration and self doubt. I know that if push comes to shove mentally I can make my body work through pain, not of course broken bone pain again but in the instance of a grueling race I can have mental toughness. I will never forget the words said to me by someone who has known me from the awkward first days of college, "You are way stronger than anyone has ever given you credit for". Those words have stuck with me since they were uttered in June and they have powered me through.
When I think to all the physical pain I have endured I remember Packy and the fact he suffered far worse and he never gave up and he never complained. I'm sure he had internal complaints and some hidden meltdowns but to the outer world he portrayed his strength and that is important. As far as me, I am going to endeavor this year to be more honest via the blog as far as feelings of doubt, being scared, etc so that you can see that I'm not Teflon, this process is hard and anyone going through it or thinking about it should have a real picture not puppies and kittens. I want people to say, "I decided to try it because after reading you try it I think I can do it."
Triathlons are hard, learning new sports is hard and sometimes demoralizing, long course events require extreme commitment and sacrifice. The benefits to me far out way the sacrifices, amazing friends, inspiring and teaching others, the feeling of crossing the finish line and let's face it looking pretty good in skinny jeans is a plus :-)
So 2014, I must say you were pretty positive. I'm so lucky to have the best parents/cheering squad in the business who followed me even to another country to support an endeavor that I am not sure they always understand. I have not had one major race without them and that means the world to me. I set a new half marathon PR and I set a new 5K PR during a sprint tri relay that my team won. I accomplished my goal of a half ironman race, I didn't get the time I wanted but I learned so much about race nutrition and myself, especially when I learned I did it with a stress fracture. I had my first DNF, I struggled with my feelings of being pulled for not making the bike cut off but realizing that everything in life holds a lesson and that was an important lesson for me. The understanding that you can only push yourself so far before you need to listen to your body and understand that rest is necessary. The understanding that a DNF is not a failure, it is not a negative but a positive message of a new goal and what I needed to work on. I accomplished the goal of learning how to take care of myself, rest according to orders and heal.
2015 is the year of the Ironman...more on that tomorrow.
Monday, November 24, 2014
No Pain No Gain
I think that people throw around the saying "No pain, no gain" pretty frequently without really understanding what it means. After going through rehab for my foot injury I feel pretty sure I know EXACTLY what the saying truly means to the nth degree. Several people have asked me about the PRP therapy that I did so I thought I would write a nice little blog post for you to describe it in detail and hopefully answer any and all questions.
First, bones and muscles have a lot of blood flow going to them and as you probably know blood carries your body's healing agents. This is why muscle injuries and bones can heal much more quickly than tendons or ligaments which have very little blood flow.
I did several rounds of biopuncture leading up to the September race in an effort to speed along the healing process while stubbornly staying committed to doing the race. Biopuncture is the injection of biologically active substances which are physiologically regulating. The injections generally also include some sort of pain management ingredient. These injections while fairly painful at first leave the area pretty numb after a few minutes, the worst injection was into the second metatarsal joint. I think biopuncture is a useful tool if you start treating an injury pretty soon after it occurs but the level of pain I was in coupled with the fact my tendons where essentially fused together meant that biopuncture was not effective in solving my issue.
After my race failure I threw up my hands and told the doctor I would do whatever he wanted me to so that I could get back to full training by January 1st. He immediately mentioned a boot and PRP. PRP stands for Platelet-Rich Plasma and is a process by which the doctor draws your own blood, spins it for 14 minutes to draw out the platelets and then injections the platelets into the affected areas. This process is the most painful procedure I have ever experienced. Drawing the blood is no problem at all but the needle used to inject them back in is rather large and these injections go much deeper than the Biopuncture.
Dr Scott at performance health suggested that we do three rounds, each spaced a week apart to really get ahead of things and attempt to aggressively get me back to training. The first round as scheduled at 10am and I went to work afterwards and that was a HORRIBLE idea. The pain was intense, white hot pain that made it almost impossible to walk even with the boot. I promptly changed the appointments for the next two rounds to be later in the day. I highly recommend doing the injections late and then going straight home and putting your foot up. You are not supposed to take any sort of anti-inflammatory because your body's natural healing involves swelling and let me tell you my foot looked like a Flintstones foot for the better part of those three weeks. The intense pain that limits walking and movement lasted about 24 hours the first time, however it increased with the second and third rounds. With Biopuncture it is important to get the area moving immediately post injections, however with PRP the goal is actually to keep the area pretty immobilized in order to allow the platelets to do their job and repair the area.
The first round of injections was done on October 13th and Dr Scott said that typically it is 6-8 weeks to notice the gains from the injections, this week is 6 weeks from that first round and I have definitely noticed drastic improvement. I no longer have constant pain in my foot, however I still am not allowed to do much as far as training. We have coupled the injections with pretty intense manual therapy, which is essentially a very focused, very deep massage. For me this has been an extremely painful but cathartic process to break up all the scar tissue and fascia that has formed binding the tendons together and keeping my toes from properly moving.
While this whole process has been extremely painful I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I even got in the pool on Saturday and swam 1000 meters with the pull buoy, still can't kick but at least I was able to practice!
If you have any other questions that I didn't answer let me know!
First, bones and muscles have a lot of blood flow going to them and as you probably know blood carries your body's healing agents. This is why muscle injuries and bones can heal much more quickly than tendons or ligaments which have very little blood flow.
I did several rounds of biopuncture leading up to the September race in an effort to speed along the healing process while stubbornly staying committed to doing the race. Biopuncture is the injection of biologically active substances which are physiologically regulating. The injections generally also include some sort of pain management ingredient. These injections while fairly painful at first leave the area pretty numb after a few minutes, the worst injection was into the second metatarsal joint. I think biopuncture is a useful tool if you start treating an injury pretty soon after it occurs but the level of pain I was in coupled with the fact my tendons where essentially fused together meant that biopuncture was not effective in solving my issue.
After my race failure I threw up my hands and told the doctor I would do whatever he wanted me to so that I could get back to full training by January 1st. He immediately mentioned a boot and PRP. PRP stands for Platelet-Rich Plasma and is a process by which the doctor draws your own blood, spins it for 14 minutes to draw out the platelets and then injections the platelets into the affected areas. This process is the most painful procedure I have ever experienced. Drawing the blood is no problem at all but the needle used to inject them back in is rather large and these injections go much deeper than the Biopuncture.
Dr Scott at performance health suggested that we do three rounds, each spaced a week apart to really get ahead of things and attempt to aggressively get me back to training. The first round as scheduled at 10am and I went to work afterwards and that was a HORRIBLE idea. The pain was intense, white hot pain that made it almost impossible to walk even with the boot. I promptly changed the appointments for the next two rounds to be later in the day. I highly recommend doing the injections late and then going straight home and putting your foot up. You are not supposed to take any sort of anti-inflammatory because your body's natural healing involves swelling and let me tell you my foot looked like a Flintstones foot for the better part of those three weeks. The intense pain that limits walking and movement lasted about 24 hours the first time, however it increased with the second and third rounds. With Biopuncture it is important to get the area moving immediately post injections, however with PRP the goal is actually to keep the area pretty immobilized in order to allow the platelets to do their job and repair the area.
The first round of injections was done on October 13th and Dr Scott said that typically it is 6-8 weeks to notice the gains from the injections, this week is 6 weeks from that first round and I have definitely noticed drastic improvement. I no longer have constant pain in my foot, however I still am not allowed to do much as far as training. We have coupled the injections with pretty intense manual therapy, which is essentially a very focused, very deep massage. For me this has been an extremely painful but cathartic process to break up all the scar tissue and fascia that has formed binding the tendons together and keeping my toes from properly moving.
While this whole process has been extremely painful I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I even got in the pool on Saturday and swam 1000 meters with the pull buoy, still can't kick but at least I was able to practice!
If you have any other questions that I didn't answer let me know!
Swim: 1000m
Bike:
Run:
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Tenacious D...I mean triathlete...Tenacious Triathlete.
The other day I was talking with a very good friend of mine who shares my passion and dedication for running and it gave me a brilliant idea for a blog.
I have long been called stubborn, strong willed and pigheaded (thanks mom). While sitting down to write this I looked up some synonyms for stubborn and I picked out a few I really like, tenacious, persistent and iron-willed. Sure there were plenty of synonyms that have much more negative connotations but for the purpose of our conversation we are going to stick with the positive. Just like in life, if you keep a positive spin on things you will be happier in my opinion.
Being stubborn to a degree is a require trait for any endurance event because your legs will want to quit, your body will be exhausted, your brain will question your motives and you need that small part of you that says, "sorry shut up legs, get over it body and who cares brain." I've been pigheaded since I was a small child and I am sure that made things slightly difficult for my parents but I think they did a fabulous job of fostering my fierce independence while reigning me in when it was necessary. My mom might just describe me as complete nuts now after watching my races, kidding, at least I hope.
Whenever I meet new people they are always amazed when I say my first ever running race was a half marathon and their eyes bug out of their heads when I say I signed up for a half iron having no idea how to swim. The first thing they always ask is "how did you know you would be ready." My answer is always, "there was no other option." It isn't in my DNA to not complete a challenge that I have created. Now to clarify I always make sure I have the proper lead time going into a race to ensure I have the correct training but I can't imagine signing up and then not doing the work to make it happen. It isn't to prove something to anyone else and I think that is the important fact, it is for me to show myself that I am capable of the greatest challenges I can find.
This tenacity is why I love my role in helping others achieve their goals and helping them to learn how to be stubborn. Mental toughness can be trained just like anything else but it is MUCH harder. Unfortunately being strong-willed isn't always a great personality trait in my current rehab senario and it likely is what caused me to have a harder recovery since I didn't head to the dr at the first sign of pain.
After a month in das boot I moved to real shoes this week and let me tell you that was a HUGE relief as I was so tired of wearing that stupid boot. The physical therapist and the doctor are pleased with my progress after the Platelet Replacement Therapy, which was the most painful experience of my life. I, however, am frustrated and impatient and trying very hard to not over do things as I wait for the tendons to figure out how to repair themselves and stop constantly hurting.
I'm feeling the pressure of my impending race season and it is making me feel extremely restless to get back to training but I know that pushing too hard right now could cost me months or even a race in the future. How does one stubbornly rest? Well they start getting back to strength training slowly while monitoring their foot, they learn to ice said foot three times a day and they read a bunch of books about training. I've also been doing some mentoring and I volunteered at the NYC marathon which was a fabulous chance to meet some wonderful ladies. It is a great feeling when people come up to you and say "Oh wow YOU are Katrina! I've heard so much about you!"
Here's to an injury free 2015 and a soon to be productive off season!
I have long been called stubborn, strong willed and pigheaded (thanks mom). While sitting down to write this I looked up some synonyms for stubborn and I picked out a few I really like, tenacious, persistent and iron-willed. Sure there were plenty of synonyms that have much more negative connotations but for the purpose of our conversation we are going to stick with the positive. Just like in life, if you keep a positive spin on things you will be happier in my opinion.
Being stubborn to a degree is a require trait for any endurance event because your legs will want to quit, your body will be exhausted, your brain will question your motives and you need that small part of you that says, "sorry shut up legs, get over it body and who cares brain." I've been pigheaded since I was a small child and I am sure that made things slightly difficult for my parents but I think they did a fabulous job of fostering my fierce independence while reigning me in when it was necessary. My mom might just describe me as complete nuts now after watching my races, kidding, at least I hope.
Whenever I meet new people they are always amazed when I say my first ever running race was a half marathon and their eyes bug out of their heads when I say I signed up for a half iron having no idea how to swim. The first thing they always ask is "how did you know you would be ready." My answer is always, "there was no other option." It isn't in my DNA to not complete a challenge that I have created. Now to clarify I always make sure I have the proper lead time going into a race to ensure I have the correct training but I can't imagine signing up and then not doing the work to make it happen. It isn't to prove something to anyone else and I think that is the important fact, it is for me to show myself that I am capable of the greatest challenges I can find.
This tenacity is why I love my role in helping others achieve their goals and helping them to learn how to be stubborn. Mental toughness can be trained just like anything else but it is MUCH harder. Unfortunately being strong-willed isn't always a great personality trait in my current rehab senario and it likely is what caused me to have a harder recovery since I didn't head to the dr at the first sign of pain.
After a month in das boot I moved to real shoes this week and let me tell you that was a HUGE relief as I was so tired of wearing that stupid boot. The physical therapist and the doctor are pleased with my progress after the Platelet Replacement Therapy, which was the most painful experience of my life. I, however, am frustrated and impatient and trying very hard to not over do things as I wait for the tendons to figure out how to repair themselves and stop constantly hurting.
I'm feeling the pressure of my impending race season and it is making me feel extremely restless to get back to training but I know that pushing too hard right now could cost me months or even a race in the future. How does one stubbornly rest? Well they start getting back to strength training slowly while monitoring their foot, they learn to ice said foot three times a day and they read a bunch of books about training. I've also been doing some mentoring and I volunteered at the NYC marathon which was a fabulous chance to meet some wonderful ladies. It is a great feeling when people come up to you and say "Oh wow YOU are Katrina! I've heard so much about you!"
Here's to an injury free 2015 and a soon to be productive off season!
Resetting the mile counters to 0 (until I'm cleared to really work out they will stay there)
Swim:
Bike:
Run:
Saturday, October 4, 2014
If your dreams don't scare you they aren't big enough
Dreams can mean so many different things for so many people but for me a dream is a goal that I set for myself that seems unattainable. You don't want your dreams to be easy because going down an easy path doesn't make you grow as a person. If you don't face your fears you will never feel the euphoric feeling of accomplishment that comes when you do something that your brain was convinced you could NOT do.
My next adventure will be long, grueling, exciting, and no doubt extremely life changing. On Monday, September 29th in a coordinated conference call effort, Jamie, Ladawn and I all signed up for the 2015 Little Debbie Chattanooga, Tennessee IRONMAN. Yes, we had a conference call, we are all very type A and had to ensure everyone got in since it sold out in minutes last year. Turned out it took a few more days to sell out this year but we were all pretty excited anyway. We whipped out our credit cards and over $800 later I was ready to embark on the toughest physical challenge I have ever faced. The business and cost of Ironman will come in a later post, but let's just say it is not for the faint of heart.
The past month dealing with my injury and the countless appointments made me very much doubt my ability and mental capacity to continue my journey to a 140.6 race. However, I had a brief come to jesus moment after I got back to NYC from Canada when I was walking down the street and having a particularly down day when I saw a Captain America shirt. As you might know my cousin Packy loved Captain America and I took this is as sign from him, which I generally always do, well that and when I see bud light another favorite of his :) Anyway, here I was feeling sorry for myself and complaining about my doctor's appointments to get my foot better when my foot clearly is not a life threatening injury.
Perspective is a beautiful thing my friends.
Perspective that the whole reason I wanted to do Chattanooga is the charity is Crohns and Colitis foundation, a foundation that is searching for a cure to the disease that Packy fought. A deeper meaning that going into this training is my testament that Packy truly did teach me to Never Give Up not to only do it if it was fun, or easy, or I wasn't hurt. I can handle a few doctor's appointments in order to get myself back in top shape for my upcoming 2015 race schedule if Packy could handle the countless appointments to try and stay with us.
Don't get me wrong I will still have days I feel completely overwhelmed but those days I will make sure to remember I have my angel with me. Every mile of that 140.6 is to celebrate a person that changed the lives of countless people and impacted the world in his short time here. Every mile of training is to reaffirm that I'm alive, that I have hopes and dreams and that I deserve to be at that level of race.
Before Barrelman in my lucky Captain America Shirt with the people who always support my wacky adventures and let's face it sometimes are the cause...I'm looking at you in the background JAMIE!
Dream big, dance in the rain, smile at a stranger and remember life is one big adventure.
Resetting the mile counters to 0 (until I'm cleared to really work out they will stay there)
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