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! :)

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. :-)

Put me in Coach!

The 2015 season is upon us and now is the time to get yourself set up for a successful race season. The important questions to address center around your build phase.  Should I get a coach? How do I pick a coach? Do I need a trainer?   

Let's start with a personal trainer.  I had the pleasure of working with a trainer for all of 2013 at a time when I knew virtually nothing about working out.  She helped me establish a good routine, evaluated my trouble areas and taught me how to do many exercises. A trainer will work one on one with you for as many sessions per week that fit into your budget and schedule. They will give you guidance and also push you to increase weight and fitness. You can typically find a trainer at your local gym and picking one is a tough task.  Focus first on personality because their teaching style should match your learning style. If you don't respond well to yelling then you need a trainer with a softer approach.  Also take budget and cost per session into consideration then ask a lot of questions about their experience, schooling and passions. My trainer had running experience as well as many certificates. The gains that I made with my trainer and the friendship that we formed was an integral part in giving me the confidence to jump into triathlons. A trainer is helpful if you have trouble pushing yourself to get to the gym and need motivation to even step through the door.  They will also be helpful if you don't have any idea how to strength train.

The question of, "Should I get a coach?" plagued me for many months even before I signed up for Ironman Chattanooga and essentially came down to an investment in myself. My total race fees for this year are slightly over $1,000 and at first I thought can I really justify more money every month for a coach but then I realized if I wanted the proper return on my race fee investment I needed to put the effort into locating a coach. There are many, MANY coaching options out there for triathlons some that live near you and some that are all virtual. Lucky for me I personally knew a USA Triathlon certified coach which made my selection process extremely easy but I'll go into why I felt it was a good fit. 

Choosing a coach is an extremely important decision because they will be your life line and a big factor in your racing success. Personality is extremely important, you need a coach that will mesh with your personality, someone that you feel completely comfortable talking to and someone that provides guidance in a way that speaks to you. I knew I needed someone that I could see on a consistent basis which ruled out a virtual arrangement, however there are lots of people that use a virtual arrangement with great success.  For me I wanted the benefits of the person getting to evaluate my skills in person and adjust my drills and workouts based off what they saw rather than what I told them.  I am extremely self deprecating and also tend to push myself very hard so I knew I needed someone with a very calm style, who I respected and could be counted on to tell me when to sit down and not train to keep me from injury. Only you can evaluate your own personality needs to pick someone that is a compliment to you. Someone could be an excellent tri coach but not be the coach for you.  

It is best to conduct some interviews and speak with the coach not only about the certifications and qualifications but find out their race schedule (will it conflict with yours, do they have first hand knowledge of a course you are doing), how they prefer to provide you work outs, will they meet you in person, their fees and what those fees specifically cover. An ideal coach saves you time because they will ensure your training schedule makes sense to keep you from over training as well as save you from having to do hours of research on what plan to use. Ask around in your triathlon group to see if they have recommendations, head to your local bike shop for some contact information, look on the USA Triathlon website or try google.  There is no shortage of coaches in the country so you just have to make sure to pick the best fit for your personality, goals and budget.  

I am already extremely happy with my decision to go with a coach as well as thrilled with my choice of coach.  Happy 2015!