Can I go to the bathroom Miss Clendaniel?

I had basically given up on ever using my teaching certificate.  

I viewed it as a $28,000 piece of paper.  I certainly never would have guessed that I'd be using it here, in Kodiak.  But for the last 2 weeks and until January 25 I am Miss Clendaniel, high school English teacher, long term substitute.  And it's absolutely terrifying.   And exhausting.  And emotionally draining.  And very time consuming.  At least it keeps me occupied, and I'm getting paid.  And sometimes it's not so bad and I do enjoy myself.  I only have to make it through the end of January.  On the downside, I'll be unemployed again at the end of January.  I'll probably be ready to hand the reins back to the original teacher though.  I spent my weekend at school.  I might..just might...have managed to get things prepared so that I don't have to go in this weekend.  But we will see.  Seems like there's always something.  

So it means I've been slowed up on finishing my socks.  I have only just gotten to the point of turning the heel.  It does tend to go fairly quickly from here on out, but I only get about 10-15 minutes in every now and then.  Not going to move out too quickly at this rate.  

I really don't have much else going on.  I started working September 19th.  That's basically occupied my time since then.  I have managed to get out on 2 runs though! They're short.  At 20-25 minutes in I start to get really tired and things start to hurt.  At 30 minutes I'm ready to stop.  I went out on a loop that was too long yesterday and had to walk at least 5 minutes at the end.  At 35 minutes I was just done.  I'm very disappointed about that.  It's going to take a while to build back up to where I was.  In the meantime, I can focus on helping Kevin work on his running.  We were trying to get him ready to run the Run the Rock 1/2 marathon next Saturday.  But things keep getting in the way like too many frickin' vacations!  And injuries.  Toe injuries and calf cramps.  I had him up to 8 miles a couple weeks ago.  But I don't want him to do too much and really hurt himself.  Way too much responsibility to be a coach!  I am proud of him though.  I think he's been sticking with it longer than he ever has before.  I hope he doesn't quit after this race though.  

Other news...possibly moving into a house in November.  

Kevin's working on buying this house.  It's a duplex and already has tenants for one half.  Pretty excited.  Nothing final yet, but working on it.  

And...other news?  Not much.  I've almost been here 4 weeks!  Things seem to be going well.  Kevin hasn't kicked me out yet ;)  

20+ hours a week of training --> 20+ hours of knitting

Now that I'm done spending about 2 hours a day training, and I can't resume training for anything new  because my leg still hurts, and I've been unemployed the last 3 months...I've had a lot of spare time.  I finally finished this afghan I started 3 years ago and which has sat for almost 2 in a laundry basket waiting for the last 8 inches to be knitted.  It really needed one more row of the dark purple at the end to finish it off but I didn't have the yarn and I just wanted to complete the project.  It has so many mistakes in it but it appears as though the Feathers and Fan pattern with big needles is rather forgiving.  Too many yarn overs  at some points which means having to reduce stitches with too many K2tog but....it's done and I'm actually rather pleased with it.

But I believe I start working tomorrow, so my knitting projects might slow up a bit.  I'm almost to the heel of my second sock that I'm making for Scott.  And after those socks, I have a pair to make for Hilary.  I might branch out and do a new pattern!  I feel like I have a good understanding of the basic sock pattern now.  I should.  I have now made 6 pairs.  If I keep it up to the finish, this pair for Scott will be the first without mistakes.  That makes me very happy.

And then after Hilary's socks....I want to make a sweater.  I've been browsing patterns on Ravelry and I now have about 10 different patterns of sweaters or dresses or cardigans or tunics that I'm in love with.

So I think I'll be busy knit wise.

Hoping to transition this blog into more of a journal.  I've forgotten the joy I get from putting things down in words.

Eat. Swim. Bike. Run. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

I have been neglecting this.  So I apologize for writing a short novel in trying to catch up.

I have not been neglecting my training though.  I'm logging 2-3 hours a day during the week thanks to trying to bike commute.  4-6 on Saturdays and at least 3 on Sundays.

I'm feeling pretty good. My butt hurts.  Its rather painful when first sitting down on the saddle.  And then it settles in and I don't notice it much.  But for some reason the left side is feeling more "bruised" than the right.  My seat is on straight.  So I must do something that's a bit different on the left than the right.

I actually think I might be feeling a bit better than how I did with close to the same amount of time before my first marathon.  I was resorting to quite a bit of advil and tylenol to help me sleep at night.  I've only had a couple days the last month or so that I felt like I really needed some advil.  That doesn't mean things don't hurt.  They do.  My knees.  My hips.   Maybe they've just been hurting so long it doesn't even register anymore.  Hard to say.

All of this cycling though has me looking forward to finishing that 112 miles in Canada and then packing up my bike, for a long time.  I do like biking, but I don't love it, and I do really like my road bike, but the passion isn't there.  What I do love is bike commuting.  And I love riding my bike along the coastal trail late when the sun starts to dip in the sky.  But I'd rather be on my commuter.  Yes, my 14 year old heavy hunk of metal.  Maybe it suits my personality better than my road bike.  True it's slow, but it's comfortable.   I can haul a lot of gear on it.  It keeps on working year after year.  It's low maintenance and dependable and cheap.  Sounds like a good relationship to me.  My road bike is finicky.  It's designed for performance, not comfort.  I'm limited in how much stuff I can transport with it.  It needs a lot of attention.  It's expensive to maintain.  I worry about leaving it locked up outside.  I bet you can imagine all too well the type of person that might also fit both of those descriptions.  Who would you rather be friends with?

My swim is feeling smooth.  Managed to get 3000 yards in on both Tuesday and Thursday this week.  In about 55 minutes or so for each.  My swim is probably the only workouts where I'm done and something does NOT hurt.  But it's also the most booooooooooooring.  I think once I'm done with Canada, and I'm in Kodiak and needing activity so I don't turn into a blimp, that I will get a waterproof mp3 player.  It will be worth it.  Right now, it's good for me to have to occupy my mind while swimming, since there won't be headphones at Canada.  I am not restricting myself on my bike rides and runs though.  There is only so much torture I can take.  Solo rides and solo runs with no one to talk to and seeing much of the same scenery is a different scenario than race day.  I'm going through quite a few Radiolab podcasts.  I learned about color last weekend.  This week it was about stress.  Love Radiolab.  I also reserve Wait Wait Don't Tell me for workouts.  And now I have new audiobooks.  I'm pretty stoked.  I will finally finish An Echo in the Bone, by Diana Gabaldon.  I read about halfway through when it first came out and then I just stopped.  No clue why.  Particularly now that I'm listening to it and I'm wrapped up in the story once again.

And I'm reading again.

The one unforeseen consequence of Kevin heading to Europe.  No more nightly chats.  I first stopped reading when I started dating Micah.  And then I kind of got back into it but not fully until Kevin.  My 30-60 minutes that I used to spend reading before bed was replaced by computer use.  Worth it at the time, but not without cost.  So I'm rather glad I've returned to flipping pages, although sometimes I have to set a timer so I go to bed before it's too late!

In other news the Mayor's half-marathon went well.

Finished in 2:07:36.

I felt good about it.  I definitely pushed it and I don't think I could have run it much faster.  Good day all around.

Tomorrow is the XTERRA Hammerman triathlon.  I'm doing it as a team event with Gavin riding the bike.  So I get to do my two loves, swimming and run.   The swim will be great open water practice.  And I just love trail running, period.  Race report to follow.

Sunday is a 5 hour ride.  My longest yet.  Then the following week I get to drop it back a bit to 3.5 hours.  Then another 5 hour.  And finally the century.  And then it's just two more weekends of moderately long rides and....RACE DAY!!!!! I am excited.

Most of my long runs are 2 hours, a few a bit longer and then the weekend before race day I'll do the Big Wild Life Half.  I need to take it easy, and the best way to do that is to do it with someone else.  Otherwise I'll race it.  I'd probably get close to 2 hours, knocking time off of my Mayor's time.  But this would not be very beneficial for my legs.  So I am hoping to run it with Krista.  Or walk it with Kate.  We shall see.

Not a lot of time left.

But I don't have the days counted, and I keep forgetting how many weeks are left.  The only count down I have going is the 10 days until Kevin returns.  One thing at a time.  Still not sure which one I'm looking forward to more.  It's a tough call.  I've been waiting almost 7 weeks to see Kevin again.  I've been training for a year for this race.  Not an even time comparison.  And completely different events.

Oh man, and I went up Mt. Marathon too.  And the Clendaniel Mile.  And Dad was here for almost 2 weeks, and I've been bike commuting from upper o'malley while I'm dogsitting for a month, and I had to say goodbye to my kitty Zuma....  There's just too much to write about it all.

Clendaniel mile - 7:13.  Yeah.  I'm rather pleased with that one.  Ok, that's an understatement.  I'm superbly satisfied.  Nearly 45 seconds off of last years time.

And I'm at 144 this morning.  Trying to hold on to that.  Massive amounts of cookies are disappearing into my mouth.  But meals are healthy, balanced and moderately portioned.  Not feeling guilty for the cookies.  I love them and I've earned them.

Working on my nutrition plan for race day.  I'll get to test some of it out this weekend for the 5 hour ride.  Picked up Hammer Solids.  Hoping they sit well with the tummy.  Carbo Pro has been good for me so far.  And the Hammer Gels are working too.  Will have to decide what to put in special needs bags and transition bags.

Bottom line:  I'm entering the home stretch.  I'm excited.  I look good.  I feel good.   I'm happy.

No end in sight

Here is a brief run down of my last 3 weeks.   Post Wildflower has been 2 weeks of no activity beyond walking (horribly sick, ears totally clogged, like having ear plugs in.  Major congestion.  Wicked phlegmy cough).  Then last Saturday I got smacked in the head very hard by a softball. Very painful at the time but did not pass out.  Sunday was a sprint tri. (500, 12, and 4)  I went in to it not having done any exercise and having been sick for 2 weeks and not having slept well for 3 nights in a row. But I absolutely rocked it.  8:13, 41:02, and 36:59. Sunday night I started to feel a headache, but thought maybe I was just dehydrated from the race.  I'm not that great at hydrating for shorter things and I sweat a lot, even when it's cool out, which it was.  Monday my head was hurting a lot and then nausea hit.  Still went swimming though (I'm stubbornly stupid) and things felt really good while swimming, until after showering and nausea returned with headache. Had to go home from work i felt so shitty.  Felt like a bad migraine.  Tuesday was manageable, although still pain.  Felt better in the evening though, and biked 11 miles, felt ok while biking.  Wednesday wasn't good during the day.  But got out in the evening for a 5 mile trail run that was pretty good.  Thursday I went to the doctor.  Antibiotics for sinus infection, nasal spray for allergies and congestion. A different asthma inhaler for races.  And the possibility to get a cat scan if I wanted. Not going to get one.  Can't afford it (no insurance) symptoms are indicative of possible concussion, but nothing is scary, no vomiting, loss of consciousness, no memory issues, no change in behavior.  

I was given strict orders not to work out until I'm better.  And I cried sitting there in the doctors office.  (Then, 2 days later, I had to say goodbye to Kevin for 2 months, and an hour later go to a memorial service for my grandmother.  When it rains it pours?)

I have no idea when I'll be "better."  My head still doesn't feel right.  My ears are still plugged up from sinus crap.  Occasional cough.   I was already nervous about having enough time to get my mileage up to be ready for Canada.  If I miraculously feel better by the end of this week (unlikely), can I do it in 11 weeks?  And I feel like I'm losing everything I've spent the last 7 months working on.  

Wildflower

It's been over a week since I "competed" in one of the toughest half-iron distance triathlons in North America.  I've put competed in quotes since really the only person I was competing against was myself, but I was there.  I swam 1.2 miles while trying to avoid being whacked in the head.  I biked 56 miles over hilly terrain in the sun and ran 13.1 miles.  Ok, I walked a big portion of it.  But I ran most!

Quick Overview of Results
Total time: 7:27:57 (Got saddled with a drafting penalty of 4 minutes. So real time 7:23:57.  Probably while going uphill...since I was never drafting but did get a little close to some people while going uphill.  I don't think you can really draft when you're going 6mph.....)
Swim: 36:23 (woohoo!)
T1: 8:24 (not woohoo)
Bike: 3:58:55  (Yeah, just under 4 hours!)
T2: 4:43 (not too bad)
Run: 2:35:32 (wanted to get under 2:30 but considering circumstances and course, this is ok)


Age group: 49 out of 72 ( +5 who didn't finish)
Gender: 295 out of 420
Overall: 1447 out of 1807 (+ approx 50 who didn't finish)



And it was one of the best weekends of my life.


Transition set up

- Had to find bar ends for my aerobars.  But race officials were super nice and friendly and helped me find some of the small ones that would fit.  Also had to ask for a new cap! That was my one item I forgot.  Not too bad in terms of forgetting something, as I was able to find one pretty easy.  Sarah was great with helping me set things up in an efficient way. 
-Sunscreen.  Lots of it.

-Had time to kill so I watched the pros start with Heidi.  And then the first few men's waves and then headed back to get suited up.

(The Pros showing us how it's done)

-Took way way way too long to get my wetsuit on.  I was cutting my start time close!  Downed a gel fast and grabbed my letters, ripped off the envelopes and read them as I walked to the start.  It meant I had to stash them on the side and didn't get to keep them, but they were perfect.  Wonderful encouragement just when I needed it. 



Swim
-My wetsuit chafed my neck.  I could feel it from the first stroke.  It's a week later, it's almost healed.
-Arms felt good.  Swimming with so many people did not.  It's unlikely I'll be able to get over that before Canada.  And Canada is a mass start, not wave. 
-Managed to haul myself up out of the water and walk/jog to transition.  And got my wetsuit to my waist by the time I got there.

(I hate this picture....)

T1

-But I need to see if I can cut the legs of my wetsuit so that it won't take me forever to get it off.  Forever.
-More sunscreen.
-Almost 9 minutes.  9 freaking minutes. Waaaaaaaay too long.

Bike
-Seriously, I'd say the first 3 miles of the bike were a bit of a blur.  I didn't even register going up that first nasty hill. 

-And I felt good. 
-I felt great!
-I was cruising pretty good, battling a headwind for a while.  Some bad cross winds for a stretch. But  just steadily moving along.  I celebrated every mile marker.

-Nasty Grade came.  Tried to take it easy.  I believe this is when I fell in love with my bike all over again.  So glad I have a road bike and not a tri-bike.  I passed a lot of people.  Yes, you heard that right. I, Slow Glo, passed people going up a hill. 
-Unfortunately, on the super steep downhill on the other side of Nasty Grade, I realized my heart rate had gotten pretty high, and it wasn't going down.  And my chest hurt. 
-But I was still pedaling strong.  Although my neck and back were killing me, as I knew they would, from aero. 

(To be honest, I didn't even register going up some hills)

-Rolled into the park and saw runners shuffling along.  I started to think about trying to run and just about psyched myself out.
-That last downhill was scary.  Long.  Steep.  Other cyclists.  And runners.  Lots of braking.

-oh yeah, did utilize 2 port-a-potties on the bike.  I was drinking as much as possible.  I think I went through at least 7 bottles.  I wasn't counting, I just kept drinking and refilling.  I discovered that the white chocolate macadamia nut cliff bars are absolutely delicious. 

T2
-Managed to remember how to unclip my shoes to dismount and not trip or fall over.  Success.
-Bike racked, helmet off, shoes off, inhaler used, water belt on, hat on.  Look around dumbly because you feel like you're forgetting something important...and off!
-Oh yeah. Forgot to down a Gel. Shit.
-Didn't have enough with me.  Powerbar Gels(what's on the course) make my stomach sick.  I was already feeling a little nauseous.  This was going to suck.

Run
-Trying to get into a rhythm.  Heart rate crazy.  Breathing crazy.  Hot. 
-First couple miles go ok.  Haven't had to walk yet.
-And then we hit the hills.  And while walking I realize I'm not in great condition.  Dehydrated and underfueled and breathing is rough.
-Walked all uphills.  Jogged all down.  Tried to run flats, but a few I had to walk.
-Until about mile 6.  And things felt good.  Had gotten a bit more fuel.  Rehydrated.  Head was feeling better.  Was getting doused with water at every aid station.  Some had hoses which was wonderful.  The volunteers quickly caught on as I was pouring cups of water over me and helped out.  Great volunteers.  My attitude was positive and upbeat and I was ready to take on the rest of this race.
-Stopped to use the bathroom.  If I'd just had to pee it wouldn't have been an issue.  But it wasn't.  I was a second too late to be first in line and I ended up waiting 5 minutes.  5 minutes!  But I felt much better afterwards.

-Saw Fred at the top of the pit.  He had warned us about this hill the night before.  Psychologically it's gonna be killer he said, because you're going downhill, and you'll hit the turnaround point, and you'll have to go back up what you just ran down.  What he didn't say was how long it was.  A mile long downhill.  It's a curvy road.  I kept thinking "When the f*** is this hill gonna end?"  And after each bend in the road it just kept going.  But I'm a trooper running down hill so I just kept rocking it.  Hit the aid station at the bottom.  Got soaked again and started the walk up.  Powerwalked that m****f**** hill and then kept on running. 

-And I felt pretty good for the rest of the run.  That same last steep downhill to the finish for the bike was hard on the run but I just kept picking up the feet and trying to breathe.  And then I was there....

FINISH
...At the finish.  And I heard them call my name, and say Anchorage, Alaska and I "sprinted" in to the finish.

And got my medal.  And almost fell over my own feet.  And saw the TNT staff.  And then tried really hard to breathe right.

For almost 30-45 minutes. 

I headed down to the transition area to pack things up but I had to walk up and down the aisle at a snails pace trying to get things under control.  I'd already used my inhaler.  Nothing else I could do.

I was doing ok after a while, but I had to get my bike out of the transition.  And all my stuff.  Loaded it up in the backpack and I hauled my bike up a flight of stairs.  And boy am I glad I ran into Bobbie at the top.  As I triggered another complete closing of the airways by walking up the stairs and then seeing people I know trying to congratulate me.  But got it calmed down.  And she told me where the team was, which was great.  Finally sat down.  Got more food in me.  And eventually started to feel remotely like a human being again.  And it was fun.  Really fun to be hanging out with everyone and enjoying the scene.

So I had my first real asthma attack.  Not really wanting to do that again.

And after watching everyone come in and cheering....we get to walk up that big hill to get back to camp.  With heavy transition bag and bike.  yay!  But I made it.  Went super super slow. 

Showered first, before anything else.

Then ate dinner. Best brownie ever. 

Drank 2 beers.

Felt drunk (woohoo!)

Went to bed.

And in the morning I packed it all up, said goodbye to some of the most amazing people ever, and rolled away.

And I only sunburned two symmetrical strips on my back next to my Jersey.  Yay for weird tan lines.

And that cough I had, that I was almost over before the race, turned into a raging sickness.

I'm still sick.  I haven't worked out since race day.  Mucus mucus everywhere.  Chest, nose, sinus, ears.   If I knew I'd get this sick for this long, would I have still done it?  Oh yeah.  No question.

Now it's time to get refocused.  101 days.

Canada here we come!!!!

Where did I put that packing list!?!

I'm not sure where to start.

My plane leaves in about 10 hours. 


Here are a few negatives:

I have pretty much all my packing to do.

I am wired like an Energizer bunny.  Unlikely to sleep.

I am worrying about every little thing.

Always nervous about packing my bike.

I don't think I can get to Fresno in time for my return flight home.

I still have a cough.  I'm on my 4th super huge glass of water for today trying to wash it away.

Here are some positives:

Last few workouts have been ok.  Legs are tired but they have 2 full days of rest coming up. 

Was under 39 minutes for my last swim on Monday.  Fairly positive I can break 40 for the race.

Set a PR for a 5k during the Heart Run on Saturday!!!!! 25:09

I had a great dinner with friends last night.  I have wonderful notes to read while I'm gone. 

Kincaid trails were runnable this morning, so I didn't have to run the same boring coastal trail or on the roads!

I had an unexpected but pleasant surprise of getting to see Kevin this last weekend. 

I reached  my goal race weight. 


And I'll adress that one. Because it's both a positive and a negative.

Why would that be a negative Glo?  Because I'm afraid I've lost it too quickly and I'm concerned about that.  I didn't plan on reaching my goal race weight because I didn't think I had time to get there. 

I am about to say something that I never ever EVER would have imagined myself saying.

I might need to eat more.

I haven't really been that hungry.  I'm eating 3 healthy meals and some snacks.  And I am always eating after my workouts, and I normally time them right so that they are after I've eaten something too. 

I cut out ice cream at Lent.  It's a trigger food.  I have one bowl, and then another, and then maybe find something else, etc.   I haven't had any since Lent started in February.  Easter was a few weeks ago.  I gave up chocolate after spring break.  It too is a trigger.  I have been staying away from sweets and have only had a few beers for the last few months.

But maybe it's not so bad.  I've lost 15 lbs since Valentines Day.  That's 10 weeks.  So I guess it's ok.  But at this rate I'm going to need a few new shirts that fit better, and maybe pants.  Even if I do gain some of it back after Canada.   

But maybe I should add some more calories in.  I stopped tracking what I was eating (weight watchers points)  I figured my weight was doing well, and I was eating a pretty balanced diet. Lots of fruit, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, a lot of water, and no junk (except gold fish crackers.  They remain my one vice).  But I suppose I might want to see where I'm at.  This last week has been fairly hectic and stressed.  My mom leaving for Nana's funeral, making sure Nayyer was doing ok, Kevin being here, (not actually a stressor but an added event that isn't normal) and being sick. 

So I guess I just need to not worry about it. 

But I'm worrying about everything.  It's one of the few things I'm exceptionally good at.

What I should be focusing on is how wonderful this trip is going to be.  Sunshine.  New people.  A challenge unlike any before.  And hopefully, if it all goes right...that feeling of accomplishment that is unlike any other. 

So that's my focus.  This is going to be great.  And I CAN DO THIS!

Time to start planning the 2012 Clendaniel Mile

Well, I caught a bug.

Sore throat hit me on Sunday morning.  Extremely painful for 3 days.  Yesterday it lessened in intensity.  Started to get a bit of a cough.  Today it still hurts but isn't as bad as it was.  Still have the occasional cough, which just makes that sore throat feel lovely.  I've been doing my best to get extra sleep, extra fluids and extra vitamin C.  I don't know if it's helping, but at least it makes me feel like I'm doing something.  8 more days to get better.

I had a great run yesterday.  The Heart Run is this Saturday.  My friend talked me into doing it.  It's a 5k.  He asked me what I thought my time might be, to see if maybe we could run together.  I had to think a little.  How fast can I run a 5k?  I guessed 27 and then said maybe if I pushed it I could do 26.  So for my short run yesterday I ran a mile warm up to the coastal trail, then 1.5 out to the mile marker just past that first parking lot, so you have to go up the earthquake park hill and up a little bit past it.  Turned around and bombed back down the 1.5 and jogged the last mile super easy.  So it wasn't a full 5K because I'm missing the .1 or whatever...but my time was 25:35.  Never ever ever would I have thought I could run at that pace.  It was super hard.  I was breathing really heavy, huffing and puffing in my asthmatic way.  But it felt good.

It may not look like much to some, but that's a significant improvement over the last year.  I don't think I've ever broken 9's for more than 2 consecutive miles.

And today I weighed in at 147.6.  Which is just about where I was last week.  Which is great.  I was trying to hit 145 before the race but this is still a lot lighter than where I was in February.  So I am very very pleased.  And the body fat% said 25. The lowest it's ever been.  Which means I've actually lost some fat this go around.

And I've officially lost 60 lbs since 2007.

60.

There are people I meet now, that can't imagine that I ever weighed over 200 lbs.  "But you're so active!"  Well, I didn't used to be!

Our family should be getting ready for the Clendaniel Mile pretty soon.  An annual running event our family does.

This is me running it 3 years ago.  Probably at about 195.  I had lost quite a bit between 2007 and 2009, and then I went back to school.  And gained a lot back.  A lot.

For many runnings of the Clendaniel Mile I would be extremely happy if I could get my time close to 10 minutes.  For one mile.  I think Joyce and Zareena are about to lap me here.  

Last year I ran it just under 8.  And I just about cried with joy.  

No clue how this year will unfold.  I'm more fit, I weigh less, but my breathing still holds me back.  The legs are willing, the lungs are not.

I'm doing things I've always wanted to do.  I have always wanted to be someone who ran regularly, who bike commuted instead of driving.  I always wanted to be someone who hiked up mountains for hours.  I never really shared that much with anyone.  You look at someone who's pretty overweight and not active and you don't think that there greatest desire is to run a marathon.  

I know that I really need more time to fully prepare myself for my Ironman.  Another year of training and I'd probably do fairly well.  Especially on the bike.  But I don't know when I'd have the opportunity to do one in the future.  The timing was right for this fall.  And even if it takes me 16 hours and 59 minutes to finish, I'll have finished.  And I'm going to finish.  

And I'll be broke.  I won't have a job.  And I'll be heading out on a new life adventure.  They say doing an Ironman changes you.  Let's hope it's for the best.  

On a side note...I would really appreciate little notes or letters to open up and read the morning of my race.  I won't have any of you with me in person, but a few words would be very welcome.  Don't have to write much, just a little.  Hand it to me in person this next week (I leave super late on Wednesday night) mail it to me, or email it.  I can't think of a better way to start the morning.

The Last Long Brick

I stayed out late last night.  That's right.  I didn't get home until 11pm.  Sometimes I really wonder about the person I've become.  Is this who I thought I'd be when I was back in high school where I'd stay up past 1 and wake up at the very last minute to get to school and then sleep 11-12 hours straight on the weekends?  Is this who I thought I'd be when I was in college and waking up before 10am was an extreme challenge and the night life didn't start until after 10 pm?

I never would have dreamed that I'd be asleep at 10 almost every night and up before 7.  Saturday and Sunday too.

I'm not complaining, I love it!  As I sit here at 7:30 in the morning after a leisurely hour of drinking coffee and goofing around on the internets I am perfectly content.

It was fun to stay out with my friends though.  I hadn't joined in on post-climbing revelry in quite some time.  Partly due to trying to stick to the budget, partly because I have a hard time not eating too much pizza and screwing up my nutrition/diet, and partly because I just get tired and am ready for bed at 9:30.  And also because I'm not really drinking these days and it's hard to sit there with a pitcher of absolutely delicious beer in front of you and abstain.

But it was worth it.

And so was waking up early even though I wanted to keep sleeping.  Because I am soooooooooooo slow getting started in the mornings, I can waste hours with my coffee and computer and slowly getting my act together for the day's workout.  And I had a very important workout to get in before 3pm.

30 mile bike followed with 8 mile run.  The last long workout before the taper.  A chance to test out the nutrition plan and to see how everything is going.

I'd spent some time on Friday mapping out 30 miles that wouldn't be super flat.  It is a challenge to find decent hills that aren't crazy with traffic.  It's hard for me to get over to the hillside where the good hills are, and I always feel a bit nervous while riding on the roads up there anyways.  So I ended up with the ol' standby of the road to Kincaid and the last bit of Dimond that winds around past the Jodphur parking lot.  There was more flat than I wanted but it wasn't too bad.  When I got home it turned out to be 31 miles.  Oh well.

I also mapped out 8 miles of running that would get me a few hills.  There aren't a whole lot of hills from my house and I wanted to be able to put my bike in the garage.  So I ran around in circles and went up and down the same hills a few times, but it wasn't so bad.  Up the hill from the coastal trail to Forest Park twice, up west high hill twice and up from the lagoon to the Parkstrip once.  It ended up being a bit over 8.5.

The time I was hoping to make for the bike was 2 hours.  Avg of 15 mph.  I nailed it almost spot on, finishing the 31 miles in 2:03.  Spent 4 minutes transitioning (bathroom break and putting bike in the garage, so I feel ok about that time, a little long but not too bad.)  The time I was hoping for my run was 1:30.  Crushed it with 1:23.  And that was even with the extra half mile.  I was feeling good enough that I was able to push the last half mile pretty strong and even "sprinted" the last quarter mile.  Total time 3:30 which was exactly what I was hoping for.

So yeah, I feel pretty damn good about myself right now.

And it was windy.  Gusts at 22 mph.  It slowed me down from 22 mph to 14 mph on one particularly flat stretch.  (I think maybe the wind was at my back for that 22....)

Oh yeah, I installed my new bike computer so I have data again!  Which tells me that my slowest speed was 6.8 mph while going up some hills...and max was 35 mph while going down.  The wind seemed to always be pushing against me when I was going down hill.

My stomach did alright.  I followed the plan I'd mapped out for nutrition.  A couple twinges of the stomach but it settled down and didn't really bother me.  Mostly it would be if I drank a bit too much water at once.

My neck gets super sore after about 20 miles of riding :(  Not sure what I can do about that.

My legs finally settled in to feeling like legs on the run and not like stiff rods that I was trying to bend and move as if they weren't actually part of my body.  Only took 35 minutes.

I have no concept of my speed when I start out.  It feels like I am running slower than slow.  The whole time I felt that surely I was running 11 minute miles or even slower.  I was hoping I was close to the pace I wanted but it feels so slow.

And my feet!  There is only one thing that I am looking forward to from the heat on race day.   My toes not going horribly numb from the cold.  It does not feel good to run on frozen feet.  At one point it felt like there was something in my shoe, so I stopped and took it off.  Nope.  Nothing.  Just those weird sensations you get as your feet slowly start defrosting.

So pleased with how this workout went.  When I finished and was walking it out a bit before heading in for my shower my legs felt so much better than they ever did after one of my long runs for my marathon last year.  I'm starting to feel that maybe I'm making a bit of progress.  And I slept ok instead of tossing and turning from being so freaking sore.  My legs are definitely groaning this morning as I tackle the stairs, but it's not unbearable.

So now I just have to take those distances, almost double them, and swim for 40 minutes first.

Piece of cake.

Maps for this brick workout....bike map and run map

Enough With The Whining Already!

I was supposed to do my benchmark ride last weekend.  But I wasn't too thrilled about trying to find 50+ miles of pavement to ride in Anchorage, and there was no way I was going to try and put almost 5 hours in on my trainer inside. 

So what's a girl to do?

Ride somewhere else of course.  

So I packed up my bike in a brand new too-expensive-why-do-I-keep-spending-money-on-my-bike bicycle case and flew to Kodiak for a weekend with Kevin.  

And I was blessed with beautiful weather.  No wind, no rain, and the sun was shining.  Perfect conditions for heading out on a 62 mile bike ride.  And I needed something to do while Kevin was working anyways.

It was hard, it was fun, it was painful, it was liberating, my neck hurt, my back hurt it was the hardest physical test of my body that I have done since those last 6 miles of my last marathon.  And it was wonderful. When I finish one of these things I can't describe how amazing I feel.  

My first metric century.  100 kilometers.  4 hours and 40 minutes.  Which brings me to an average pace of 13.3 mph.  Nothing to write home about but not too bad for me.  And I was still pushing 15 mph on the flats as I came back in to town at mile 55.  I had a low cadence, not sure what it was but it felt comfortable and my heart rate felt good.  I'm trying to come to terms with being a grinder.  

The elevation profile isn't quite as challenging as Wildflower.  Basically I need to double the elevation gain, but stretch it out over more miles.  But I think it was a pretty good test for what I'll be facing in 3 weeks.

And my new cassette seemed to be ok.  I had some challenges with it when It was first installed, made some weird vibrations but it's running smoothly, except for in one gear, but whatever.  I can deal with it and it's not hurting my bike in any way and having the bigger range for going up those hills was absolutely critical.  At times it was still really really hard to keep pedaling but it was much better than how it used to be.  Definitely very happy about that.

And my ass is feeling pretty good.  Hooray for expensive saddles.  

My only mistake was leaving behind some of my fuel!  I think I could have had a much better time if I'd been properly fueled!  I didn't bonk, but I could feel myself dragging.  I did at least get a whole lot more liquid than I normally do, thanks to my aero bottle.  Another yay!

So.  Really.  Overall I have to say it was a great ride.  

And I was well overdue for a post that was almost whine free.  About damn time for some positive.

It's two days later and I'm still riding the high of having accomplished this challenge.

(This photo does not do this hill justice.  A mile long.)

(The clouds rolled in for the second half of my ride.  Sunshine and blue skies on the way out, clouds and then rain on the way home)

(oh yeah!)

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should

I worked extremely hard on my eating this last week.  And now I'm embarassed for my ranting and raving last Tuesday. 

I am now under 150.  Not much, but there.  Yesterday it was 148.4 and today 149.6  I'll even it out to 149 and call it good.  (I should be strong again and not hop on the scale until next Tuesday, I think it's doing me good.)

I should be more pleased, excited, ecstatic.  But I'm kind of just meh about it.  I think because I'm working so hard and it doesnt appear that I'm losing any fat.  My body fat % (according to my scale) when I was 160 was in the 26 range.  10 lbs lighter I am still in the 26 range.  Did I lose 10 lbs of muscle?  Or just 10 lbs of boobage.  (Yes, the girls are definitely smaller.  I was filling out a 34 B well, but I'm seeing a little gaping now)   I shelled out the money for an expensive scale so that I could try and measure my body fat %.   But if it doesn't work what's the point.  I feel a bit slimmer at 150, but not that much difference from 155. 

It's just numbers, it really shouldn't matter much.  I should be focusing on how my body is feeling.  And unfortunately, it's feeling a bit worn down.  I made a big error last Wednesday. I went to a core conditioning class at the rock gym.  One of the exercises in the circuit was pull ups.  Well, I can't do a pull up, so I did let downs.  Too many of them.  My arms are still recovering.  Although I believe they are still recovering because I continued to rock climb on Friday and Monday.  Not only are they still recovering, but I really screwed up the inner part of my left elbow.  I could not swim Monday night, it hurt too much.  I almost wanted to cry.  I can't be dealing with this now.  24 days to race day.  I think it is feeling a little better today, but it is hard to tell, as almost all motions throughout the day don't bother it.  I will not try to swim until next Thursday (A week of no swimming!).  I did test it on the bike yesterday for a short 30 min spin because I really want to get my super long bike ride in this weekend while I'm in Kodiak seeing Kevin.  It doesn't seem to hurt.  So I'm still packing up my bike (a good test run of flying for the race and reassembling) and we're finding long stretches of ice free road. 

My legs are also feeling a bit worn down.  I'm supposed to run today, but I think I'll give myself a rest day.  It's the hardest thing to do, but I know I'll be stronger in the long run (no pun intended) if I let myself recover from these hard workouts.  I haven't missed a workout in a long time.  I may have shortened some, but I've still done a little for each scheduled day. 

So here I am.  24 days to race day and feeling a bit burnt out.  Wonderful.  But we'll muddle through it all somehow.  I'll take these next two days for resting.  Ride Friday, finish through this next week strong and then I'm letting myself take the 2 weeks of training before my race at a low intensity.  I'm not going to gain anything by going hard, I'll only wear myself out.  I hope it helps. 

It's Like the War on Terrorism. A Futile Struggle And No End In Sight.

Kevin and I made a deal last Tuesday.  No weighing for a week.  I'm an obsessive compulsive scale user.  So this was a challenge.  We're both trying to slim down, and we thought it might help not to be burdened by the numbers during the week and just focus on eating right and moving more.  I have the number 145 in my head.  It's probably not a magic number, but it has to be better for me to be lighter right?

I've been waffling between 150 and 160 for the last 6 months.  I'll get a few good weeks of being in control of my eating and I'll lose 3-5 lbs.  Then I'd have a breakdown and gain it back, maybe with a few extra.  The second week of February I was up to 160 again.  I'd been so unhappy for months.  I was trying but everything was hard.  From all outward appearances I was doing everything right.  Exercising very regularly.  Hardly drinking socially at all.  Seeing friends.  Going to work.  But inside I was a wreck.  Christmas was spent in tears.  January was a struggle to get through each day.  I wanted so hard to beat it on my own.  From age 16-22 I was on Zoloft.  I look back on those years as being one big blah.  (One big FAT blah.)  But I'm sure they would have been worse without.  I felt like I'd won when I went off it and was doing alright.  The last two years have been tough though.  The winters being the worst, but even last summer had it's struggles. On Valentines Day I gave myself the gift of happiness.  My doc wrote me a script for Welbutrin.  A little more than two weeks later, I just about cried while driving to work. I realized I'd been happy for over a week.  The longest I'd felt that good in a very, very long time.  And for the last month and a half I've been doing better with food.  I haven't been perfect.  I've still had the occasional binge, but it's been better.

And so last Tuesday when Kevin and I made our deal I was at 152.4.  (My scale also does body fat % but it changes from one minute to the next so I'm never really sure how accurate it is.  But it was on the high end of 26%.  I can't remember exactly.  26.7 or 26.8?).

My training volume this last week was 11 hours.  I ate well balanced healthy meals.  My snacking was in better control.  I've had plenty of water.  I've had no chocolate (chocolate is one of my vices, so I'm trying a chocolate fast) and no Ice cream (I gave it up for Lent) and I had 2 sips of beer at game night on Thursday.  I've been trying to avoid sweets and anything that's pure junk.

I know I should be happy about all of that.  And I should be happy with the results.  But I'm so disappointed.  I pulled the scale down out of the closet.  151.8.  (25.6% body fat).  A .6 lb loss.  I should be happy.  I should slap a smile on my face and say yes! I lost this week!  I didn't gain and I was doing healthy things for my body!  I can be a great cheerleader for others, encouraging them, making them see the positive in what they've accomplished.  But I downright suck at doing it for myself.

I am trying to remind myself that I ran 9:45 min miles on Sunday for a 2 hour run.  I'm trying to remind myself that I got 2 core workouts in this week.  I'm trying to remind myself that I climbed three 5.10's on Friday and almost finished a 5.11A yesterday.  I'm trying to remind myself that I went on my longest bike ride on Saturday and felt pretty good after it.  I'm trying to remind myself I swam 2200 yards in 37 minutes last Thursday.  I'm trying to remind myself that there were many opportunities for me to break down and eat cookies or donuts and I stayed strong.  And I'm trying to remind myself that this is the longest I've gone without Chocolate since I attempted to give it up for Lent 3 years ago and only made it a couple weeks.  

And I'm trying to remind myself that it's worth it.

The scale goes back up in the closet until next Tuesday.

Caines Head and Derby Cove - Seward, AK

Kevin and I have been dating just about 5 months now.  It was time for a relationship test, aka camping.  I am writing about this here because I took time off from the rigid training schedule to do this, and ended up not running for 2 weeks.  Why would camping keep you from running for that long you might ask?  Well, it wasn't really the camping.  My ankle was hurting before we left for the approx 4.5 mile hike to a public use cabin.  At least 2 of those miles were over slippery rocks along a beach.  So my cranky ankle became livid.  All my fault.  I knew it was hurting, I decided to go anyways.  I'm not really going to blame the hike for that.  I was also going to miss 3 days of training, but it ended up being 2.

What was that you said about some sort of test?  Oh yeah, well...many things that could go wrong did.  I am not sure if I passed the test, I hope I did.  But Kevin certainly did.  A man of great patience, calm demeanor and level head.  We were attempting to haul a heavy sled of fire wood so we could stay two nights.  Suffice it to say this did not go as planned.  We abandoned our sled and loaded up firewood in our packs, for at least one night.  Not too much farther along the trail we get to switch backs that no sled was going to manage, so we would have had to bail on it anyways.  And then there was the beach.  It was beautiful.  It was snowing.  But the tide was coming in.  Because our sled had delayed us so much we were now racing the tide.

We made it.  But it was tense, stressful and a little bit frightening.  Water coming in on one side.  Cliff with snow avalanching down on the other.

The cabin was a very welcome sight.  Surrounded by big trees.  Not a soul around.  And falling snow.  Peacefully serene.

It truly was a beautiful experience.  But it wasn't particularly easy on my ankle.

(all photos taken on our hike out, back to the car)

I made another mistake and when it was feeling better a few days later I went rock climbing.  That was going well until the last move on the last climb and I tweaked it.  So I finally laid off of it for over a week and didn't run until Sunday.  It's doing pretty good.  Had a nice 4.7 mile hilly run up on hillside with Micah.  11 min mile pace.  It was also nice to have company. And Micah kept up a running dialogue that was very entertaining and distracting and all of a sudden we were back at the house.

So 2 weeks without running.  And I still don't know why my ankle was hurting in the first place.  But it seems to be on the mend now.  Might have to skip out on rock climbing another week though and let it heal and strengthen up.

In other news...37 days to Wildflower.

Sacrificing Toes For The Greater Good

My toes went painfully numb.  Then it spread through to the arches.  Then I could feel it all the way in my heels.  They hurt like they've never hurt before.  But it was nothing compared to the pain of warming up in the shower.  If I'd been alone in the house I might have screamed.  Getting my tattoos hurt less.

I should have admitted defeat and submitted to my frozen toes after about 45 minutes.

But that would have been quitting.

I'm weak when it comes to a lot of things.  Sometimes I don't get my butt in gear for every single workout.  But I am not a quitter.

Let's face it, there's no bragging rights in quitting.

I'm not particularly humble.

So I rode my 2 hours.  Approx 5 minutes to get from parked car to loop.  11 loops at 10 minutes a loop.  Approx 5 minutes to get back to car.  The hardest part of that ride was those last 5 minutes.  Nasty steep hills.

I am proud of 2 things.  I rode in aero practically the entire ride (second time riding in aero on the road ever).  Just a couple sections I had to pop up for sharp corners or stop signs/traffic.  My first lap and my last lap were the same pace, and every one in between too.  Consistent pace.

I would have liked that pace to be faster than 15mph.  But I will settle for that  as a baseline.  This was  my first outdoor training ride, so I should cut myself a little slack.  But it's not like I've been sitting on my ass for the last 4 months either.   This wasn't a flat loop but the hills were pretty gradual.

Goal from here until Canada...one hill workout a week.

My bike computer isn't working anymore.  So I need to pick up a new one.  It was working rather spottily last week.  It would either give me my cadence, or my speed, but rarely both at the same time.  And then it would cut out on speed for long sections, and then kick back in again.   But it seems to have decided to give up completely on me now.

I highly recommend training for aero on rollers.  15 minutes on my rollers is almost torture trying to stay balanced.  2 hours on the road and not a wobble.  Corners going downhill?  Piece of cake.  Looking back to check on traffic?  Not a problem.  One arm in aero and one hand shifting?  Super easy.  Heck, I even signaled a few turns still in aero.  I worried and stressed out for nothing.

I also moved my seat back to it's proper position.  After a training ride the other day I noticed I was using my quads too much, not my hamstrings.  So after moving it to where it should be I was back to using my hamstrings and butt like I should.  But I still need to get back to double check I have my aerobars in the right position for the right angles.  And after yesterday's ride I'm not too concerned that it's not very comfy riding on my handlebars because I should only be there for the steep climbs and really sharp corners.  And yes there's a lot of long steep climbs but.... it's not the whole 56 miles so I think I'll be ok.

And now let's all pray for no more snow so I can get more road.  

A Review of Expenses for the Last 12 Months (Or Why I Am Broke But Happy)

Bike Expenses
New Bike (2010 Kona Zing Deluxe, on sale) -  1,126
Pedals - 30
Shoes - 40
Pump - 32
Race Tires - 76
New Rear Cassette (10 speed 11-27 for hill climbing) - 72
Training Tires - not purchased yet, estimated expense - 100-120
Saddle, Aerobars, Bike fitting - 565
Tri-shorts - 35
Bike shorts - 30
Bike Trainer - 50
Bike Rollers 30

Total Bike - $2,186

Swim Expenses
Swim passes - 5 X 45 - 225
Suit - 65
Goggles - 20
Cap - 2

Total Swim - $312

Run Expenses
Saucony Pro Grid Ride Shoes - 110
Nike Zoom Vomero 6 Shoes - 130
Brooks Pureflow Shoes- 90
Assorted running clothes(tights, sports bra, shirts, socks) - approx - 150
Twilight 12K Race - 35
Mayor's Marathon - 70
Lost Lake Race - 100
Tuesday Night Races - 30
Oktoberfest 10K Race - 20
Zombie Marathon - 30

Total Run - $735


Triathlon Specific Expenses
USAT Membership - 40
Gold Nugget Triathlon - 55
Hammerman Triathlon - 60
Homer Triathlon - 53
Ironman Canada - 700
Team in Training - Wildflower - 100

Total Triathlon - $1,008


Total Expenses - $4,241


Additional Expenses 
Flight to California for Wildflower - 623
California Car Rental - 98
Gas - ?
Bike Airline Fee for California - ?
Flight to Canada for Ironman - 51 + 25,000 miles
Canada Car Rental - 184
Gas - ?
Bike Airline Fee for Canada - ?
Lodging in Canada - 389
Passport for Canada - 135
Food - ?
Gu, energy bars, gatorade, etc - ?


Total - $1,480 + ?


Overall Expenses - $5,721


I would have thought that running was my cheapest discipline, but it looks like swimming is the most economical of the three.

I am hoping that I am nearing the end of major expenses for my bike and from here on out it will mostly be tubes and maintenance, small repairs, etc.  But I'm sure something else will come up, unfortunately.

There are obviously more expenses that have been left out.  But this is relatively close.  Also not included is the Rock Climbing Gym membership, which is not triathlon related but is part of my athletic activities.  6 month pass - $280

My income for the last 12 months is approximately $23,000.  Which means I am spending approximately 25% of my income on exercise.

Thank goodness I love it!!!!

Adventures in bike fitting

I had a bike fitting done a while back.  Spending a few hours with a specialist carefully dialing into the right angles for optimum power. I had aero bars mounted and positioned right.  And then I got home and the seat angle wasn't right.  You wouldn't think that there is a lot of difference if the front tire is just slightly lower than the back but there is.  (The difference between being on a trainer, even with the front tire on a block and rollers that are flat)  I spent a ridiculous amount of money on a seat so that it wouldn't hurt and I get home and it does.  Needless to say I was not all that pleased.  So I attempted to change it on my own.  I did.  Or so I thought.  I also went back and bought different aero bars because my wrists were experiencing excruciating pain.  I went from s-bend to ski - bends.  So much better.  I thought I'd placed the new bars in the same place.  They were ok for a while and then they didn't feel right.  I readjusted them.  And then I finally took a look at my seat.  I hadn't tightened it properly after adjusting the tilt.  It had slid all the way backwards.  No wonder my aero bars weren't right.  But when I moved my seat back to where it should be it felt horrible if I wasn't in aero and I was just on my handlebars (unfortunately I imagine I'll spend a lot of time in this position not being too comfortable in aero and on a real hilly course).  So, how bad is it if I change that seat placement a little?  Does that really mess up my power efficiency?  I'm talking about a half cm difference.  And now I have no clue if my aero bars are positioned anywhere where they should be because I really did move them a lot to get comfortable when my seat was in the wrong place.  I already went in a second time to buy a different seat from the first one I bought and had that fit to me.  I'm embarrassed to go back in again, especially since the bike fitter made me promise I wouldn't mess with the seat.  But I had to.  

I wan't my bike to fit right.  But how much should I follow "the numbers" and how much should I go with what I can ride for 4+ hours?  Not to mention the 8 hours I think Canada will take me.  

GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAL!

It's always important to have goals right?  The countdown ticker on the Wildflower website informs me I have 54 days, 15 hours and 23 seconds, wait, 20 seconds...18....until race weekend.  In short, the clock is ticking down.  54 days.  (actually I count 56 until my event, but there are a lot of things going on that weekend so I'll cut them some slack for not catering specifically to me.)  Maybe it's time to think about some goals.

I finally got around to reading the USA triathlon magazine article on Wildflower.  I really had no idea what I was signing up for. Apparently Wildflower is like the Woodstock of triathlons.  It's out in the middle of nowhere and an entire city moves in on tents.  Live music, food vendors, huge expo, and everyone is just camping out.  For it's first year it was a blue grass festival that had a triathlon.  It's definitely the other way around now. And this year it's turning 30 years old.  I get to be a part of that.

And I am scared shitless.
Seriously.

I'm not talking about how I was nervous before the 50k Tour of Anchorage or before my first marathon.  There's not really a whole lot that can go wrong there.  I knew how to run.  I knew how to walk.  That's pretty much all you need to know.  Drink a lot of water, keep moving.  No time limits, no real potentials for disaster besides cramping or pulling a muscle or straining something.  Perhaps tripping and falling but I've done that quite a few times already.  Not too scary.

So I'm back to the what ifs.

And there are too many to count.  Traveling, open water swimming with thousands of people, biking one of the hardest bike courses in American triathlons, flats, crashes, fuel, weather, running a half marathon after biking one of the hardest courses.  Traveling alone the day after racing.

Did I mention its one of the toughest bike courses?

Have I also mentioned I haven't actually ridden any hills since October?

Why?!?!?!  WHY did I foolishly decide to do an early season race?

Ok yeah, so I've been training.  I've been really good about following the schedule.  I probably haven't even missed more than 5-10 days total of training since I started in November.  But yesterday's workout wasn't even half the bike distance or half the run.  And I have 54 more days to feel confident about this?

I have a bike set up I haven't even ridden on yet!?  At least not really.  My rollers are great but they aren't the road.  My seat isn't really positioned for me to ride the entire 56 miles on my handlebars.  It's set for mostly being in aero and I don't even know if I can remain upright and steer in aero.

 I'm also trying to learn years of bicycling knowledge in a couple of months.  Race tires, training tires, fixing a flat, changing tires, pumps vs CO2, adjusting derailleurs, when to replace chains, when to replace gears, optimum cadence, etc etc etc.

And don't get me started on the hills.  At mile 40 there's a 5 mile climb.  Gaining 600 ft of elevation.  Followed by too short of a downhill and then another 3-5 mile climb of 400 ft.

And really, this would be no big deal if I had all day.

But I don't.

Which brings me to my goals.

At one point I thought I might be able to finish in 7 hours.  Then I reevaluated my speed and the course and thought maybe 7.5.  I figured 45 minutes for the swim, 3.5 hours for the bike, 3 hours for run and 15 minutes cushion for transitions and aid stations and what not.

But honestly, I don't even think I can set a goal for this one besides finishing.  It might take me close to 9 hours.  I might not even make the bike cutoff time.  Or I might make that one but not have enough time to finish my run.  All that training and not finishing?  So the goal is to finish. I'm having a hard time accepting this kind of goal.  Things have always been about time.  Even when I did the 50k Tour of Anchorage I had a time in mind.  Two times actually.  I always set two goals.  The one I am pretty sure I can make, and the one I really want to make.  I don't often hit that second goal.

But I can't estimate how long its going to take me to do this bike, or how long it will take me to run a half marathon after a grueling 56 miles.  I should be able to run a slow half marathon in just over 2.5 hours but....who knows!

The only thing I can say is that I want to do the swim in 40 minutes but will be happy if its under 45.  I'm pretty confident about that.

So there we go.  I have two goals as usual.  The one I think I can do, which is just finishing, however long it takes.  And then I have my ambitious goal of 7.5 hours.   If I get anywhere close to 7.5 I'll be ecstatic.

I don't really like it, these goals, but it's the best I can do.  And hopefully I'll enjoy the journey.  As much as I complain, as much as I bitch and whine about being sore, or how hard something is or how much time something takes.  I love it.  I really do.  I've enjoyed the journey up to now.  I'll enjoy the next 54 days.  And I'll try and remember to relax on race day.  I might need an extra reminder or too though.  Just ask me why I'm doing it.  And I'll probably grin.

For your viewing pleasure here is a map of the course.  And the elevation profile for the bike.

Looking Back: A year in review

2011-A brief overview

January

-Reached weight goal of 160. Thats 48 lbs lost since 2007.

(Halloween 2007 marked my heaviest weight, 208 lbs)

 

-Sun Valley ski trip. Great skiing with family. Crossing my fingers that I might be able to go in 2013

(Me, Allen, Maria, Scott, Christmas Chair lift)

February

-Became lifetime member of Weight Watchers. (Maintained 160 for 6 weeks)

-Birthday ski, 26k for 26 years. Training for the Tour of Anchorage.

March

-Finished my first 50k Tour of Anchorage- 5 hours and 45 minutes. 64th out of 67 women. Which means I wasn't last! 

(I said I wasn't going to ski again.  The reason my smile is so big is because I am so happy to be done) 

 -Began marathon training.  I do believe this saved my sanity and accellerated the healing process from breaking up. There is nothing quite like a 3 hour run to really clear your mind.

April

-Freeze Your Keys. I vowed not to drive my car anywhere and biked everywhere (or carpooled) for the entire month of April.  I lost track of how many miles I logged.  Thank goodness for studded tires.

May

-Started what turned out to be a very successful "Tuesday Night Trek" hiking series. 12 hikes in all!  I'm looking forward to doing this again. 

- Competed in my 1st triathlon - Gold Nugget. I entered on a whim. Who knew this would be the start of something life changing.  I raced on my commuter bike.  Still managed a time of 1:37.  Placing 354th out of 1291 women.  I hope to shave off a lot of time this year.

June

-Finished my first marathon.  Words can not express how I felt about the entire experience.  Time: 4:49.  Placed 187 out of 526 women. 

I hiked up Flat Top just over a week later. NBD. 

(hmmmm that guy in yellow looks suspiciously familiar)

July

-Hiked up Mt. Marathon to cheer on racers.  Another year as spectator...maybe this year?

-Competed in my 2nd triathlon - Xterra Hammerman, an offroad tri at Kincaid. 1st in age group (I only beat one other person...) Definitely feeling hooked on this triathlon business.   But not a fan of mountain biking.  Give me pavement!

-Hiked all of Crow Pass in one day.  First time ever on the trail. That's about 25 miles in approx 8 hours. Was a great jog/hike until Ike rolled in poop. Really really smelly poop.

(we're still smiling because this is just the beginning)

August
-Ran the Lost Lake Race for my second time. A 16 mile xc race in Seward.  I went from a time last year of 3:42 to 3:11.  I placed 172nd out of 374.  This race marked a big change in my life for 2010.  And it was the beginning of my love of endurance sports.  I love this race because there's abouut 6 miles of running down hill.  I will miss it next year because....

-Signed up for Ironman Canada.  August 26, 2012.  I just about had heart palpitations while doing so. 

September

-Competed in my 3rd Triathlon in Homer. I won my age group.  I was the only person in my age group.  This was the first race on my new bike.  I also ran my fastest 5 miles as far as I can tell...under 50 minutes?  And that was after biking up the nastiest hill I've ever ridden. 

-Tuesday Night Races! I ran mostly in the Lightning League this year (longer distance than the Farm League). Slow but steady!   I ran in every one except the last one which doesn't even really count since it's less than a mile. 

October

-Finished my 2nd Marathon. Who knew these things were addicting.  Dropped 20 minutes off from my first marathon.  Time 4:28. Ran in the Tuesday night race 3 days later. Lightning league.  Farm league is for sissies. 

(I look like I've been bleeding purple, but its just from a recent dye job and lots and lots of sweat) 

November
-Remember that guy in yellow?  I convinced him we should be more than friends.  Decided on a tentative move date to Kodiak, AK post Ironman race sometime in September.  HUGE life decision.

-Started rock climbing regularly. About twice a week. Guess what, it's fun.

December
-Started serious training for a half Ironman distance race.  Wildflower Long Course in Bradley, CA on May 5, 2012.  I'm doing this through Team in Training.  If you haven't already donated you should.  I'm getting close to my goal but I'm not there yet!  http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/lavatri12/clendaniel

-Christmas without Dad. 

(I promise we're not all this happy because you're gone, we definitely missed you Dad)

-Kevin visits!  I inflict the family on him and he survives.  Might have to keep this one.  During this week it's -5 to +5.  But we still went hiking anyways. 

-Maintaining a weight of 155. 

Parting thoughts

I don't think I've ever experienced so much in one year.  Joys and sorrows.  Amazing accomplishments.  Life changing experiences and decisions.  But 2012 is off to a great start too.  And it has the potential for being a phenomenal year.