Month Four of Ironman Boulder Training: Getting back on track....DON'T FEED THE FEARS!!!

I'm pretty sure some of this doesn't make sense. Sorry, I'm just happy to get it down on paper! 


Swim   82,090 yds      35:45 hr/min

Bike     706   Miles      62:45 hr/min

Run     197   Miles       40:30 hr/min

Overall Training Time:  139.00 hr/min.



Week One-

I  did my first swim of 3200 yds on Monday.  I haven't done that more then once in my past training for Ironman's, and here I am getting them done in multiple weeks and feeling strong.  I am still recovering from Whiskey Row, the body is tired. So I took off Tuesday and rested, by accident, another "nickel's nap" that ended up with me sleeping my entire evening away and not getting in my bike ride.  On Wed, I got out of work late, and debating, decided that my bike was more important then my swim, so I went home and rode my bike workout I missed on Tuesday.  I also had an ortho appt in the am, and was feeling a bit crappy.  Thursday was a day off, and our first Softball game for Mountain Valley, in which we won. I had Friday off from work due to working Saturday, and got in my long run in the AM and got to run with my good friend Nicole and her new baby boy. Got my honorary nephew fix and a good workout by pushing his stroller for about four miles. Saturday I worked, and then got in my hour run.  I also got my workout for Sat. done on Thursday night, because after work, I drove down to Phx with Nicole and we went to a place called My Art Party , where you painted a picture and got to BYOB. It was four months in the works, I bought it as a present for both of us for our birthdays, and we were not able to find a painting we liked until this day. So we had a lot of fun, got a chance to hang out for the first time in a long time, and discovered a new beer called Wild Blue. SUPER YUMMMY!!!  We hung out  and had some amazing pizza at the Hob Nob, and drove back to Prescott that night. It was a much needed break, as I was feeling pretty down and just needing some friend time. However, when I woke the next day, I was pretty darn tired, and a bit headachy, My motivation went into the toilet, I was just so darn tired, I ended up sleeping the entire day away. 

Week Two--

Training week started better and was pretty standard with no surprises. I got in my swim on Monday. Tuesday I got in my bike session on the trainer.   Wed was my longer training day of the week. I swam at the Y and then ran on the treadmill. I was hoping to run on Tuesday, but the wind lately had continued to be horrific and I didn't want to chance it with my breathing. So I sucked it up and ran on the treadmill.  Thursday was my day off of training, and I actually got some errands done, and walked the dogs, and softball (2-0).    Friday I got my ride in on the trainer and then got ready for Saturday. I woke early and headed down to Bartlett Lake for the day to volunteer for Day on The Lake. A full day of adapted water sports for individuals who have had injuries, like a TBI, a SCI or the like. I worked water intake where I got to help individuals test out to be able to go water ski or jet ski. Basically, they had to go in the water, hold their breath for 10 seconds floating in the water and then turn themselves over. This was so that if they fell of the jet ski or the water ski, they could right themselves until help arrived. It was a lot of fun. When we were mostly done, I headed out and did an open water swim. What's pretty awesome about this is that it's the first time I ever did an open water swim with out a wetsuit!!!! Granted it was only for about 20 minutes, but that was pretty darn huge for me. I tend to want the wetsuit as a "security blanket" so I would float. Nope, I didn't need it, and I felt strong!! Talk about a pretty awesome Boost in my confidence!!!! and I really needed that!!!  After we were mostly done with the day, I headed out and got in about an hour of my run. I was trying to get in 1:35. But I ended up training for a "heat" workout, as it was about 90 degrees, and I was running up hill for half the workout, so it was a bit hot. I always have a rule, that when I'm half way though my water, I turn around so I have enough to get back. Well, because it was so hot, I went through it quicker, and I was a bit fatigued anyway from being in the sun all day. So better safe than sorry. Once back at the Escape, I changed and then headed home.   Sunday, I woke early and walked the dogs. it was sunny, it was calm, it was nice. But somewhere between putting the dogs away and getting out the door for the ride, the wind picked up. Like PICKED UP!!!  But, there were no excuses, I would not allow myself to miss another day of training on the bike like last weekend. So off I went with the focus on my Power Meter training. I got out the first 10 miles pretty good, then headed down one of the side roads called Coyote Springs,  well I felt pretty good, but was prepared, cause when I turned around. BAMM...side and head winds..up to 20 mph. Needless to say....I was going really slow with my recommended PM training. I just focused on keeping it dialed in. But I began to get nervous, and wondering....am I going to make the time in Boulder, if it's windy?  I was going so slow, will I make the cut off. The wind kept pushing me, to the point I had to ride more on the road. As I was nearing the end, I was getting so frustrated I just yelled out " F-ing WIND!!!!  Sadly, I did this right as I was passing a church, and people were getting out.  Oops!!! I can only hope that the wind carried it away from them.  Off I went into Prescott and up the hill to Williamson Valley Road. The wind was what I call a "swirly" wind as it was now giving me a headwind going up the hill...slowly. GRRRRR  I definitely was not getting any good mileage today. That was for sure. Once home, I got in my 30 minute run and then I ran to the store, got my two bags of ice, home for an Ice bath. I was so tired, that I literally almost fell asleep in the bath! Good Mental training day, but man, I am now starting to doubt myself on the bike in the wind. I've also been really struggling with training on the bike cause I am riding alone all the time.  and it's so hard to get motivated.  I did notice on the ride that I kept hitting my left knee in my left elbow, and I was sliding forward on the bike. So I sent out an email to my bike fitter to see what could be done. 

Week Three-

Recovery Week. Blessed Recovery Week and getting ready for Boulder 70.3 I had Monday off from training. It was nice to come home and relax, although I ended up staying later at work which was no fun. Tuesday I had a ortho appt, getting close to hopefully have braces off before Boulder 70.3. Otherwise for sure by Ironman in Aug. The adjustment HURT!!!  Just when I thought that I had experienced the worst pain from adjustments, my ortho doc proves me wrong. I was back to liquid meals for the next few days.  IBP was on board and distraction for my bike ride. I was able to get a hold of my bike fitter, and I ended up having Wed off...so I headed down to Phx to get my bike adjusted again, and just do some shopping for things I needed. A nice break as I was going a bit stir crazy. The plan was to wake up early and go swim at the Y to get in my workout. Once again, I just couldn't get myself out of bed, but finally I did and so I did something productive, I was at least able to get the dogs out for a walk.  When I got home from Phoenix, I was  going to head over and get in my swim, but I ended up falling asleep. So, I decided that since it was recovery week, my body was telling me what it needed.  Thursday was a busy day at work, and I also had a dental cleaning. Note to self...never plan a ortho appt and dental cleaning within two days of each other. That was super painful :(.   Played softball that night , and we are now 3-0. But it was close. Friday I ended up heading over to Y and got in my long swim since I missed it on Wed. and opted out of the short recovery run.  Saturday I had to work, but once home, I got in my 1:35 hr/min run. I love that I can run a 10:00 mile now and be in Zone 1-2 for training.  And running 9:30 min/mile feels doable and almost comfortable.  Excited to see that is getting better, and I can breath normal again.   

On Sunday I was able to hook up with the Prescott Bike Club and a group from Phoenix from Multi Sport One,  who came up to ride Skull Valley Loop. Now this is a 54 ish mile loop up and over the mountains, down into Skull Valley, Kirkland, Wilhoit, and back up the switch backs into Prescott.   This has been a ride that I have wanted to do for awhile cause it's great hill training, but its not a ride that I will do alone as it's too isolated and I don't have anyone to ride with anymore, so I was very grateful for the opportunity and for the SAG vehicles who I saw the most on the entire ride. 

These are the things I learned from this ride:

Things I learned on my  Skull Valley Loop Ride today:

1.   When you’re the only one with a road bike, and everyone else is on a Tri Bike. You get dropped….quickly…at the beginning.  However, I got to know the SAG vehicles very well, and they were so nice to wait for me and offer support to a complete stranger.

2.    I  somehow was able to control my bike riding downhill at about 28 ish mph, as I hit “something medal” in the road, and not crash, even when you hit it hard enough to put a gash in your wheel frame and put a hole  in your tube all the way through on both sides! Yikes!!!   (Maybe it is an excuse to get new wheels?????)  Since writing this post, I have now discovered that my wheel is "wobbling" on the frame. :(  Which explains why number 5 might have sucked worse today than usual.

3.       From this, I learned that you can patch the hole in your Gatorskin tire with a gel packet. And still manage to finish the entire ride.

4.       Elevation change on the ride (per multiple resources) ranged from either 3850 feet of elevation change to another source that says it’s closer to 2900 feet.   Start elevation was at 5363 feet, Max elevation 6133 feet.  Regardless…..it’s a crap load of hill climbing!!

5.       The 5-9-ish miles of “false flat” into Wilhoit, AZ continue to suck and be the most frustrating part of the ride for me (think you have your brake dragging on your wheel ALL THE TIME).  I was more comfortable riding up the steeper switchbacks over the mountain and back into Prescott, mainly because I had breaks with downhill sections between the steep climbs.

6.       The last time I rode this ride, it took me about 4:30 hr/min or longer. I was done in 3: 56 hr/min (give or take the five minutes it took me to get through the ¼ mile stretch of Downtown Square with all the traffic and stop lights).

7.       I made several new friends and found out some of them are doing Boulder 70.3 Half Ironman in three weeks.  Now I’ll have some new friends to hang with in Boulder. J 

8.       I’m so happy with my compression recovery tights right now, that I’m now wishing I bought a top too. My legs actually feel good. After the ice bath of course J

9.       Ride successfully completed!!!!

Once I got home, I got in my ice bath and then put on my full length recovery compression hose.   I have to say that wearing them after my run on Saturday and my ride on Sunday. My legs are not sore. They feel pretty darn good. This makes me happy. And even though I did one of my longest rides with the most elevation, I didn't feel as tired as I have when I did this ride in the past. So I know I'm getting better on the bike. But I have to admit, when I got dropped so quickly it once again has made me really nervous that I am not as ready as I should be for Boulder. and it's starting to freak me out. 

Week Four-- Monday started with switching up my bike for swim since the pool was closed for Memorial Day.  I got in my bike ride on the trainer. Tuesday- I went to the Y and got in my swim for 2350 yds, I had planned to do my Monday workout, but I ended up getting out of work a bit early, so I went for my Wed workout.   My swim was good for the most part. I got in some good 100s under 2:00 min for all 6 of them.  I then jumped on the treadmill for the 10 x 400 M, the last time I did a "track workout" like this was in high school I think. What made me really happy, was that I ran these all at a 9:32 pace, and felt GOOD!!!  I only had a 1:20 min/sec recovery, but I still felt pretty good at the end of the workout.  Then after I was done, I headed over to a Tri buddy, who graciously loaned me his very expensive Carbon wheels to use for Boulder 70.3 and 140.6 if I want to.  I can't deny that I was very tempted to take his tri bike too, but decided since I have my bike really dialed into my body and position, I should just stick with that. So Wed, after work I headed over to High Gear, and got my bike setup with a full tune up with changing cables, true my front wheel from the "skull Valley" incident.  New Brake pad setup so I can switch from regular tires, to carbon wheels. 

 They are tubular...so I'm a bit hesitant to use them, but if I get in a few  practice rides before the big day, I just might go for it.  The only bummer, is that they won't get my brake pads in for the carbon wheels until next week, so no practice for this weeks 4  hr ride :(, and because they are backed up, I wont' get my bike until Saturday, so my Friday ride may be out.  Off to the Y and I got in my 3200 yds. My body was tired. I was tired. Work has been extremely busy and all of us therapists have been picking up pretty heavy loads, so mentally I have been fatigued. I ended up getting my workout in, but I did every other 100 with a pull buoy.  I just didnt' have any "getup and go" in me. I notice I'm back to a not so happy diet either, and my fatigue levels have proved it. So I stopped off at New Frontier/ now Whole Foods, and picked up stuff for my Sweet Potato Coconut Soup, then at Trader Joes, some Filet Minion.   Asleep pretty quick tonight. Thursday I woke up late ( again, happened all week), got in to work only a few minutes late thankfully. I ended up getting out late too, so I was just feeling pretty down, pretty exhausted, pretty low from my poor training week. 

All week, I've been feeling mentally drained, depressed, exhausted from training. And feeling just not good. So much so, that I was becoming homesick, and actually was getting teary eyed and crying in Sam's Club of all places. So when I got home, I found a "package" in the mail.  It was from my FC  Coach, Jillian.  We had briefly chatted about how I was just feeling frustrated, and down with my training, mainly my bike training, and how I feel like I'm not getting where I would like to be, and how I am struggling training by myself. And here in this package, was a photo of my FC AZ Teammates!!! Each one of them had sent me some encouraging words for training.  How even though I'm alone, I'm not alone. It came at a really good time. I ended up crying for a good half hour. Then I cried some more later, when I was writing them all a thank you privately.   

And I am so happy that Jillian knew exactly what I needed for a "pick me up".    I'm so lucky that I found Team FC and they took me in to train with them.   It was a really good release, and something that I needed. Knowing about all the other changes in my life that will be occurring this year, I was getting a bit overwhelmed I think.  The fear of the unknown, it can suck you in so quick and escalate.  I have a quote on my wall from Tough Mudder. It says..." DON"T FEED THE FEARS" I've been paying a lot of attention to that lately, cause I have been feeding those fears. Especially with my bike training.   So the picture and words of encouragement came at the right time. I have it hanging on my wall so I see it every day. I now have a small one, I plan to attach to the back of my training plan to look at when I have doubts creeping in. Thursday night was also Work Softball. it was a late game, 9 pm, but it ended up being a fun one, and we were clicking pretty well as a team. And we won, now 4-0!! GO MVRRH!!!!!

Friday I woke , so so happy it was Friday.  Work again was busy, I got out late again.  and since I had no bike, I decided to let it be a rest day. It was much needed. I had planned to do some chores and get the house cleaned up. But instead- got another 12 hour "nap".   Saturday I planned to wake early, get the dogs walked before it got hot and get in  my workouts. It didn't happen, I slept through my alarms and ended up waking up around 8 AM, it was already 80 degrees out. So no dog walk :(.  I got a late start, ate breakfast and got on my run around 11: 15 am. Which ended up being 8.5 miles in 86 degree weather, and 24 ish mph winds.  Whew!! That was a workout, But I was happily surprised that I was holding my 9:32 pace with no hip or knee pain.   I finished with a break down by the lake with some  beautiful views of Granite Dells.  Back at the Escape, I headed to the Y for my easy 2800 yds swim. Which felt really good after the hot run. The only frustrating part with that was that kiddos decided that the lap lanes was a good place to hit there ball, which after the third time I almost swam into them, the lifeguard thankfully stepped in, and kinda gave them a lecture to say out of my lane. And yes, there was no one else in the pool so they could of moved over, where I was stuck in the lane.  

Sunday I woke a bit earlier (finally) and got the dogs out for their walk, which at 7 :30 still was too hot by the end. Then off I went on my 4 hour bike ride with a 35 min brick. The winds once again were relentless. 10-20 mph head winds on the way out. I managed to get in 4 of my 6 intervals , but by then I was swearing  up a storm on the ride, I just couldn't get it to even out. And by 2;20 I bonked and had to take a 20 min break at the softball field, refueling and refilling my water I ran out of. I had decided then and their to just turn back home and finish anything left on the trainer. But then I thought about the picture and words from my AZ IM Team, and when I got to the road, I went up hill instead.   So I managed to finish my ride, and get in my 35 minute brick run, which felt pretty good for 86 degrees. I usually have a hard time training in hot weather, but I think the OSMO is really making it easier.    Finished with a ice bath and now my awesome recovery compression tights which have been a Godsend.  Did I mention my sexy bike tan lines are back???  

Finished the day with talking to Coach Jillian and planning out the next month of my training and talking plans for Boulder 70.3 in 13 days!!!   I have been feeling really good with my swims and my runs.  My biking is the area that I'm feeling stressed about. And Jillian is amazing with working with  me to help me gain more confidence in my biking skills. I really think I just need to get out on the Boulder Course, do the 70.3, gain my confidence back, and then ride/drive the full so I can see where I'm at.    Thoughts for this week?  DON"T FEED THE FEARS.  BE Patient with your training, TRUST Your

Training.  You are where you need to be. Remember it's about having fun and finishing strong.

What is Important Is to 

Believe in Something So 

Strongly That You're

 Never Discouraged.