Better Late then Never.... Training up to St George.

This is my Journey into the World of Ironman. It's my journal/documentation of the ups and downs of what it takes to be an age-group athlete training for an Ironman triathlon. This is more of a way for me to remember what I am doing over the course of the training season, as any Ironman Athlete can tell you, sometimes the days can blur into one training day of swim, bike, run after another. So, while some may not find this at all interesting, those that wonder...could I do an Ironman? Do I have what it takes to do an Ironman? I give you a peek into my journey and days to complete my next Ironman.  Forgive any misspelled words/awkward sounding sentences. I'm pretty happy just to get them down on paper. Consider it a test of your mental skills to figure out what I'm saying. Hope you enjoy reading my journey.

Current Training Totals:

Swim       76,180 yds               31:32 hr/min

Bike         678.17  Miles         57:57 hr/min

Run          283.94  Miles         61:11 hr/min

Other/                                      24:30 hr/min

Strength

Overall  Training Time:         175:10 hr/min

My last post was April 17th.  I've been a huge slacker on my blog this time around.  Maybe it's because I have done it all before.  and I'm not sure what new things I have to say. But I think I do. I think this is a great example of how the journey can go and you get side tracked and back tracked, and then think you'll get stuff done and you end up choosing to sleep instead.  So, this is the short and sweet version of the three weeks before my St George 70.3 race.   At least it will be a quick read :)



My last two weeks In Billings for training were Mediocre at best. I had almost, almost as many red days and green days on the training plan.  I was tired, I was packing, I was feeling painful on my SI joint, I was exhausted.

Happy Smiles, with ETOH involved. These girls are awesome!!! 

Mary....One day....I'll be there...I'm sure it will happen. :) 

Small worlds.  

I am slowly getting the shoe thing figured out. My Glycerin 13's seem to be working, as the New Balance 1080s. I've never done the whole rotate between two shoes for running, but I seem to be embracing this, this time around. Even with my minimal space with packing in my Outback, I'm making it happen.

That brought up more fun, with packing.  My Wahoo Kicker box was bigger then my Kurt Kinetic, so I had to do some "rearranging" of my stuff.  I had to donate a few things to the rental, which was not by choice.

I managed to get out for  a night or two of dinner and drinks with the Billings Crew, which was so nice to do. I had a wonderful time here. It was to short, but I loved getting a chance to see everyone again. I will definitely be back at some point. I have dubbed Billings, my Traveling "home".  That's how fond I am of the people there.


I got all packed up by the 29th, I even managed to be packed by 7 pm, and have the rest of the evening to relax.  Unheard of for me. But definitely needed. I was so tired.


I got a early start, out the door by 7:30 AM, for me anyway. Got my last City Brew Coffee for the road and I was on my way back to AZ.   I luckily at the last minute was able to rent a house from my best friends father-in-law.  And it was a truly lucky thing, because I was running out of options, where I would not of maybe made it to AZ.    I drove  to Salt Lake City that day.  I got in to my "regular" hotel on the trip. The guy at the  desk recognized me, and knew I had two dogs, and two bikes and I needed a down stairs room.  Then He even called my room after I settled in to make sure I was okay. VIP treatment!!!  And, NO, He was about 15 years younger than me.

You know you are in, when you made the wall of faces...:) 

My home in Billings this round.  

On May first I drove to Prescott, stopping off at the famous Jacob Lake on the North Rim for the best cookies in the world. Then Headed down and made it to Prescott by 5 ish.  I got settled into what is know as the "rock house"  But I'm calling it the "Little House on the Prairie" house. Its your classic, tiny home living.  I have saloon doors into my "bedroom". I can walk it from one side to the other in about 10 steps. and I have to do a weird, step in. turn, shut door, rotate, open shower door, rotate, shut door to get in to the bathroom.  I'm discovering that all my desires to live in a tiny house may not work for me, as 1/2 the stuff I had in my car, went to my storage unit.  So..I may have an answer to that questions.

Bathroom/Gas break in Beaver, UT.  I am not sure if I should be shocked or impressed with the amount of souvenirs they had. 

that was the best steak I've had from a restaurant. Didn't matter they forgot the silverware.

Always love this view, it's my Officially back in AZ view 

My new cozy rental

Squeezing in the bike between the rock wall and the couch

I can make it 10 steps anywhere in the rental.  

My first day here, honestly, I slept.  It's been a bit of a whirlwind, and adjusting to elevation, and getting settled has wiped me out.  Then I found out I was working the second day here,  when I thought I'd be heading to St George for my race. So, I ended up getting in one day of work before I begin my next adventure.  Traveling to St George for my first 70.3 of the season.  
I'm sure I have more to say, but this honestly is all i can remember at the moment.   The Better Late Then Never Race Report for St George 70.3 should be coming later this week.



Note to Self:  NEVER Travel through 7 states, move, switch jobs, and then head off to do the hardest 70.3 in all the half Ironman's, in one week's time.  It's just not a smart thing.  Really...it's not.

Still a bit lost..but slowly working my way back one step, stroke, pedal at a time.

This is my Journey into the World of Ironman. It's my journal/documentation of the ups and downs of what it takes to be an age-group athlete training for an Ironman triathlon. This is more of a way for me to remember what I am doing over the course of the training season, as any Ironman Athlete can tell you, sometimes the days can blur into one training day of swim, bike, run after another. So, while some may not find this at all interesting, those that wonder...could I do an Ironman? Do I have what it takes to do an Ironman? I give you a peek into my journey and days to complete my next Ironman.  Forgive any misspelled words/awkward sounding sentences. I'm pretty happy just to get them down on paper. Consider it a test of your mental skills to figure out what I'm saying. Hope you enjoy reading my journey.

Happy OT Month!!!!  

   

Current Training Totals:

Swim       66,500 yds             27:57 hr/min

Bike         568.54  Miles         48:54 hr/min

Run          244.70  Miles         53:02 hr/min

Other/                                      22:15 hr/min

Strength

Overall  Training Time:         152:08 hr/min

It has been a rough month.  I started out strong when I first got here to Billings.  I got a PR for my first race of my lucky number year ( See previous post), and I got in two solid good weeks of training.  Then my body seem to just shut down. My SI joint has been raging and acting up more lately, I got it adjusted twice now, and I've been hitting the yoga and foam roller pretty strong, ice, kinesotape. And I'm just still struggling. The third week has been HORRIBLE.   I literally took a sabbatical from training. Mentally, I'm toast. I wanted  to quit so badly in that moment.  I'm frustrated I feel this way, because I love doing tri's.  But I was in so much discomfort from my SI joint, I just stopped.   Which just increased my fatigue. So I took almost 5 days off. Mainly because I have been so fatigued by the time I got home from work, I couldn't do more then crawl over to the couch and sleep for 3-4 hours every night, then drag myself to bed.  I think some has been an adjustment to getting back to working rehab, which I love, but getting myself back on a timed schedule has been challenging.  And I forgot how much it beats up the body.

                                            lots of color options....

I've also had a frustrating time getting to the pool.  What was supposed to be open lap time from 7-9 at night, is now taken over by Special Olympics. Until May. So, my only time to get in a swim, is at 3 pm to 4:30 pm. And I work until 3:30pm.  I'm here first for the job, but they have been gracious enough to let me leave at 3 pm if I'm all done. Which I work through lunch anyway, so I'm still getting all my hours in. But, it has been nerve wrecking. I'm trying to make sure I get all my work done correctly and on time (again, why I'm here), then sprint to the Y to try and get in my swim workouts.  I have been getting pretty stressed about this, and I think it has worn me down mentally, and physically, hence, 5 days of F-You to the workouts.  And to top it off, the pool closed on me for a week. Then got extended, and  I lost a week and a half worth of swimming.  They offered another facility to swim at, but the times were ridiculous and all during work hours for me.  Seriously?  I even looked into switching to another place that has a pool, and they are closed for the week after the week that was closed for the Y. Can't win. So I'm excepting the fact that my swim is just going to miss some time. And hopefully that will help me to get back on track.   To make matters more fun, the dogs got into it one weekend, so I had a "Saturday Night Fight Night" at my apartment.  Kahlua bit Bailey, and Bailey bit me while trying to separate them, and now we are all on Antibiotics.  And my body doesn't like antibiotics. So I now get to struggle with nausea and headaches. It killed one of my saturday rides. I was 1:15 in, and I got so nauseated, I had to go hang out by the toilet. then I ended up laying down on the couch for a bit, got chilly, headachy, and ended up waking up 6 hours later. So...workout got canned. I was supposed to run a 10 K race the next day, but with feeling so crappy, and my SI joint acting up. I'm just not motivated to do ANYTHING.  I'm really getting frustrated with this feeling.  I'm so over this pity party I'm having for myself, but can't seem to get myself pulled out of it.  So, I just keep plugging away at everything I can do. One Step, One Stroke, One Pedal At a Time.   And working hard to try an not let all the negativity that seems to be hitting me take over.  Patience seems to be the word of the year. I don't feel like listing all the crap that's going wrong. My Gratitude Jar, seems to be filled with all the negative things and memories.  I'm ready to fill them with better ones.
  My other issues has been shoes....I've been working on this one since November.  I have purchased seven different pairs.  I'm not sure what's going on with my feet, but I"m having a heck of a time getting into some comfortable ones. I loved my Triumph ISO. then they Become ISO 2s. Which is what I bought, but then had horrible foot pain on the outside of my right foot.  Still do on some days, on and off. I've finally found two pair that seem to be working. New Balance 1080s, and Brooks Glycerin 13.  I have both of them off my recommended PRI list, so they should be working, but I'm still struggling a bit.   (good news!! I managed 10 miles, the day I wrote this, in the Glycerin's and no Kinesotape...progress!!)

                                      Before I got my antibiotics on board. I'm all good now, but I have a circle of numbness on my finger where the bite was.

               Somebody else got antibiotics too...he is all healed and hair growing back.

                                   Can we say over 700$ is shoes right here?  At least I've been able to return all      
                                     that don't work.

Race 10K Report:

Well, I managed to pull my butt out of bed for the 10K race on April 10th. I so didn't want to, had every excuse in the book.  It was cold, it was rainy, it was windy.  My SI Joint hurt,  I should not push it.  But I said F-You to all of them. I got my butt to the race site. Sat in the car, freezing, thinking I brought the right clothes, then decided at the last minute to leave my vest on. I was very Matchy Matchy :)  As you can see.  I did get quite a few chuckles/snickers commented on my "great outfit" during the run.   Apparently, not matching is frowned upon??

                                          What? I don't Match?? I did before I got Cold!!

But I didn't really care. I was warm.  So, I lined up with the rest of the brave souls that didn't let the weather stop them.  I decided to just make this a training run since I still had another 1:20 hr/min to run after.   So, for all that complaining and negative talk, I got underway with my race.  Snicker here, snicker there, laugh here. And by the time I got to the turn around, I realized I may of had a shot at getting a PR. So I mentally focused on just keeping the pacing going. I stopped two times to catch my breath. But then I pushed on.  I was to close to stop now. So I pushed on.  Again, the course was longer this year, Last year I hit the lap time for the 10K and still ran another .2 miles to the finish.  This year it ended up being .1 over. So I lapped my time about .1 out from the finish, And got a one minute PR!!!!  58:32 Hr. Min.  Whew!! I worked hard for that one.    The overall time with the extra tagged on was 59:15, which is still a PR if I counted that time.  I was super happy! And super cold!  I made it back to my car, and just sat for almost 45 minutes trying to warm up. My butt warmers helped a lot!!!  I was sooooo cold.  Then I decided I wasn't going to make it outside running, so I headed to the Y and finished the rest of my run time there.  I guess the one thing I can say is even though I may feel like I'm completely sucking at my training, I'm not letting it affect me during my racing. So  Maybe I am doing something right, even when I feel like everything is going wrong with it.

The next week of training, actually has been going pretty well. I have got almost all my workouts in except one.  I am FINALLY back in the pool. and I must say, it feels wonderful!!  I have accepted the fact that I won't get all my distance times in, with the limited time I have to swim. But anything is better than nothing.  So I focus on what I can control.  I got lucky on Friday, as the swim team started late at 5 pm. One of the ladies said they pushed it back to 5 for a bit, but I don't know how long that will last.

In exciting news....I got a new bike trainer!!  I finally broke down and bought a Wahoo Kicker!!!  Then down side, is I feel very incompetent while riding it. It's very high tech, it's all bluetooth and setup with my phone.  But I can't seem to get it to work like I want. A big learning curve of course. And my chain keeps jumping off. So I'm not sure I have it setup right. I pretty much get it set on one ring, then adjust the tension and leave it.  I should be able to shift, but its making all sorts of noise when I do it, so I just leave it alone.  Any Wahoo Riders out there, please feel free to chime in to help me figure out what I'm doing wrong.  And I can't get my HR to pair.   Boo. I didn't think I'd have to buy a new HR monitor.   But she is pretty.  I got a sweet deal on it too.  From REI with my 20% off, then my dividend, then selling my other trainer,  I got it for over half off.  Can't complain with that I suppose. :) And somehow I got it where it could be shipped directly to my door so I didn't have to take two hours and drive to Bozeman, the nearest REI to pick it up!

                   First Ride....I was crying, the chain kept dropping, and I couldn't get in a rhythm

It turned on while I was unpacking....kinda freaky. 

Good bye my dear old friend,  Thank you for the many many miles and 4 IMs. Off to a good home here in Billings.

I also got my Base Box with Gear and lots of goodies!!   I need to switch out  the pink hat mind you. But the rest is pretty  sweet stuff.  My shirts are too big, but I was thinking they would fit smaller, So now I have big shirts.  Trying to see if I can swap them out, but I may just have to try and wash them and try and shrink them.

I've been having trouble with my Garmin HR monitor, New battery replaced, etc. It would only record the first half of my workout, then stop. So after a call to Garmin, they awesomely replaced it...and now I have a new one...

I'm just shy of three weeks  out of my first race of the season at St George 70.3 on May 7th. My Race number is 1964.  I like that number :)   I will probably be pretty slow since it will be the hardest of the three 70.3's I'll be doing this year, but I will have fun, and I will use it as a training race, and I WILL be healed and ready to go by race day. That is my overall goal.

PR in the 5K!!!

Shamrock 5K Run  (3.1 Miles)

Time:              26:52   8:39 Pace

Age Group (30-49) :  14th out of 166

Women:                     35th out of 341

Overall:                      97th out of 543

So How do you start out the first "Fun Run" Race of the season?  By getting a 2:30 min/sec Personal Record (PR).  My overall PR was beat by 35 seconds that I ran back in 2009.  Now I did have a run last July that was 27:00, but the course was short, so I never felt like I could count it.  This one...I can count.   42 is my lucky number, and well, I love that my first race of the season in my lucky number year, was a PR!!! I Celebrated with half a Guinness  then headed out to do my hour run and hour swim. 

I Was Lost, But Now I Am Found

This is my Journey into the World of Ironman. It's my journal/documentation of the ups and downs of what it takes to be an age-group athlete training for an Ironman triathlon. This is more of a way for me to remember what I am doing over the course of the training season, as any Ironman Athlete can tell you, sometimes the days can blur into one training day of swim, bike, run after another. So, while some may not find this at all interesting, those that wonder...could I do an Ironman? Do I have what it takes to do an Ironman? I give you a peek into my journey and days to complete my next Ironman.  Forgive any misspelled words/awkward sounding sentences. I'm pretty happy just to get them down on paper. Consider it a test of your mental skills to figure out what I'm saying. Hope you enjoy reading my journey.

   

Current Training Totals:

Swim       46,100 yds             19:49 hr/min

Bike       357.43  Miles          29:35 hr/min

Run        148.04  Miles         32:39 hr/min

Other/                                    15:00 hr/min

Strength

Overall  Training Time:       97:03 hr/min


Well, It's been just shy of a month since I have last posted.  A lot has changed....for the better. I finished up with Twin Falls, ID  assignment the last week of Feb.  I had a few more fun moments with the upstairs neighbors making life there kinda like I was in  "Twilight Twin".  I had a few more serenades in the early morning hours.

The Neighbors jamming to the wee hours of the morning. Stopped around 6 am.

My SI Joint was acting up again for the last week, so I decided with much hesitation to take off three days and just rest it. I did get in a lot of sleep, during the day time. And I got in a few more views of the area.  

                                                                   The hospital- good place.

                                  Evil Knievels failed attempt to jump across the Snake River in 78.

                                              Shoshone  Falls.  at about 40%

                                                         Snake River

                                                Pilar Falls....no where near running. 

And in true Twin Falls send off. As I left on Leap Day.... I attempted to return my cable box, in which I was told they had a drop box if they were not open.  

Not Open, and No Drop Box. 

So the box came with me, and I headed off to Billings, back to my assignment the I left in November.  Which honestly felt like a million years ago.   And off I headed to my Montana "Home".   Had a wonderful 8 hour drive, getting in some really good time.  And some fun snow along the way.  

  Did you know, in Montana, You can make Snow Angels....Standing up!!!

               West Yellowstone, one of my favorite drives along the River.

Ahhhhhhhh....Welcome home.  Greeting Home to Billings with a Amazing Sunset on the Rims above the City.   I missed this place....

So I headed over to my new rental for the next two months.   And I must say....I'm kinda in love.  While it's more expensive then the last place I was at.  I have to say. It's fully furnished, the owner of this HomeAway rental is Super NICE. She has went above and beyond since I've been here.  She put me on a side, where I have no one under me, so I can't disrupt the down stairs neighbors, and her dad lives above me. Who has already proposed to me.  Twice.   And did I mention is a pretty cool place??

            Super soft, King sized bed. One thing I insanely miss from traveling is my own bed.

I unpacked that first night, and settled into my amazingly comfy King Sized bed...and had my first SOLID night's sleep in three months.  That alone made the extra $$ for the rental...worth. every. single. penny.  

                      I miss my East facing sun....:)

                                       The dogs were quite happy too..

                                                     Side area.  

I can't say enough about this place. I spent the first week, catching up on sleep, and settling back into my training routine, my back is feeling better. Finally. Can consider a lot of that from the crappy bed I had in Twin.  Distressing.  I finally am feeling more back to my regular self. I'm out of the Twilight Twin Zone, and feeling normal again. I am Happy again. 

Had my birthday this weekend too. I was a bit down, because this year holds a special place in my heart.  Its' My Favorite Number Birthday. It may sound silly, but I had so much planned to celebrate it. But it all kind of went out the window with my last assignment. I kinda got so lost I forgot to plan it.  I had hoped to go to Bend, OR.  But due to finances, it was not in the cards. So I spent it alone.  I got in a beautiful 7 mile run on the Rims....in 71 degrees.

   Heaven after my 7 mile run...Immediate relief of all sore feet, knees, hips, back  the second I slipped on these amazing ugly suckers....Oofos Sandals. 100% it.

I found out I have free membership to the Anytime Fitness, just a block from my rental....

                                   Blood Orange Mimosas...yummmmmmm

Birthday Breakfast...Sweet Potato Pancakes!!

Mimosas and a Cupcake kind of day!

I got in a nice swim at the Y. I did not get my dip in the hot tub for my birthday...booo

But the boys gave me a lot of love in the morning when I woke up. Kahlua was literally climbing on my lap, which he never does..giving me some much needed birthday kisses. 

 I got a lot of sweet kind birthday wishes from my family and friends over the entire day, which made my day in the end, I didn't feel so alone anymore. 

My very first birthday wish came from my sweet 10 yr old nephew Brogan,  who texted me at 6:20 AM my time to wish me a Happy Birthday.    

(This was on his double digit day.  He turned 10. Nerf Wars were in full effect)

And then I started my first day back at Billings in St. Vincent's. I have to say, it felt like coming home.  It felt like I have been gone forever vs only four months.  Ahhhhhhhh....  Montana...my home away from home (AZ) away from home (MI).   It's good to be back.  

Training has gotten back on track. The only snag is that I had some SI joint pain come back full force just this past weekend. I did an hour of yoga, my PRI exercises, attempted to self distract as taught by the PT, and yes pop the pubis my fellow PT friends. But alas I had not much success. I also, for some reason was extremely fatigued.  I couldn't seem to get enough sleep. It was a pretty busy first week on rehab. I went a little stir crazy on Thursday with 4 showers. I was a bit over heated, and dehydrated I think by the end of the day.   On Wednesday, I literally kicked my own ass with my killer treadmill workout with hill repeats. I could barely make it out of the hot tub after cause my legs were so toasted and tired.  Then I jinxed myself after talking with my Coach on Thursday. It seems like every time I tell her, things are back on track and going better, I have something happen.  Seriously, it's kind of a ridiculous pattern.  Every two weeks, It's like my body says...HA, HA, break time whether you want to or not. It just kinda shuts down.   

But...I'm two months out for St George 70.3. I'm excited to see my Teammates from FC, and my BASE teammates.  I have a rental with two spare queen beds in one room, so if anyone needs a place in St George. Let me know. I will have my dogs with me on the other single room.  

I know there wasn't much on training on this post. But I'm thinking that's okay.  as the title says, I was  pretty lost the last three plus months in Idaho.  But I am back on track and feeling back on track.  I Have found my Groove again.  Thank God.   Happy Training!!!