Some pictures from Phoenix

Race morning

The super cap that didn't keep Chad quite warm enough on the swim.

In the transition area the day before the race

At the mall - sexy outfits and oven mitts - perfect coordination.

Driving the bike course at sunset.









Getting to these bluffs meant you only have a few more miles to the turnaround on the bike course.









On our way to morning practice swim. Is that a bag on your back?

Kirsten's IM Arizona Race Report

Caution: It's kind of long. But not as long as the race.

Background:
Chad and I got married in May 2008 and late in 2007 we contemplated doing IM France in June to combine racing and honeymoon. But then we realized that was silly. Like really silly. Who wants to honeymoon after an IM? Or the flip side – who wants to honeymoon without rich dessert, fine wine and most importantly, a bike box looming in the corner? So when IM Arizona was switched to November and registration opened we thought – perfect! In hindsight, we’re not sure what was perfect about the whole thing except that we were perfectly in denial about how much it was going to suck to train for such a late season race. The nice thing is that Chad’s parents and sister and brother-in-law live in Tucson so we planned an extended Thanksgiving vacation to accelerate post-race recovery.

Training
We trained religiously for the bike starting in December 2007. We did a week of training in Tucson in December, “Tour of California” in February, Total200 in July and at least 2 centuries a month since April. We were ready for the bike.

We started long runs in July, really picking it up in August. We never missed a long run until Taper and we both were feeling confident that we’d get through the run. I experienced some serious stomach issues on almost all of the long runs but was able to attribute it to dehydration. The last long training run in October I really forced myself to drink and it went without a hitch.

Swimming is my weakness. But I did get to pool at least twice a week. We did the CUA swims hosted by DC Tri all summer, and then in the fall I swam at Eastern Market in the evenings and weekend. Generally I did one swim of 2000 to 2500 on a weekday and then got in the long swim on the weekend. I always felt guilty about not doing more, but at the same time I figured it was better to spend the effort on the run and bike where the payoff was higher.

We did a lot of our weekend training with TJ, who raced IM Florida and had a kick ass time despite enduring eye surgery in August that put him out of training for most of September. We were glued to the computer when he was racing and seeing him perform so well was a confidence boost for sure!

Pre-race
We got to Phoenix on Thursday and were able to check in for the race. Highly recommend this strategy. Friday when we returned to the race site the line for check-in was hundreds long. We did a practice swim on Friday morning, going about a mile total. I swam with my HRM for the first time in the season and wouldn’t ya know, it filled with water. The air temps felt cool, even though they were about 60 degrees. And the water was a cool 63. Shocking at first. And very murky – once your hand went in the water it disappeared.

Chad and I both bought new HRM and then tried the practice swim again on Saturday. We did about ¾ mile – this time the water was still cold, but didn’t feel as bad as the day before. We then did a 40 min bike on the course and a 15 min run. By 11 am it was getting warm and I was worried about hydrating properly. We got all our stuff in order, dropped the bags and went back to the hotel to relax.

The Race
We woke up at 4:25, having slept through one alarm. Our brother-in-law Brian gave us a ride down to the transition area. I had an ensure and some oatmeal, though my stomach was feeling quite upset – I was definitely nervous even if I didn’t necessarily feel nervous. We did our separate things in transition and then met up with Chad’s family around 6 am. We hung out until just before transition closed at 6:50 and then we literally threw on our wetsuits and ran to the swim start, made our way to the front of the line, hugged, wished each other good luck and jumped in the water. That would be the last time I’d see Chad until mile 17 of the run.

Swim 1:12 38/91 W30-34
I positioned myself quite close to the front on the right side by the wall. The cannon went off and there was a body jam for a hundred yards or so until we all got going. And then I found clear water and only occasionally bumped into others the rest of the swim. The sun was still low in the sky so I had no problems sighting. Although it felt like forever to get to the turnaround, the swim back felt much faster. I tried to keep a steady stroke, stretching my arms as much as possible. The water felt cool and refreshing. I didn’t necessarily enjoy the swim, but it was almost pleasant; definitely not the experience I was expecting. And when I got out and looked at my watch and saw 1:12 I was completely stoked. My goal time was 1:18 – my time in Florida in 2006.

T1: 5:02 – easy and fast!

Bike 5:45 avg pace 19.4 mph division place 16/91
The bike course is three out and back loops. Out has some headwind and false flats and then about 4 miles of 2-4% grade hill. The way back towards transition is fast – wind at your back and downhill.

I got out of transition and was on fire. I could feel I was going out too fast but I figured I could get in front of this line of people I was passing and tuck in and do my own thing. But then a group of 4 age group men would pass me and they’d all tuck in front of me, three of them clearly drafting. So I’d drop back and then go past them again. This happened every 5-10 minutes until the first turn around. My heart rate was higher than I’d have liked, but on the way back I ran out of gears and really couldn’t push as hard as I would have liked. My legs loosened up and by the time I got back to the transition area I was ready push it again. My first bike split was too fast. And my pace dropped slightly each loop after that. On my third loop Infinit no longer tasted good and I found myself taking in mostly water. I forced myself to take in a few calories, knowing I’d need them on the run. I had been taking a bottle of water at every aid station (every 10 miles) to make sure I was hydrating. And I ended up having to pee 5 times. Although I was feeling a little bloated, I was glad I was hydrated, figuring it’s easier to get the water out than to recover from dehydration.

I rolled into transition in exactly the time I wanted, thrilled that’d I’d made my goal, but exhausted and ready to get off my bike.

T2: I had two volunteers helping and I did a full change of my shorts and socks. 3:20

Run 4:28 35/91
I started out of transition feeling pretty good. My goal was to make it to the 12 mile mark before I started walking. My first mile was too fast so I tried to bring it back a little and kept a very close eye on my heart rate monitor. Aid stations were almost every mile on the course and I took in water at each one. I carried a half bottle of Gatorade and some Cliff shot bloks so I could drink at my own pace. I had two shot bloks and decided I didn’t want any more of those. At mile 9 I took in a strawberry flavored PowerGel shot from an aid station. Yuck. Way too sweet, but I knew I needed the calories. At about mile 11 I could still taste the gel and started gagging. I stopped to walk for a minute. At the next aid station I took in some water and ice and walked for about 2 minutes. And then I proceeded to do that at almost every aid station thereafter. When I got to where Chad’s family was volunteering at an aid station (about mile 16) I told them I wanted to walk the rest of the way and to tell Chad to hurry up and catch me. Chad’s sister Caryn yelled at me to visualize the finish; just keep going! You can do it!

I started running again but kept up my walking at the next two aid stations. And then Chad caught me between miles 17 and 18. He told me he’d crashed on the bike, got a flat, cramped on the swim, but was running strong. He walked with me for a minute and then said he had to keep running. I decided right there that even if my run pace was 11 minute miles, I was going to run the rest of the way. And then I never stopped, taking in water and drinking Gatorade the rest of the way. I was fading fast, but I knew I would finish pretty close to my goal time if only I kept running. My run pace was a little over 10-minute miles the rest of the way, but it was a definite improvement over miles 12-17. I crossed the finish line relieved and happy. I tripped on the rug but didn’t really care since the clock above me read 11:34:42.

Overall 26/91 in W30-34. There were a lot of women that went sub-11.

Thoughts
I traveled to Sudan for work from August 28-September 14 and was unable to do any training while I was there. Because of security reasons and overwhelming amounts of mud we didn’t even walk more than 100 yds at a time. It took me three weeks to recover from that break in training, but eventually I think came back to my pre-trip fitness levels.

I like this course. The weather was nearly perfect. But it was very late in the year. Chad and I took taper very very seriously. We didn’t workout in the morning for two weeks before the race, leaving our last workouts for lunch time runs or evening swim and trainer ride sessions. Because of the early onset of cold weather on the east coast and a trip to California for a wedding, our last ride outside was November 1.

I’m retired from Ironman distance racing. No more IM. Don’t worry – I mean it.

We did it!

Well, we were 90% certain we would finish barring any serious issues. But it is still such a relief!

Chad finished in 11:19 and I finished in 11:34. We'll post race reports and updates soon. Chad had some drama on the swim and bike but turned in a stellar run, all things considered. I pulled a fantastic swim out of nowhere (guess the taper all season helped?) and had a strong bike. I was mentally done on the run and wanted to walk the entire way. But thanks to some encouragement from the Lewis-Nath families we were able to come back for strong finishes.

Thank you to everyone that tracked us on-line and sent well wishes! We are so stoked and glad we get to share that feeling with so many of you. Thank you! Thank you!

PS in the meantime TJ posted an update on his blog: http://imfl2008.blogspot.com/

A little less chilly a little more "LET'S GET IT ON!"

So here is an update from me, me being Chad...I am starting to get seriously nervous...but in a good way...I have my plan layed out and have been visualizing a lot the past week. I have been imagning the successes and even the hard parts that I have to overcome with a postive attitude. How will I overcome the pain on the run when it gets rough, well I imagine breaking through the "wall" persay and remember that at times it will get tough, but the hard times will pass. I just have to remember to think positive and remember to eat and drink.

So on to the past couple of days. Thursday was a bit of a "shock" to say the least. The water in Tempe Town lake was frigid, at least to me, and after swimming awhile I started to tense up and lose concentration on what I was doing. The way back was terrible as I wasn't wearing even a swim cap and was freezing my butt off! We got out of the water and I was trembling something fierce. I was a little dispondent about what to do...but more on that later. We hung out at the expo afterwards to wait for Race day Wheels to open up and for me to get my race wheels after picking up our bikes from Tri Bike Transport. After that it was pretty much relaxing at our hotel room for the rest of the day.

We drove the bike course during the late afternoon and there wasn't really much to see. We could tell that it was mostly a false flat on the way out almost the whole way so we are prepared for the out portion to be harder than the way back. We then went to "The District" which is a huge shopping mall on the east side of town across the river. We go right by it on the bike and I am sure the shoppers/drivers wont' be too happy with that entrance being closed! The mall is basically on 100 acres and has every shop and restaurant imaginable...they even have a Road Runner sports where we bought Kirsten a new Heart Rate Monitor since hers crapped out on the swim yesterday...totally full of water by the end!

We went to Sports Chalet and I bought this awful looking swim cap that is meant to keep your head warm...I tested it out this morning and it worked perfectly! It may look terrible...but hey at this point with a sleeveless wetsuit...it was exactly what I needed! Kirsten thinks it's cute...but it truly is all about utility at this point!

So this mornings swim was a ton better than yesterdays. Not sure if it was because the air temp was a bit warmer or because of the cap but either way it gave me more confidence going into the swim tomorrow. My stroke was smooth and stretched out today and I felt efficient. I am sure once the cannon goes off, my mind will switch off worrying about it and I will be concentrating on what I am doing at the moment, with my 1000 closest friends of course!

We then got on the bike to do a quick 40 minute ride and to test out my race wheels. The way out on the bike course is definitely challenging if you don't have the right mindset. It is slightly up hill and has a head wind. We were going between 17-20mph depending on the road direction and wind direction. Some of the roads are in horrible condition, others are not so bad. We turned around about 5 miles out or so and the miles just clicked by pretty fast. As soon as we turned around the race wheels showed their mettle. Kirsten was about 100 yards infront of me after turning around a bit sharper than me and with little effort I caught her pretty rapidly...as I passed her she yelled out "OH YEAH!" since she was feeling the benefit of the tail wind and slight downhill at that point. I was keeping a steady effort with my power meter and was easily cruising along at 27-29mph. I wasn't wearing my Heart Rate Monitior but the effort seemed pretty easy.

After that it was off for a quick run after dropping off the bike to get the front wheel trued and have them replace the back wheel since there was a pretty good slice in it that the tube could get pinched in, better to replace it than have a problem on race day! The guys at Race Day wheels are awesome and were extremely nice and accomodating about it all, Kudos to them!

We set off on the run with my new Garmin 405, don't try anything new on race day? Well, pace is my most important factor on the run at IMAZ since I trained with pace the entire year up until now. I have a goal pace and time and intend to use everything in my power to keep to that pace and since my foot pod and polar are pretty good but kind of cumbersome and I would have to change out my HRM strap for the run anyway, I figured having GPS to track my pace would be a ton better. The watch worked perfectly for our little 20 min run and gave me an assurance that it would perform for me and treat me well on race day. It is going in my bike to run bag and will hopefully help me keep to my goals!

The run felt extremely easy even in the heat of the day. I didn't know what our current pace was at times since I used the "average pace" function of the watch but the run averaged 7:55 minute miles and my Heart Rate was extremely low the entire time and I was able to talk to Kirsten the entire time. The way out was hot and our mouths were dry but I felt well hydrated and when we turned around the wind was in our face but our pace didn't falter and my Heart Rate stayed low. It was a huge confidence builder going into race day and I can't wait to get onto the run tomorrow!

Things are winding down for the race tomorrow. We met my parents for lunch and then headed back to the hotel after running a couple errands to get some final things for the race and we are now relaxing in the hotel room and hydrating.

We are both feeling good, anxious, and ready for the day ahead of us...the next time we post here will be probably monday and hopefully we will have accomplished all of our goals and perhaps even exceeded them...in fact, I am pretty confident that both of us will do better that we can even concieve of...

WISH US LUCK!!!!

Temp Day 3 - the Forecast is Looking Good

Up and at 'em early today. On the calendar: 10 min swim followed by a 45 min bike and 20 min run. It doesn't sound like much, but we're going to use today's simulation to see just how cold we are coming out of the swim and onto the bike. The temperature is again near 60 but it feels colder. And if we're shivering when we get out of the water and onto the bike are we going to need arm warmers to keep off the chill until we get going?

I am testing out my new HRM today and Chad bought an insulated swim cap last night so we're both anxious to see how the new equipment works. He's thinking about renting a full-sleeved wetsuit if the cap doesn't help.

We had Gordon Biersch last night and we split a Heffeweisen, one of the first beers we've had in weeks. Yum! Today's other important task is to figure out where we should have dinner. Any ideas?

63 degrees!

We swam a mile or so this morning. We jumped in with about 60 other people and - OH! Can't breathe! Oh my God! The water is cold. Whew - it was hard to breathe at first and definitely took a few minutes to get into a good stroke. We decided to swim to the first yellow buouy. The water was choppy as we swam into the wind. We both drank a lot of water and kept running into each other. Must be all that natural attraction. Heehee. We were headed East and though the sun was mostly blocked by the highrises on the south side of the river, the glare on the water made it a little difficult to see ahead.

I still didn't feel comfortable in the water by the time we got to the buouy so we decided to go to the next one. Once your hand went into the water it completely disappeared. Feet kicking in front of you - can't even see the air bubbles until it's too late. Tempe Town Lake is m-u-r-k-y. Once we turned things got a little easier. Now I could bi-lateral breathe without taking in too much water. The current or wind or something must have been going in our direction. And I could see all the other swimmers headed for me so it was pretty easy to avoid the on-coming traffic. Only once did I get kicked by a guy that crossed my path completely. It hurt, I thought about crying but decided it wasn't worth it and kept swimming.

When we finally got out we were both shivering - Chad definitely more than me. The Lewis' will have to fatten him up a little while we are in town for Thanksgiving! We got changed and bought some overpriced hot chocolate and tea and sat in the sun waiting for the vendors to open. We switched out my tires and Chad got his Race Day Wheels. His bike looks fast just leaning against the counter right now. Wait till Sunday!

Now it's time to relax. Oh yeah, my watch totally crapped out on the swim. Got water-logged. So we spent more than $300 to get me a new HR monitor. Oh well... glad I tested it before race day!

Stay tuned for more...

Day 2 - Tempe

It's 7:15 local time and we've been the hotel breakfast buffet and so has every other triathlete staying at the hotel. It was like a convention of fit, fast bodies around a small pile of bagels and a single toaster. We were obviously late since the bagels were gone. But we managed to get some fruit, yogurt and cereal, deciding not to linger among the atheletes and entourage.

We went for a 30 min run last night from our hotel down to the start/finish area. There is a slight hill on Curry Ave that is part of the run course, but nothing to be scared of. As we were running two guys blew by us. Not sure if they are part of the local run scene or if they were out busting a gut three days before the race.

This morning we are headed down for the swim practice and to pick up our bikes. The air feels cool, but the temperature is 59 according to weather.com. A high pressure system is moving through and temps are forecast to be higher than normal for the next couple of days and the winds will get up to around 20 mph today. The exact words are: "A mix of clouds and sun with gusty winds, high 79 degrees. Winds ESE at 15-25 mph".

Time to go see how warm the water is.

Welcome to Tempe!

We're here! It's warm and sunny! The flight took FOREVER! Maybe it's the nerves, maybe it's the excitement, but whatever it was, time dragged on and on. Funny thing is that I fell asleep while we were still parked at the gate. Our departure was delayed 45 minutes because a row of seats was broken and needed to be bolted down. I missed that whole delay thing and woke up as we were starting to pull out of the gate. We made up time on the trip and ended up getting in only about 15 minutes late.

We saw Becky from DC and her entourage at the gate. We met her doing the master's swim program at CUA this summer. And then we met another woman on the bus to the rental car location. She's from Albany and said she's been on her training for the last month. That sucks. Oh, wait, we've been on trainer almost that long too! Never doing such a late season race again. Never.

We registered for the race, barely making it into the tent since neither Chad nor I brought our USAT cards. Doh! I ended up having to pay $10 for race day registration even though I already have a membership. I guess what's another $10 when this whole journey has cost literally thousands.

Anyway, we're here. Chad's taking a nap to recover from a headache. We can't wait to start the day tomorrow. Thanks for all the well wishes! Now that we are sourrounded by hundreds of other fit bodies it'll be hard to distinguish excitement from nerves. I guess that's what Ironman is all about!

Quantifying the impossibly possible

So how do I go about quantifying the unquantifiable?  Do I make guesses?  Speculate?  WAG (Wild ass guess)?  Or do I take what I know I have done and give a little fudge factor to it so the result is something within the realm of possibility?  Or is it a combination of all of the above? 

The answer is seemingly more simple than all those questions combined...but those are the games that your mind plays with you during the taper period of an Ironman.  Your confidence is as fragile as nytro-glycerin and can explode with the slightest bump and you become neurotic about everything and anything...someone coughs and you run away, you take the elevator one flight up to save energy, and you obsess about everything you are eating, and occasionally take a breakdown day where you eat whatever you want...which includes a bag of Tear and Share peanut M&M's that you don't share...and a big slice of brownie that night as well...oh well...what are you going to do?  Oh right...taper!!

So the road to this point of our Ironman journey has been relatively smooth.  We started this long and lonely road (especially lonely given this time of year for training and weather here in DC) last December when we spent Christmas at my parents house in Tucson, AZ and decided to ride our bikes as much as possible in the challenging terrain and winds of the area.  We rode up and down  Gate's Pass and even tackled Mt. Lemmon riding our hearts out and having a great time in the process.  We tackled the Tour of California and rode over 350 miles in 6 days and climbed Mt. Hamilton from Modesto.  We started doing century rides in April, kept swimming through the winter and started going to Masters swim practices at Catholic University, and swam as much as we could at the Hains Point 50 meter pool from May until it closed for the winter in August.  Bottom line is we started early but tried to keep it as fun as possible by changing it up and doing some fun organized centuries and working out because we wanted to versus "having" to.  If we didn't feel like working out, we didn't.  It was during this time that I decided to change my eating habits from the past 10 years as well (thanks to Kirsten) and truly slim down and get fitter than I had been in years past.  

It was a rough road and of course there were some hiccups along the way (in May/June all my training gear broke at once...better then than now!) but we could tell all the hard work and fun were paying off by how fast Kirsten and I had gotten and how we melted away from training with the normal group of folks and started training with the faster folks (but not the REALLY fast folks).  All in all things came together over the past couple of months even with Kirsten's trip to Sudan throwing a hiccup in her training, she came back stronger, fitter, and more dedicated.  I felt I had made some great strides in endurance, strength, and mental visualization that I hadn't been able to touch before, which brings us to today and what this post is all about...goals for IMAZ.

The Swim

The swim is something I had been working on over the past couple of years and finally this year I started to actually enjoy swimming and wanted to go to the pool.  So after all the hard work over the summer at Hains Point and based on how I was feeling in the pool and my times during each workout I felt like I had made significant strides in my swimming.  This was backed up by a drop in overall age group placing at The Nation's Triathlon where I was in the top 25% of swim times versus the bottom 60-70% for the previous two years.  Considering I did a 1:24 at IMFL two years ago my goal for IMAZ is to do a 1:15.  Not out of the realm of possibility and still conservative since that is a 1:46/100 yd time or a 1:56/100m time.  In training my easy 100's were usually around 1:35 or so.

The Bike

The bike is where we spent a lot of time this year and although I LOVE my road bike, it was towards the end of the season I started seeing a lot of improvement on my tri bike and even tackled at hilly century ride (103 miles) with a 21mph average in 4 hours and 50 minutes.  Although I was ruined when I was done, it was at the end of a hard training block and gave me a real confidence boost.  Added to that were the multiple rides out to Poolesville and Seneca that I would routinely knock out 30-40 minutes faster than anytime previous and wasn't ruined by the end.  My discipline on the bike came around in the last month as well.  

The last couple of century rides we did the second half of the ride would be stronger than the first showing that I was taking the first part of the ride easy then picking it up the latter half.  This is essential for an Ironman and I was glad to see that my efforts were all starting to fall into place.  Given that IMAZ is pretty much flat (a slight uphill on the way out) and we did a training ride out on the Eagleman course (see post HERE) in the howling wind that was the toughest ride we did all year to which I limped to a 112 mile distance in 5 hours and 33 minutes it proved that if I was hurting that bad most of the 1st lap and limping the 2nd lap and was able to pull out a 5:33, then doing 5:30 at IMAZ is entirely possible if the weather cooperates.  So that is the bike goal, 5 hours and 30 minutes for a 20.36 mph average.  

The Run

Ah the run...the biggest unknown in an age groupers Ironman day...the year started out somewhat tumultuous for the run since I got a weird injury around October of last year that prevented me from running until mid January and then I could only run for 30 minutes a couple of times a week.  I came back faster than I thought I would and just went through the motions knocking out the runs.  When the mileage started ramping up I actually felt pretty good and was satisfied with my progress away from the injury.  The first couple of long runs were pretty rough as Kirsten and I tried to get our heads wrapped around what it takes to mentally complete these abominations of training that leave you withered and ready to end your Ironman aspirations...but somehow...you get through them.  

With each long run she and I learned more and more about where we were at in training and what we needed to do come race day.  Having not tested myself or run a road race all year long all I have to go on is my training data for my long runs.  For all the 2+ hour runs we did and for the three 2.5 hour long runs we did my average pace was solidly between 7:30-7:40 minute miles.  Only two runs stick out that took longer than that, one where I was feeling pretty horrible and averaged 8:30's which was back in the heat of August and my last long run in Charleston, WV with a 15+mph head wind and dehydration for lack of water fountains where I averaged 8 minute miles.  It was this run that solidified my goal pace of 8:00 minute miles for the run at IMAZ.  I was dying on that run and was still able to average 8 minute miles which made me feel good just like the bike at Eagleman referenced above.  

So my run goal is 8:00 minute miles or a 3:30 marathon which is actually smoking for an Ironman but some of my late season bricks resulted in some high tempo 10k bricks after 100 mile rides that gave me a confidence boost.  Considering bathroom breaks are possible I think a 8-8:15 minute mile is realistic and possible which gives me a 3:30-3:40 marathon.

Total Goal

So my total goal for IMAZ is to get within 10 hours and 30 minutes including transition times (about 15 minutes which is generous given my times from IMFL).  If things go okay a 10:45 would be great but if things go south...breaking 11 would be stupendous!

All this is predicated on EVERYTHING going perfectly on race day with my nutrition, hydration, and mental fortitude.  Only when the day unfolds throughout each leg will I know if my goals will become a reality.  But until then I am visualizing the positive moments, the negative and painful times and how I will overcome them and push through to my goal, and finally crossing that finish line with my goal time above my head...bring it on...I am ready!

Visualize

Today I wrote an email to my family with my race goals. I'm sorta scared to write them here even though it won't really affect the outcome of my race. Whether you know my goals before or not, race day will come and go and I'll get the job done and finish (hopefully!). The conditions on race day - namely heat and wind - will probably be the biggest variables. If it's too hot I may not drink enough on the bike, which will affect my run.

My plan is to be somewhat aggressive on the bike - my goal is 5 hr 45 min (about 19.5 mph average). I know this is possible - but only if the winds don't shift and leave me with too much headwind, or that the sun and heat don't exceed 80 degrees and I don't hydrate well enough to keep from cramping.

I'm hoping I can average 9:30 min miles on the run. Again - in training I've kept the pace at around 8 min miles for the long runs. But assuming I need some bathroom breaks (meaning I hydrate well on the bike) and walk some aid stations, I should be able to average an easier pace. My goal is to run a 4 hr 10 min marathon. Heat and nutrition will play a big factor. Dehydration was a major issue in many of my long training runs; I was not drinking enough and I'd end up with severe stomach cramps and nausea. I need to make sure to take in enough fluids and I'm still debating whether or not it makes sense to carry some fluids on me so that I can sip every 5 minutes rather than at every aid station (approximately every 1.25 miles). I'll have to judge the weather once we get to Phoenix.

And as for the swim... well, let's just say I'm hoping not to finish too much off my IM Florida time from 2006, which was 1 hr 18 min. If I can finish within 2 minutes of that I'll be psyched!

There, now I've told you my goals. It didn't hurt so bad. Now send good vibes and be on the look out for #2182.

This time next week...

This is pretty much how Chad and I were this afternoon after our trainer rides and brick run. Snug as two kitties, warm and cozy while the wind gusted outside. Our last weekend we were unable to get our last rides in outside. It rained all day Saturday and today was windy and cold (below 50 degrees with windchill temps 10 degrees even lower).

Now we've come back from our friend Rob's "slothman" fest and are curled up on the couch with hot herbal tea and a roaring gas fire. We're finishing up the series "The War" produced by Ken Burns. It's a moving narrative of soldiers, their families, battles and how 4 American towns adapted to war time during WWII: Waterbury, CT; Sacrameto, CA; Laverne, MN; Mobile, AL. Highly recommend it.

Slothman was Rob's response to finishing his triathlon season on top, having had a great race at Beach to Battleship Ironman distance race in South Carolina on Nov 1. There were a few of us there that have one more week to go, but most people were happy to fill up on food, beer and to lounge in their finest pajama pants. Good times.

The best part of the evening was when someone pointed out that at this time next week we'll be done. That has a very nice ring to it. We are ready.

Taper Kirsten-style

I have been taking taper a little too seriously. We had our last long ride November 1. Our last long run either shortly before or shortly thereafter. I can't remember. All I know is that I have been sleeping almost 9 hours a day since then. Obviously I needed the rest. I still need the rest. Chad is out running right now while I drink tea and update our blog. Granted, the blog needed updating.

Is it possible to take taper too easy? If so, I'm doing it. I'm taking 2-3 days a week off; and I've only been doing 1 workout a day. At least I'll go into race day well rested. I'm a little nervous about all this time off. During taper most people feel antsy and want to workout more. Because of the lessened workout schedule many people have a hard time sleeping. I can't say that about me. However, many people find they are ravenous during taper. I can say that my appetite has been insatiable. Like all that sleep makes me hungry or something.

Truly I think this sedate period set in on November 2 when the time changed. Now it is light by 6:30 in the morning but dark at 5 pm. I haven't gotten up for a workout in a long time. I find snuggling under the covers much more fun. You've probably never met someone as excited as I am to get this race over with so I can go back to the business of sleeping.

We had brunch today with TJ and his wife Linda. With the exception of Linda, we all overate. And still wanted more. Eggspectations in Silver Spring is a place we used to go to on a regular basis. But now that we are Hill Easters I guess we make brunch at home a lot more often. Good thing too because we might have all gained two pounds today.

We're off to a baby shower tonight. I like baby showers on Saturday night because they end early and I can be in bed before 10 pm. Do you see the theme here?

Chad is feeling much better, by the way. He can still feel the stone floating around somewhere. But we did do a trainer ride this morning; he's on a run now; and he vaccumed the house like a champ today. He did not however take me shopping, other than a quick trip to Babies R Us. Now that is a fun place to shop and so easy to drop a couple hundred bucks. We'll stay away from that for a while. For now it's all about focus on the race. Keep your eye on the ball. Breathe, visualize, execute.

Challenges - Physical and Mental...with Terrible Timing

So it has been a while since Kirsten and I updated our trusty blog. A lot has happened during that time, our taper officially began, we went to San Diego for my friend Tyler's wedding, and a slew of challenges have arisen on our road to Ironman, at least my road to Ironman...

After my last long run 2 weeks ago my hip, IT, and knee (all related in this instance) decided to start giving me problems in the form of an overuse injury. This is the worst injury of them all because it doesn't take you completely out of the game, it doesn't let you know that you are completely injured, it just taunts and torments you at the most inopportune times. The pain general comes not during my run (which would be an indication of injury per se) but after and the days after. It starts as a tightness and minor pain in my hip when I stretch it is certain way, then progresses to a tightness in my IT band, then to a tugging on the tendons in my knee. The days after the run hurt and annoy from all this and make sleeping in certain positions difficult as certain bends in my knee aggravate the irritation. After a couple days off I start feeling normal again.

Last week I only ran twice since the week prior was this highest volume of running I had all year and because of the overuse injury that was plaguing me since the last long run. I ran at work on Wed and felt okay but that night it started bothering me again. The Friday we were in San Diego we ran a short 40 min and the pain that afternoon/night was absolutely excruciating. Kirsten tried to massage my IT band but that only aggravated it even more. It made the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner a bit distracting since the pain was bothering me.

Luckily the pool in San Diego was great and we swam two of the three days we were there. Which made a total of 12,000 yards for the week which is the most in a week I have swam in years. Needless to say my arms were ready to fall off on the last day and I was sore for almost three days after. Guess that was my last shot and improving my swim fitness until the race.

The wedding was very nice and couldn't have been in a better location. San Diego always has a special place in my life and the friends I have there are life long friends without a doubt. Just standing in line at the airport to fly to SD Kirsten was amazed at how much energy I had and thought I had coffee or sugar before we met up for the flight! The weekend was full of hustle and bustle and very little free time but it was all very relaxing and our hotel room was nice to boot.

Sunday's trip back was a day off since it was a late night at Tyler's wedding and we ended up taking Monday off as well. Talk about a forced taper but I guess we need some extra time to absorb the fitness from the entire year as we have worked very very hard from last December until now to get where we are at. I swam on Tuesday and it felt very hard and rode the trainer on Tuesday night and felt pretty strong and not too tired. Then Wednesday I decided to try to run as my leg and hip was feeling pretty good. The run went well, I was a little overdressed for the temps but once across the river the wind picked up so I was dressed pretty good. The run went extremely well and gave me a shot of confidence considering the IT and hip problems I have been having.

I got home and everything was fine and then the hip started hurting a little while later...but at least it was after the run so even if I can't walk after IMAZ that will be okay. I took some advil and tried to stretch it out throughout the day and it seemed manageable. I was feeling weird the rest of the day and especially in the evening. It was probably the tapering for the race as you typically get fatigued and want to eat all the time. I took the rest of the day off from workouts and went to bed pretty early.

Then it happened...I woke up about 3 am feeling extremely weird...tried to get my wits about me and realized my right side back was hurting....I felt the urge to go to the bathroom and went...I started sweating and then my back started hurting more...then I got nauseous from the pain and started sweating even more....uh oh.....KIDNEY STONE!!! I couldn't believe it...I was distraught that it was happening and on my right side which I hadn't had a stone in for at least 10 years or more. I ended up on the bathroom floor sweating and finally was able to get up and wake Kirsten up to take me to the hospital. As she was getting ready I layed on my side in bed and was moaning in pain. The only thing I could think about was "Should I drop the bikes off tonight to get shipped to IMAZ, should we even go, can we even go, all this fitness wasted, this is my last shot at IM since I don't want to do another one, I can't imagine doing all this for a race again.."

My mind was running rampant....then the pain subsided and things calmed down considerably. Kirsten layed in bed with me comforting me as much as she could. I decided that since the pain subsided going to the ER was frivolous as they would just refer me to a doctor to make and appointment since I wasn't in excruciating pain. Based off my last visit to the doctor (whom I don't like at all) it would be a week to get an appointment (because the nurses ask if you are in extreme pain or not and if you are they tell you to go to the ER, otherwise a week to get an appointment), then they would tell you to go get a CT scan (another week to get an appointment), then you get another follow up a week later after that to get the results. All in all it takes three weeks to get a formal diagnosis...which is completely ridiculous in my mind. In California it took literally one day to get all that done, very expedient and efficient. Medicine on the East Coast seems to be slow, encumbered, and to suffer from a lack of urgency. I can't stand it...

So the options were few...wait to see if the pain came back then go to the ER to find out the extent of the stone (i.e. size, location, etc.) after getting an x-ray, drink lots of water and if the pain doesn't return (at least in severity) then I know the stone is small and will eventually pass, or go the three week route of getting a formal diagnosis (with a different doctor of course). I chose the middle path to wait it out and see what happens. The pain hasn't returned in severity and is just a mild annoyance. Sleeping isn't a problem and I have been drinking about 192 ounces of water yesterday. I just hope given some time it works itself out and I get to the start line of IMAZ ready to go.

They say IM has it's challenges but considering that IMFL 2006 wasn't hard enough that I had to cut my foot open two days before the race, it is only appropriate that my Hip/IT and Kidney Stone issues manifest themselves to give me a bit more of a challenge...it is definitely giving my confidence going into the race a significant hit....but only time will tell what is going to happen...

Here's to lots of water and hopefully a quick passing of an unwelcome challenge of a stone (cheering my water bottle to the computer).

Eeeeshh...it couldn't possibly get ANY harder than it is right now... WISH ME LUCK!

Motivational training partners

Saturday night we had a restful evening at Rachel and Chris’; caught up on the gossip and saw some friends I haven’t seen in a long while and that had not yet met Chad. My Peace Corps buddies are still quite an international lot, either living or traveling overseas frequently. It’s always fun to catch up on the lives, loves and pursuits of these American friends who tend to view politics, the economy, and international news from a different lens. Granted we are generally a bunch of socially liberal yuppies, our fiscal politics span the map. Some of us work for the USG, others for non-governmental/non-profit organizations and even a few in the for-profit sector. This was one of those rare gatherings though when we talked very little about politics and more about personal stuff. It was fun, even for Chad who met half the party for the first time. And of course, we were among the first to leave. The other couple that left with us have two kids at home
and had to relieve the babysitter. Just a few more weeks and maybe we’ll start being among the last to leave. Yeah, right!

Sunday morning we picked Eric up for a trail run in Rock Creek Park. We ended up doing a hilly loop that had us all huffing and puffing at some point. We love trail running – the temperature is more moderate, there isn’t much wind, the scenery is always changing, the pounding on your feet is reduced, but you can feel the workout in your whole body the next day. I usually get so excited about trail runs that I dash out front; yesterday I stayed in the back for most of the run to conserve my energy. My left foot has a bunion that has been bothering me so I’m trying to take it easy and not aggravate it too much.

The best part of the day was probably when we went home and made egg, cheese and ham bagel sandwiches for breakfast. Yum! They are even better home made than from the coffee shop. And then we sat on the couch and napped for several hours before doing a 4000 yd swim. Now with the time change sunrise is about 6:30 am, but sunset is at 5:00 pm. Great in the morning, depressing at night.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, TJ ended up finishing IMFL in 12:05, a personal best for him. We were totally stoked for our friend who worked so hard all year, met with a few complications that kept him from training for several weeks during a crucial time, but who ended up coming back stronger than ever. Now that is a nice way to end the season.

The Perfect Storm

Chad got home only a little after I did last night and since we have no food in the house we ordered pizza. Our faithful readers will probably recall that when I was out of town Chad did dishes, cleaned the house, made all kinds of food, and in general ran a very tight ship. In all fairness I will say that I did none of those things. I have no excuse.

This morning we got a late start to our bike ride; it was about 50 degrees but felt cooler so we put on arm and leg warmers and full finger gloves. By the time we go to the DC border with Maryland we had both removed our arm warmers and gloves and at our first stop at the BP in Potomac we dispensed of the leg warmers. The high today was 70; not a cloud in the sky; the last of leaves are still vibrant yellows and reds so the views were amazing. It was really a perfect day for a ride. And the day was made even better since before we even left the house we saw that our friend TJ had a phenomenal swim at IMFL. We could only hope that he was having as stellar a ride as we were.

One thing about this ride, we've done this route at least 10 times this year. Our times have varied by about 20 minutes depending on the wind. Two weekends ago it was frigid and windy. Today was somewhat windy, but we had a tailwind much more than last time. And the fact that we weren't shivering definitely helped. Lots of leaf peepers were out, especially on Sugarloaf. Chad has promised to take me hiking one of these days... Can't wait!

After our ride (5 hr 30 min for me and 5 hr 15 min for Chad), we did a brick run. I did 30 min and Chad did 42, although he ran almost twice as far as me. Oh well. He had to one up me at something.

The exciting thing is that TJ had a crazy fast bike split - 5:41. Now we're checking in every 15 min or so to see how he's doing on the run. We're about to head out for the evening so it'll be Chad's job to check on his iPhone. Up next: trail run tomorrow.