Gotta Run.... Gotta Ride...

Quad Crusher

2012-01-10T13:37:00.000-05:00

Hubby and I joined some friends for a local Half Marathon on Saturday morning. We arrived early and chatted while we waited for the start. Because Scott and I were just running this as a training day run we had no big expectation on a finishing time. We had not really planned to stick together but after the race began it just worked out. Mile after mile we ran and suffered the beating of the hills. At one point I decided to walk up a small portion of one hill and actually was able to keep up with the person running just in front of me. CRAZY!!

What a great day spent with some pretty awesome friends. I cannot say enough how lucky we are!

Who does like a like hardware bling to kick off 2012?

Although our quads were still talking a small bit of trash on Sunday we were still able to do our hour spin and swim. Actually was just perfect a mix to flush the legs out.

Onto another week and lots more training ahead.

Robin

Just Getting STARTED

2012-01-06T14:46:00.000-05:00

I recently went OFF GRIDE so that I could completely dive into some true family time over the holidays….. but now I am back!

The New Year has started off like a rocket. Some updates and pictures…..

· Received this rocking new running hat and immediately headed out with hubby to knock out an 11 mile run. I felt so much faster. :))) Thanks VINCE!! Last year I had the honor of being coached by him and he continues to mentor me along the way through all of this Iron madness.

· Our oldest son was home for Christmas this year. He is currently serving in the Marine Corp and we are just so proud of the man he has become. I went into full on cooking and baking mode while he was home. Both of our boys/men ate…and ate…and ate. I loved every minute of it.

· I had a brief spell where I thought I would go “DRY” but my new Team Rev3 helped me realize what a hasty decision that I was making so I decided to embrace it again with my first 32oz beer. (about an hour later I was sleeping like a baby).

Lots more updates to come..... I am just getting started!! :)

First up is a "fun" run Half Marathon with some great friends in the morning. Just something to get us all through the winter.YES...I will be wearing my new hat!

Robin 

It FITS!

2011-12-15T13:28:00.001-05:00

To say I am excited about being added to an already stellar Team Rev3 would be an understatement! Talking with some of them last night made it all “real” for me. Too much fun! I am even more thrilled that this baby fit when I tried it on yesterday. Looks like I can keep drinking some adult beverages through the holidays. LOL!
I am making big changes in January with my job. New company. New location. New everything. So very thankful to have a job…PERIOD!
Hubby and I are tackling our first official week back in training like champs. Spoiled by the night runs and Christmas lights, swimming in 75 freaking degree water is COLD, and digging the trainer sessions.
I watched a cute video of a kitten on YouTube this morning and for a split second I was thinking of how cute it would be to have another cat. Yes I lost my mind but I am good now! That was CLOSE!

Robin

20 Weeks

2011-12-12T10:23:00.000-05:00

Our Holiday-Run-Repeat last Thursday was absoluetly amazing. Hubby and I managed to stick together and just let the 8.5 miles speed past us while taking in all of the holiday lights around us. Head lamps, cold air, and lots of talking (on my part..lol). A new holiday favorite for me!!

This week begins our journey in 20 weeks of training for our first race of next year. We are both particiapting in the White Lake Half Iron on May 7th along with a large group of our friends. Crazy, fun times! I am thrilled to once again have a structured program in front of me. This is just how I like to roll.

Good bye to the large volumes of beer, wine, and yummy sugary foods. Now going back to a more limited consumption once again. This comes just in time! My scale was really starting to piss me off... ;)

Happy Holidays!

Robin

Holiday-Run-Repeat

2011-12-06T12:44:00.000-05:00

I am currently working out of a temporary office site so it took me all of a second to get excited about the new running route options that I have while I am here. Isn’t that just the way we think? Rain or shine I could hardly wait until I was off of work on Monday so I could just run… relax…and enjoy the miles. With a light mist I took off, no music, and just ran.... and what a great run it was!

Hubby arrived home at 6pm and since it was already dark he grabbed a head lamp and off he went for his run. I must admit I wanted to head back out with him after hearing how amazing his run was. With all the houses decorated and shinning with festive lights we are already planning a holiday-run-repeat for Wednesday.

So where have you ventured new lately?

Robin

Can You Keep A Secret?......

2011-12-02T11:06:00.001-05:00

We all like to do good things for others…BUT what if YOU did something good for another and told NO ONE about it.

This is my challenge to all of you. Every day until Christmas do something good for another person and tell no one about it…not a single person.

Guidelines:

It could be someone you know or a complete stranger.
Thoughtfully think out your good deed.
If it is something you normally do everyday than it does not count.
Keep it simple. You do not need money to make someone feel special.

Sound simple? I started yesterday and must say that it is pretty exciting to keep the secret!

So….ARE YOU IN????

Robin

This calls for a Margarita!!

2011-11-28T14:30:00.001-05:00

I am thrilled to share the news of being selected to be part of Team Rev3 for 2012.

In truth I was not so sure I should even apply. After learning that over 600 applicants applied I was even more blown away when I received the news that I indeed was picked to be a part of this great new team. So many details are still to come but I already know that I cannot wait to meet and share in the all that this sport has to offer with my new teammates. Hoping to also meet some of you bloggers at Rev3 event.

In other news:

In an effort to burn off the BIG BIRD calories hubby and I joined others for a ride in the mountains on Friday. 28 degrees when we rolled!! That is COLD PEOPLE!!!
Hubby swam his first 800 meters this past weekend. The bug has bitten him for sure. I loved watching the excitement he had in his accomplishment.
Sunday morning we wrapped up our holiday with a 7 mile trail run. Heaven…simply heaven. Casual, enjoyable pace with some great friends.

Onto a new week!

Robin

I'll Have Another Please....

2011-11-21T08:24:00.001-05:00

Give me another weekend just like this last one please..........

I pretty much planted myself right in front of the fire for hours....

We left the cabin just long enough to join our incredible cycling family for an epic climb back to the top of the mountain for more time infront of the fire....

How do you end the perfect weekend?... Trail running of course :). This leaf was a sweet find.

My legs may be a bit tired today, I may have mountains of clothes to wash, but having the time we had with some of the most amazing peeps around makes for a truly wonderful weekend of fun!

Robin

Emergency Sufferfest Session

2011-11-11T14:10:00.001-05:00

When David, at The Sufferfest, tweeted the offer of reviewing the new Hell Hath No Fury video (click to watch preview) on Wednesday it took all of a second to take him up on the offer and call an emergency session with the normal suspects on Thursday night. Having had a group suffering on Tuesday our legs were still trash talking but this group quickly gathered and we were ready for another beating.

As the video begins it has the normal witty smack talk about what we are about to get into. Picture 1 girl (me) in a cold garage with 5 guys as the screen fills with hardcore cycling woman. In a nutshell these guys were in heaven and the talk was quit entertaining. One could even say that for a moment some may have forgotten what we had all even gathered for. As the warm up finished a silence filled the garage and the torture began. It was relentless and seemed to never end. The 2 x 20 minute stages were insane! Seriously one of my favorite sessions yet! The girls are some badass bitches… yes you read this correctly and if you have not checked out any of these videos yet ~~you should be shot~~ you need to now. Worth every penny and then some ($11.99 each to download). Each training video provides a solid quad crushing beating that is sure to make even the weak stronger.

Snap shot of Hell Hath No Fury

3:30 Warm-up
5:30 Stage 1: Easy, flat terrain at effort level of 6/10 with a few accelerations
20:00 Stage 2: Rolling terrain with a series of attacks as the pack tries to take the lead from you
6:00 Recovery
20:00 Stage 3: More rolling, attacking racing in which you try to break away to get the lead back
4:00 Recovery
3:30 Stage 4: Team Time Trial in which you have to crush yourself in order to take the lead, and the Tour of Sufferlandria victory
6:00 Recovery, featuring Mental Training Reflection from Athlete’s Audio

If the videos were not enough you can even purchase some kick ass KIT (wish he had a female hot pink version).

So what are you waiting for? Up for a beating? IWBMATTKYT!

Robin

Be Inspired!

2011-11-09T13:53:00.002-05:00

What drives you to the point of changing your mind from "I WANT" to "I WILL?" When you begin the dream of reaching for things once thought impossible. When one day you decided that it is time to travel that journey and head into the unknown.

What I have learned along the way in endurance sports is that it truly strips me down to nothing. There is not one single hiding spot, no easy way out, no excuses. Where you are left with two choices...to quit or to be more than you were before.

Need some INSPIRATION to get you started?..... (click on the link)

I WILL - Matt Long

Robin

The Perfect Mix....

2011-11-07T13:45:00.000-05:00

Saturday hubby and I headed out for our run before hitting the pool for my first swim since IMKY and his first swim in ….well A LONG TIME. We arrived at the YMCA, set our watches, and took off to complete the run first. The route change is always welcoming and the weather was perfect (except for the 16mph wind gust).

A quick change and we hit the pool. Scott jumped in first and I tested the water with my foot. HOLY COW it seemed really COLD. After some whining I jumped in and we began swimming. I already LOVE sharing the same training schedule with hubby. He can be nerdy but I love everything about him! He always makes me laugh! We train hard but we sure know how to have fun!

Everything about the run was fantastic (including my pace) and the swim was so welcoming! Still keeping things light and fun.

Robin

Meet My Little Friend

2011-11-03T12:10:00.001-04:00

Last night I had my first night of speed work on the treadmill. It actually feels great to open it up again. The sessions where short and only meant to introduce the routine again. Success! Already looking forward to more of the same in the weeks to come.

Add a weights session in with hubby and that wrapped up our Hump Day workout.

Compression love.... just one of my sexy little numbers. ;)

Meet the BULLDOG. While in Austin we were lucky enough to come across this amazing glass of heaven. Take a frozen maragarita and turn a baby Corana upside down in the drink. Just like that you are in total heaven.

Warning:

The consumption of alcohol may create one or all of the following: lead you to think people are laughing WITH you, cause you to think you can sing, cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.

Enjoy!!

Robin

Week at a Glance

2011-11-01T10:41:00.000-04:00

Now into our second week of maintenance/foundation training, Scott and I are getting into a nice groove. I love this stage….where everything is new, exciting, and fresh. Who am I kidding…I LOVE EVERY STAGE!

For the next few weeks our days will look much like this:

Monday – run/weights

Tuesday – cycle

Wednesday – run/weights

Thursday – cycle

Friday – OFF

Saturday – run

Sunday – cycle

We will also begin to add swimming into the mix. Really trying to keep things light and fun. Plenty of time to become focused on a detailed plan leading up to our first Half Iron event together in May. Did I mention that we have a group of 7 forming this crazy bunch of Tri craziness? Some are new to the Tri arena where others are coming back for another Ironman repeat. This is going to be an amazing journey together!!

Dinner from last night… Salad with boiled eggs, cheese, oatmeal crusted chicken, and oil and vinegar dressing. YUMMY GOODNESS and only around 500 calories.

Thrilled to report that I DID NOT have any Halloween candy yesterday. Trick is to buy candy that you are not so crazy about. I learned this after eating almost an ENTIRE bag the week before.... ;)

Robin

Structure

2011-10-27T11:51:00.000-04:00

All of us are wired differently. I totally get that. As hubby and I began the new structure in our off season training his only request was to just be given 2-3 days worth of workouts in advance. I am quit the opposite whereas I love seeing weeks in advance of what is in store.

No matter how the visible the plan one thing is already working out well for both of us... STRUCTURE. Running, cycling, yoga, and strentgh training. We have not added swimming in but plan to do so within just a few weeks. I did see the pool from the treadmill I was on the other night...does that count for swimming?

Love the journey you are on....... all of it!

Robin

I am a Runner...

2011-10-24T08:58:00.000-04:00

Hubby and I are both looking forward... moving forward...reaching for new goals this next year. For me it will be improving on my last HIM race time but for him this will be a year of "first" in the Tri World.

Saturday we set out to tackle a run together. Somewhere over the past few weeks of recovery following Louisville Ironman I lost my bike legs. A bit frustrating but easier to handle since my running legs are now present! :) Instead of feeling like a slow motion mess I actually feel like a all out runner. I am playing it smart and keeping my distances short (4-5 miles). Maybe it was putting a Half Marathon on the calendar in January that did the trick for me?

In other news, I have been working on my Christmas wish list. So far I have one thing listed.....

Please Santa... I promise to be extra good the rest of the year!!

Robin

Off Season Maintenance - GO TIME

2011-10-03T14:24:00.001-04:00

Like everything in life even our bodies need to have some down time following a big year in training numbers and events.

Following the Louisville Ironman I took the needed time off to heal the fractured rib as well as my entire body in general. In the process I just about drove my husband over the edge with all of my free time. I came up with list, and plans on all kinds of projects we could do in the house. Overdosed on HGTV and cooked myself into the a sugary dark place I worked so hard to give up with the Food Network.

Today begins my structured/not so structured off season maintenance plan that will take me through the end of the year. I will keep the cycling scaled back a bit, focus in on some running forms and drills, and soon work on my overall swim. Technique…technique… TECHNIQUE.

First Half Iron Tri of the year will take place in May 2012. I am excited about all of our plans. With hubby joining in along with some of our closest friends this is going to be one great time. Love what you do and smile your way through the good times!

Robin

Post Ironman...Now What?.....

2011-09-06T12:37:00.000-04:00

So what happens following Ironman?

After crossing the finish line (about 20 min later) my body decided that enough was enough and got rid of every bit of the liquid fuel that I had taken in for the day. After a pretty yucky 15-20 minutes I was driven back to the hotel. EPIC LONG SHOWER, ginger ale and crackers, with some great reminiscing about the day’s race until 1AM with Scott and our amazing friends.

As I expected I got ZERO SLEEP that night. Body just did not want to give into it. Thank goodness for social media during the early A.M. hours. I was so glad when the sun came up so I could start talking again. LOL!

Days after I was still not able to eat a lot and what I did eat was far from anything I had trained with for the past 9 months. I found those foods to sound nauseating. So I mixed it up with fresh things and the taste change worked!

Now more than a week later I have sadly cut the Ironman wrist band off and am about to die to get back to some form of exercise. Seriously, how do people “do lazy” and not go crazy from being so lazy?

I added up what I took in during the entire Ironman event:

20 Gu gels (1 before the swim, 1 after, 7 on the bike, and the rest during the marathon)

5 fuel bottles on the bike

TONS of water during the day

1 Cliff bar

5 little cups of flat coke (so good during the run)

6 or so orange slices

2 packs of power bar chomps (1 on the bike, 1 during the run)

* I do feel my fuel was spot on for me. I never once felt a dip and my energy was even throughout the day)

So I have another 5 weeks until I can even think about riding on the roads again. After over doing it Friday I am very aware of what having cracked ribs really mean. The pain was just about more than I could handle and I am now controlling it with meds. Trying to be smarter is not always easy.

All this “lazy “ recovery has given me plenty of time to plan out my next big event(s). HUBBY is even joining in along with two of our closest friends. CRAZY and AWESOME is in our near future with this group!

May – 2012 White Lake Half Iron, NC

October – 2012 REV3 Half Iron, SC

June – 2013 Ironman Coeur d’Alene (any bloggers care to join us?!!)

Now all we need to do is SAVE and PAY for all of this EPIC fun.

Robin

Ironman Louisville... ANYTHING Can Happen

2011-08-31T16:53:00.000-04:00

I have been involved with endurance sports for enough years to know that come race day ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN and this race proved no different.

I have wanted to compete in an Ironman for years. This dream had been placed on hold a few times but once it was back in front of me I decided that I would give everything to enjoying the entire ride. Training was a journey in itself and I loved it. My coach, Vince Matteo, was absolutely key in keeping me in the game and headed in the right direction. I am a very self-motivated person but having Vince gave me the reassurance that I was doing things right. So much was learned along the way and I only hope to apply those lesson even more in the future.

Just as soon as we arrived for athlete check-in and the Louisville Ironman band was placed on my wrist the energy all around me immediately. Yes I cried and yes the volunteer knew immediately that this was my first. Everything about check in was perfect. Smooth and well planned out. I also participated in the practice swim leading up to race day. Insert more energy from those around me!

RACE DAY –

As soon I entered the lobby my crew was there dressed up in Robin Customs. They are TRUE SUPER HEROS!! Prior to the race we were also interviewed by the local news stations (click here for the video). Again… absolutely amazing and I loved them for all of the excitement and support during the entire day. I am VERY blessed to have them in my life!

I have never been one for very lengthy race reports so here it is broken down –

Swim – 1:20:06

I entered the water and did my best to just ease into my own rhythm. Louisville offers a time trial start and I took advantage of having just a little extra room. I still was kicked and hot but it was less than a mass start would have been for sure. My plan worked and my swim was over before I knew it. Really enjoyed it!

Bike – 8:05:42

All was perfect on the bike but not for long. At the first aid station, mile 8, a careless rider decided at the last minute to swerve over and grab a bottle taking me out from behind. I was completely separated from my bike and blacked out for a brief second. It all happened so fast. Lots of tears when it was first thought my ride was over. A request for a wheel replacement was called in and an hour later it arrived. I cracked a few ribs in the process as well. So as I began my journey again I had to push what I could keeping the effort to a tolerable pain level. So many details but let me just say seeing my husband and support crew, having the amazing volunteers, and keeping a positive attitude helped me more than tackle the 112 mile route.

Run – 5:17:31

Knowing my ribs were a factor I was very worried if I would be able to run at all. It is amazing how the body works! I left T2 and after a few running strides I realized that pain was no worse than it was on the bike and I could do this. My run was not fast but I RAN. I passed one person after the next. The course was full of walking zombies. So with each aid station I would walk and take more nutrition in and than just make it to the next station.

The Finish – 15:03:05

Hearing Mike Riley announce my name was one of my proudest moments. I dug so deep, kept myself in a positive place during the entire race, and absolutely took in everything around me. I LOVED IT ALL!!!! The crowd was even more than I could have imagined and cheered so loudly. No words can describe it even today. I could write this report a thousand times and still not capture my feelings. When I reached my husband the tears just poured. His support and love for me is immeasurable!!

Thank you all for the support and well wishes. I even had the addition of support from fellow blogger, Suzanne, and having her there was just a true treat. I only wish I could have spent more time with her. She is one great lady!!

Robin

Sweetest Words.....

2011-08-30T18:19:00.001-04:00

The race report is coming. Lost of twist and turns. Until then I want to simply say a huge ......

Robin Blackburn you are an IRONMAN!!!!!!!!!

IMKY...Go Time......

2011-08-25T11:14:00.002-04:00

All week my sweet hubby has been leaving inspirational quotes for me around the house. Here are a few….

Nine months of training completed. I have LOVED all of it…. really. Training for an Ironman is a very lonely journey at times but during those times you have plenty of time to reflect on life itself. I am in a really good place in my life. My health, my relationship with my husband, my family, and my friends. What more could you ask for?

Much of these lesson have been given to me by my coach, Vince Matteo. His positive energy always leaves me feeling even more excited about where I am at and what I have accomplished every time we have our scheduled talks. He calls me out on where I am slacking and gets me back on focus when I need a push. THANK YOU VINCE!!!

On race day I have one major goal…that is to be in the moment. I will swim MY swim, ride MY ride, and run MY run. I have raced enough endurance events to know that anything can happen even when you have planned the perfect race.

Follow me on race day at:

www.ironman.com - BIB #403

hubby will do live twitter updates at - @sblack1254

Follow me before and after race day on twitter at - @gottarun472

A huge thank you to each person that has followed me along the way. Every single comment has only helped inspire me to keep reaching for this dream of becoming an Ironman.

Now it is Go Time……

Robin

6 days to GO......

2011-08-22T09:59:00.000-04:00

I am all over the board with emotions as expected leading up to my first Ironman this coming Sunday in Louisville, KY. Have I even started packing?….NO!! I promise to begin tonight.

I had quit the surprise by hubby when he had these cool shirts and cake made for a little gathering with the best support crew around yesterday. I am more than blessed to have this group travel to the race and be there to cheer me on. I am at a complete, total loss of words for what I am already feeling!

Tapering is working just as it should. My swim/run was amazing on Saturday. I actually forced myself to stay in bed until 8:30am. After some coffee and lazing around some more I went and tackled my swim first. Best lap times I have had in months! For the run I opted to venture on some new roads. Let’s just say that it was a welcomed change even though I did get lost. Ha!

Temps for race day at forecasted for 83 degrees. FREAKING SWEET!!! Of course I will be checking it a gazillion times before Sunday. ;)

Have a great Monday!

Robin

9 days to GO.....

2011-08-19T10:02:00.000-04:00

Now that I am fully in the taper crazies I do have a few updates:

One would think that with the reduced training hours that I would have all of this EXTRA time for blogging but somehow my days are packed more than ever.

All of the final big purchases have been made. I am officially OUT OF MONEY…lol. (shoes, tires, bike tune up, etc)
With every taper I always have the arrival of cold-like-symptoms. This time is no different. I am taking care of it! This part I am use to. Not freaking out at all.
My back is 100% again. After wrenching it the other week I have been careful to keep it happy. My massage guy sure knows what he is doing.
Lots of short workout combinations still left for the next week ahead. I am already sad to see this training cycle come to an end. It truly has become a part of me.

Food – I am still eating plenty of it. Love this benefit of training for an event of this distance. The other night Scott fixed a veggie pizza for me but I enjoyed his steak pizza so much more. YUMMY!!

More post next week on goals for Ironman Louisville, what is already in the plan for next year, and more taper crazy thoughts.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Robin

Entering the final 2 weeks....

2011-08-12T10:38:00.000-04:00

Months ago I had imagined that once I entered into my Taper I would be singing to the Gods above. After training for the past 9 months one would think that I would be THRILLED to have this time arrive. I am finding that I am not like most. Much will be missed from the weekly scheduled suffering, epic adventure, and buckets of sweat that I have endured.

An update or two…..

(Tanner always enjoys nap time)

I had almost made it through the Iron training without the hint of an injury. One week ago I wrenched my lower back while reaching in the car for some sunscreen before my long ride. I will spare you the EPIC DRAMA that I created within myself to say that muscle relaxers, easing off training for a few days, and having the best support around has helped me once again regain focus.

After months of swimming at an indoor pool I now have the brand new outdoor pool available at the Y. I had feared that having a lane would be impossible but so far I have had zero problem. SCORE!!

(yes, I am one of those cheerful morning people)

Hitting some morning runs EARLY to escape the heat and humidity just makes for a perfect day! Trying to stay awake at night after 8:30pm is another challenge all together.

So I am entering the final two weeks before Ironman Louisville on August 28th. Lots of gear prep ahead but first I have another great weekend of training.

Loving EVERY MINUTE!!

Robin

Inside - Out

2011-08-03T14:45:00.000-04:00

Months ago, when I began all of this training, I remember reviewing the week ahead over and over as if to memorize it. I loved knowing what was ahead of me and I still do. Strangely though I seem to let the days and training session slip up on me and I have found myself reviewing only what I have for the day I am in.

Tuesday Coach had me doing a trainer session with a 30 minute run. No problem since I love the trainer time and it keeps me out of the baking sun. So I gather all of my things and start right into the warm-up. It is at this point that I am “really” focusing on what he has in store for me. Let’s just say that he turned my legs inside out and I was crying “mercy” before it was all over! How in the world I was even able to run following was also pretty amazing. In fact, the run felt good from the beginning and very much in control throughout. SCORE!!!

Now what other suffering/magic does coach have in store for my last BIG training week? Heading to review the plan (again)now……

Robin

Behold...Week 33

2011-08-01T13:53:00.000-04:00

I wrote a blog post several times last week (in my head) but I never actually got around to posting it. My best writing happens while I am working out. If only I could bottle those thoughts to share.

Notable Sessions from last week –

Runs – to avoid over baking in the sun I was granted permission by coach to split my long run up into an early A.M. run and wrap the rest up with a P.M. Well the afternoon session just about cooked me. The heat index is hitting 100 degrees daily and the added heat from passing cars was miserable. Slowest run to date!

Swims – crazy to think that I started with 1000 meter swims and now most session are at least 3000 meters or higher. On Friday I swam a steady 3600 meters and it went by surprisingly fast.

Rides – After the long ride on Saturday I opted for a trainer session in the garage for my Sunday session. My sweat rag could not keep up and I soaked the garage floor. It was an awesome workout. I may be crazy but I love the SOLID training you can gain from a trainer.

So all of this brings me to my last BIG training week.

Here is what’s on tap –

Monday – Swim/Run

Tuesday – Bike/Run

Wednesday – Swim/Run

Thursday – Long Run (early a.m.)/ Bike

Friday – Swim

Saturday – LONG Bike /Run

Sunday – OFF J

So Saturday will be another complete mock of race day. Nutrition, route, clothing, and everything else that 7 solid hours will bring.

Getting closer and closer! IMKY in 27 days!

Robin

A Part of ME

2011-07-25T14:56:00.000-04:00

If you have been close enough to me these past two weeks I would have mentioned at some point that my legs needed CPR. I have been tapping them out during these peak weeks and the hole I am digging is pretty deep. Coach says he will let me out soon and I trust him in what he says.

The weeks are becoming a blur or rinse and repeat but I am loving it all! During the week you will find my bike permanently planted on the trainer in the garage with my running shoes lined up nicely ready for my feet to slip in them for a run off of the bike. Swim bag packed with written workouts. Bottles are washed and Garmin is charged and ready to go. I like this routine. It has become a part of me.

So as the weeks flash by me faster and faster I only wish I could slow it down some. Savoir it like fine wine.

Robin

IRON FOG

2011-07-22T09:55:00.000-04:00

I am officially deep in the peak of my training and the IRON-FOG that comes along with it. What this means is that I can barely remember what task I need to work on day-to-day. I am hanging on because Coach Vince says that this hole I am in will only last a little bit longer. TWO more weeks of this madness until the Taper Crazies arrive.

MY LEGS NEED CPR :)

Quick Updates:

I was able to do my 2 hour run Wednesday morning instead of in the evening. Major score with this heat. I noticed a cute running top in my closet that I could not remember why I was not already using like crazy. Well I now remember…the top gave me the worse case of body rash ever. HOLY MOTHER ALIVE!
I recently discovered that Corona Lights are only 99 calories a piece. Nuff said! SCORE!
My neighbors are starting to think that I live on my trainer in the garage. The guy across the street waved and said that he would see me tomorrow after he arrived home from work. I am starting to feel the same way. What is wild is that I really like the trainer sessions!
FOOD. I am back on eating red meat in high volumes. It is just what I am craving.
Can I punch a person out that I am sharing a lane with at the Y? Thursday’s 3500 meter was unreal. I was hot 5 times! Twice by a child that swam into my lane and 3 times by the lady that I was sharing a lane with. Good practice for the Ironman swim I guess.
Our AC unit broke yesterday. Last night our bedroom never went below the 85degrees mark. It was a LONG sleepless night. Guy is coming out to fix it today. Tonight I will be in bed way before the sun goes down.

Got another solid training weekend ahead. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!

Robin

SPOT ON - Crazy

2011-07-18T12:45:00.000-04:00

It all starts with a good attitude. Knowing that you have a 4am alarm coming on Saturday morning can be a little crazy but CRAZY is what we all love.

As soon as my feet hit the floor I just had a good feeling about the day ahead. Who cared that rain was in the forecast, or that we were headed to the mountains for lots of climbing, or that I also had an hour run following. :)

Because the three of us girls are all training for upcoming Ironman events we all had the same goal… steady moving and minimal store stops. We laughed and carried on as we working to tackle the miles. The rain stayed with us for at least the first 3-4 hours of the ride. Did not bother me in the least. It meant that we were not boiling in the sun. It has been months since I have ridden in these mountains and tackling a 6-8 mile climbing sections felt fantastic. How I have missed the epic climbing rides. I took extra caution on the descents and railroad tracks. I am not that kind of “crazy” to go speeding down wet roads.

When we arrived back we made our transition to our run. The sun was out by this time and making up for lost time. I had a side stitch for the first 2 miles but worked through it and finished out the run THRILLED with the days training session.

Stats and Info:

Bike – 102 miles

Elevation Gain - 5489 ft

Store Stops – 1

Pee stops – 4

Gu’s – 6

Fuel Bottles – 2 1/2

Water bottles – 2

Cliff Bar – 1

Power Bar Gel Blast – 1 pack (these are my new favorites)

Pepsi – 1

Run – 5 miles (cut the hour a bit short J)

Gu – 2

Water bottles – 1

I am most thrilled that I felt like my fuel was SPOT ON. I never felt a dip in energy and would have had no problem adding more miles to the bike and run.

Give me another day just like this one anytime!!

So I closed out Sunday with a 45min run / 45min trainer ride and that is what makes up an 18 hour training week!! :)

Robin

An Epic Week in the Making

2011-07-14T14:15:00.000-04:00

The thing about vacations is that things can get off balance. You would think that it would have been my training sessions or the a higher consumption of adult beverages but it was my diet. I am a fairly CLEAN eater and love it. For the most part last week I did well but as the week went on I began having things that I have long given up without really missing it.

Fast forward to today…I was out running an errand at lunch… forgot to bring my lunch from home… ran through the drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A and out of my mouth came the request for WAFFLE FRIES. OMG they were GOOD! The aftermath is my stomach punishing me for this foreign food (grease) and now I am left with regret. Not worth it! After reviewing their website I now realize my lunch meal was over 1000 calories. (I realize I working out like crazy and am not obsessed about calorie counting but will say I was surpised)

So enough is enough…. I am ready to cut-it-out and resume back to my normal eating.

On the training front:

This week sessions are playing out nicely!

Monday – 2900 meter swim

Tuesday – 1hr45min ride / 30 min

Wednesday – 3025 meter swim / 30 min run (outdoor pool temp water was 91degrees)

Thursday – 1hr15min run / 2hr ride

Friday – 2250 meter swim

Saturday – 100 mile ride / 1hr run (heading to the mountains for this ride)

Sunday – 45min run / 45min bike

18 PLUS HOURS – This will be my highest volume week

Loving every minute of this journey!!

Robin

48 DAYS

2011-07-10T13:56:00.001-04:00

I - AM - BACK

Vacation was absolutely wonderful this past week. This year was different because of the training for the IMKY so some modifications where made by coach and off I went to enjoy being at the beach with the family.

A quick re-cap of the weeks training -

Saturday - 1hr trainer session before leaving
Sunday - 1hr15min run
Monday - 4000 meter swim
Tuesday - 35min run
Wednesday - 4000 meter swim, 1hr15min run
Thursday - travel home
Friday - 2 MILE ows swim :)
Saturday - 4hr30min ride, 1hr run
Sunday - 1hr trainer ride, 1hr run

So even with vacation thrown in I never felt owned by my training schedule and I actually feel amazing! In fact, todays run resulted in some of my fastest running paces in weeks. Amazing how all of those slower paces get washed away by one good run where everything is clicking.

As I write this post I am 48 days from the Ironman in Louisville. With each week I am feeling more and more confident. I can truly say that I LOVE every minute of this journey. Simply a blessing!!

Robin

58 DAYS

2011-07-01T08:06:00.000-04:00

Wow! My recovery must have did the trick last week. Every session has been absolutely fantastic this week. Fatigue has been shed and my mind renewed with even more positive energy to get me through these next couple of week.

Re-cap of this week-

Monday – 90 min run

Tuesday – 1hr swim, 1hr15min trainer session with killer interval sets, 30 min run

Wednesday – 1hr swim session

Thursday - 30 min run, 1hr ride(with hubby), 15min run

Friday – 4hr ride, 30 min run

Saturday – EARLY 1hr trainer session and then I am OFF TO VACATION

Something I originally was concerned about was training and vacation. I am entering a set of peak weeks before the taper begins. IMKY in 58 DAYS!! Having a coach has helped me ditch the worry and coach already has a great plan in place that will work perfect with family vacation. Ironman is not my life just part of my life :). So while I am away, without my bike :( , I will do lots of run sets (I always run a bunch on vacation anyway) and my boss has offered his pool (SCORE) so that I can swim twice while we are at the beach.

In just taking a glance at the few weeks following vacation I better soak all of this up. I am going to be a training fool when I get back. YES!

Happy 4^th to everyone!!

Robin

Btw – you can follow me on Twitter @gottarun472 for more up-to-date training and life happenings.

Just In Time

2011-06-28T12:41:00.000-04:00

Last week I posted about my SLACKNESS in the pool. I adjusted my attitude and TRIED to start the week off with a solid swim on Monday. Well those storms that I had prayed for last week, that never arrived, did appear yesterday…well the threat of them at least. I arrived at the Y near my work to swim first and then do my run. After being informed of the pool being closed for at least 20 more minutes I decided to run first and swim last. Even after arriving back from my run much later the pool was still closed. No storm had arrived but the threat was still present. I called my hubby who informed me that the skies were clear at the house so I jumped in my car and drive to my Y by my house. NO JOKE…by the time I arrived near my house the storm had followed me. So in the end NO SWIM. :(

Today I plan on swimming before my bike intervals on the trainer follwed by a 30 min run. Forecast shows at 4pm it will be 70% chance of storms. Maybe I need to pray harder to reverse my prayers from last week!

On a major AWESOME note – when I arrived home last night I had a box on my front doorstep from a friend of mine. She said she had a box of GU’s for me so I was thinking it would be a 24 pack. Well I opened it and to my surprise there were 100 GU’s in the box!! Major jackpot! Those babies add up when you are training at these higher volumes and my race budget has been blown for sometime now. In fact I used my last 2 gu's on my run. SWEET!

Lastly, I will mention that Frayed Laces is having a giveaway. Nothing that would interest any of you so I would not even bother checking it out. :)

Robin

Alone in Your Head

2011-06-27T13:06:00.000-04:00

Well my recovery week is officially over. Sunday I joined two friends and we took off to tackle a Century. Since the route was a straight shot out and back we were able to leave plenty of space between each of use as to not draft. This left us alone in our own heads. For some reason I was stuck in a 80's music time machine. It was not good!! With each mile it became clear that this was one B-O-R-I-N-G route! It felt like we were riding our bikes on a treadmill. No joke. At mile 30 I needed to use the bathroom and while I was in the woods a decision was made to turn around and change up the route. Happy with this decision we jumped onto a side road that would lead us to a route we are all familiar with. Well we started adding up what we thought we would come up with, added another small loop to get us more miles, and then decided to just be happy with 80miles for the day.

Miles – 80 miles

Avg. – 18mph

Avg. HR – 126bpm (low)

I felt incredible when I finished. It has been sometime since my legs have not felt dead in some way and I loved it! I have been zeroing in on my bike nutrition trying to find just the right balance to keep my system fueled and my stomach as happy as could be. These last two weeks have been a total success.

Today I am right back into the training –

1hr swim

1.5hr run

Going to be a late night and I only hope to not eat my arm off before I arrive home. :)

Happy Monday!

Robin

My Own Slackness

2011-06-23T08:55:00.002-04:00

IMKY 2.4 mile swim

Out of the three disaplines swimming would be where I am suffering most....that is with motivation. I admit I sometimes hope for thunderstorms on my swim days to arrive on or around 4pm so I will have a justifable reason to miss a session. This really only seems to happen when I know I am headed to the pool vs. open-water.

My slackness showed when I arrived last Friday to join a local tri shop for a group ows. We arrived, chatted for a minute, and then headed out towards the damn. Well let's just say that I was slower than I should have been.....then I had been. Sure I could say it was due to having been sick for 2 weeks thus missing some sessions, or I could say it was the moons placement in the universe but in truth I know why.

So I MUST committ to all of my swim session!! On August 28th 2.4miles will be much easier if I know in my heart that I have done everything I could to prepare.

In other news......

My recovery week is going as planned. Even with 12hrs of training for the week I have also managed a few naps here and there and some extra quality time with the hubby. Our youngest son is away this week so the house has been quite. Scott is really enjoying his free pass ;).

Sunday things will be kicked off with a 100 mile ride :). From there it just goes up...up...UP. My final plans for next week will be received from coach shortly but I am bracing myself for some high volume training.

What a journey!

Robin

Free Pass Jackpot

2011-06-21T12:09:00.003-04:00

Recovery weeks always show up just about the time I cannot take one more week of my house needing to be cleaned from top to bottom. There are days with work, training, and life in general that I am just too tired to care about how things are so out of place.

On these days Scott always seems to know what to do. I walk in the door after being cooked by the sun from a ride or run and he has something yummy cooked to chow down on almost immediately. He has also basically taken on the task of grocery shopping and I have come to realize how much I do not miss these trips to the store after joining him last Sunday.

So with this recovery week I am giving my husband the break he deserves! A free pass for the entire week!! You heard me correctly. I am doing all of the chores this week, all of the cooking, cleaning the dinner dishes, and have also given him a pass when I clean the house from top to bottom on Saturday.

Have I also mentioned that Scott has begun his own training for the Challenge to Conquer Cancer Relay Ride that takes place this coming fall (we rode this journey together last year)? So that makes all that he is doing to support my Ironman dreams even more amazing. I am one lucky girl to have such a supportive husband who totally gets how crazy I am when it comes to all of this.

Robin

MAGIC in Numbers

2011-06-20T10:51:00.002-04:00

A glimpse at my Saturday training –

5am - wake up (not as fast getting up as I normally am)

6:30am - rolling out for 5 hour ride

11:50am – rolling back in from ride

12 noon – headed out for run

Somewhere between all of this I managed to drop a bottle, assist in saving a turtle, school some young men on all of the gadgets on our bike, and most interestingly I also manage to get maced in the face. :)

*note-to-self – if you follow your friend too closely as she maces two approaching dogs in 10pmh winds than you will likely feel the burn of the spray*

We stuck to our steady moving plan and only stopped once at a store to refill all of our bottles. I also hit my prescribed HR targets that coach gave me but know that I can do even better. My RPM’s were close to being on target but did fall slightly as the sun began baking me and I lost a little focus.

When the training session (bike and run) was all said and done I walked in the house and placed my head right under the kitchen sink running cold water on my neck. It felt SO GOOD!

Interesting numbers:

On the bike

Fuel Bottles – 3

Water Bottles – 2

Gu’s – 3

Cliff Bar – 1

Pepsi – ½ of can. So good!

Miles covered – 83.49

Elevation Gain – 3,053ft

Avg. moving speed – 16.7mph

Avg. Rmp’s – 83

Although this pace was a bit slower than my past rides I felt a ton better overall by lowing my HR just a bit. The magic is happening and I will continue to dial in.

This week is a Recovery Week. What this means is that our house will get some needed attention and I will relieve Scott from all that he has been doing to make things run smooth. He deserves a break and I need to give it to him. Want to know how thrilled he was when I told him to go on his training ride this coming Saturday and I would take care of ALL OF THE HOUSE CHORES?

Happy Monday everyone!!

Robin

Working some MAGIC here

2011-06-16T13:58:00.002-04:00

Following training camp last weekend I arrived home and quickly exported my Garmin files to my coach. I was eager to see what he thought of my bike and run. Would he notice that I am listening and was actually increasing my RPM’s on the bike as he instructed? Would he notice that I ran my run rather than blowing up from chasing the lead group down? Well he has these fancy programs that can basically take this information and show how long you were in certain HR zones. What was so great about seeing this is that it gave a clear picture that I need to still work on not “racing” on my bike.

Fast forward to Tuesday where I headed out to test this with my instructed HR zone. Not as easy as it would seem when you know you can hammer it, when you are taunted by another rider to race, and where you are passed by others when you know you can go much faster. Still, I am listening and learning and as I finished my ride and transitioned into my run I felt great. Even after all of it was said and done my bike average was just about on target for the normal average pace for that same ride on those roads.

Wild to think that by keeping things even I actually can still cover the same ground at almost the same pace but feel SO MUCH BETTER.

Do you see the light bulb coming on?

So this weekend I will be truly putting this to the test. Nothing like a 5 hour ride followed by a 1 hour run to truly see the magic unfold.

Robin

Dialing In....

2011-06-13T14:51:00.006-04:00

This past weekend I loaded up the car with my teammate and we headed to Louisville, KY for the IAMTRI training camp.

My packing looks nothing like Scott's packing. It still worked :)

Saturday we joined close to 80 riders and covered the entire Ironman course. It proved to be beautiful! So many varying levels of ability with a one shared goal….finish and enjoy the journey. The energy this group was sharing was priceless! We chatted before and after the day’s events and shared training information on what works, what has not worked, how much we are all eating, and the often feel the need for napping. LOL!

JoAnna and me before the ride

Sunday gave us the opportunity to run much of the marathon course. Only a handful showed up and we were off. The pace out of the gate was faster than I like to start so I fought the urge to get pulled into it. I wanted to focus on my HR target and feel good for the entire distance. My strategy worked perfect. (now I need to apply this on the bike. I am listening coach!)

As for the Ohio River…. Not near as bad as I envisioned. One thing is still certain though…. 2.4 miles is going to be a LONG way.

Picture on light post where we had dinner Saturday night. Very exciting!

Overall this weekend was just about the best thing I have been a part during training. I am glad to have driven the 12 hours round trip and even more than happy about my efforts following being sick last week.

From here out my training only continues to ramp up. The days are ticking by faster and faster.

Robin

Training Camp Road Trip

2011-06-07T14:39:00.003-04:00

Moving along in training…..

This head cold sucks but I still managed to get my scheduled massage in yesterday. PRIORITIES PEOPLE! Thank goodness my snot rag did not gross out my guy too bad. Legs are very happy with the needed love they received.

Coming up this weekend is the training camp I am attending in Louisville, KY with a teammate. A group leader in the IAMTRI network has organized training weekend(s) for the swim/bike/run on the race course. All fully supported for a small donation of $15. So it took me all of a second to RSVP and jump in the fun. Will be great to meet and talk with others doing the same Ironman.

Thank you ALL for the amazing comments, emails, twitter msg, and phone calls I have received from this past weekends race. Having a coach proved to be priceless as he wasted no time getting my head moving back in the forward direction. THANK VINCE!! I love this journey and I am taking it all in. All of the good and bad is what makes up one AWESOME adventure. It is what makes up LIFE. :)

Robin

My 70.3

2011-06-05T15:31:00.006-04:00

Even more than 24hrs later I am still finding it hard to put into words what I am feeling following my first Half Iron 70.3!

Macon, Ga is hot....like a furnace kind of HOT. Fridays high was 103 degrees. Race morning was very warm and only got warmer.

Here is the ugly truth of the day....

Results:
swim - 45:13 (includes beach and ramp to T1)
T1 - 3:22
bike: 3:22:29
T2 - 3:28
run - 2:56:45 (my SLOWEST EVER)
Total - 7:11:26

Number Started - 265
Number Finished - 234

Finishing Temp - 98 degrees

Swim: I had never seen what 1.2 miles looked like in a lake before race morning. Something I would change looking back now. I somewhat freaked at the sight of what we would be swimming. That is a LONG WAY. Water temps were 86 degrees and just like that we were swimming. I was passed and I also passed other swimmers. I was a zigzagging machine :) . Overall it went better than I thought.

Bike: The course offers NO SHADE past mile 10. One roller after another made it hard for me to find a grove and this resulted in mashing to heavy of a gear. I did manage to take in 3 fuel bottles along with 2 bottles of water. Dropped my GU and Chomps early on and did not stop to get them. The last 5 miles were really difficult for me. I felt "off" but continued to just get the bike finished.

Run: I was so disoriented coming into T2 and had to sit down just to get my mind straight. As I began running I felt very nauseated. I wanted to quit but instead I walked the entire first 2 miles. I have NEVER had to do this before. The entire run course had NO SHADE. We were cooking out there. Once I committed to finishing I just hung on the best I could. Walk/Run from station to station taking in water, gu's, salt tablets and dumping cup fulls of ice in my sports bra. It was not until close to end that I started taking in flat coke and that alone began to help calm my stomach. The entire run course was one walking zombie after another.

I was more than an hour past my goal finish time. This is always a hard pill to swallow. Still I learned a ton of lessons from the day. I DID NOT QUIT! IMKY in August is my "A" goal and this race offered a lot of positives for me to take in.

So I am glad to have raced. I am glad to have finished. I am glad there is tons of room for improvements. This is what it is truly all about. Pretty amazed by everyone that even started Saturdays event knowing how brutal of a day it would be.

Robin

** Update - Full blown-head-cold has set in. Explains so much of why I felt the way I did going into the race on Saturday. :/ Oh well....onto another day.

RACE DAY OVEN

2011-06-01T13:56:00.005-04:00

THIS Saturday will be my first Half Iron distance event ever. Because the course is so similar to what I will have for Ironman Louisville I knew that choosing this event would be a perfect fit. Who knew I would also get the OVEN temps. 100 degrees for race day. Am I a lucky girl or what?! :)

I am going in with a good attitude and plan on sticking to my coaches direction as closely as possible. The clock will not rule me on this day. This is all training in the bank for the BIG EVENT in August and I am focused on the true goal of the day….survival.

Notables:

Coach had me run a short threshold test on last Friday. Of course it was hot and I nearly puked. Since I am looking for some magic to happen within my runs I was more than willing to do this little torture test but do admit that I HATED IT! He told me to run my balls off so I did. Picture below to prove it.

Saturday I joined a few friends for my long ride. As I feared my legs were pissed for the first 20 miles. Guess the threshold test the night before had something to do with that. LOL. The second half of the ride was better and to my surprise my run following was outstanding! I nailed the target HR zones and with each mile I was pulling faster and faster paces. When the science works it is a wonderful thing!!

Even though I was CRAZY to rescue a puppy during Ironman training I am pleased to report that Tanner is making a very good addition to our family. Ironman training and Puppy training can work at the same time with minimal meltdowns on my part.

Robin

Riding the Funnel

2011-05-25T09:02:00.004-04:00

Training, for me, has been like riding a wave inside of a funnel. You start out at the top with tons of room as you go round and round repeating the swim-bike-run routine week after week. For the first 23 weeks I have stayed committed to riding the line and following the process. It is paying off. Now my space is becoming more narrow and it is now time to become more focused on the task before me.

Not to get too far ahead, I am mainly focusing on June 4^th (9 DAYS) where I will be competing in my first Half Iron distance event at the Rock N Rollman in Macon, Ga. My coaches plan is to have me tired going into this event. No problem...lol. This will give me more of a feeling of the later part of the Ironman in August. Since I do not remember what it actually feels like to train with true fresh legs J I am completely on board with this.

In other notable news:

My new running shoes have FINALLY arrived and I will be taking those for a spin this afternoon.

Also this afternoon, I will be joining another friend for my first OW-Swim of the season (love the summer temps). So glad I will not have to worry about a lane being open at the YMCA.

I have been wearing my Race-Day Tri Suit for various S/B/R workouts. This weekend I am going to wear it for my 3hr ride/ 1hr run on Saturday. I have no doubt that it will be just fine. (pictures coming soon)

Watching the scale and listening to my bodies needs on the calorie front. There is no magic number for everyone. YOUR body will let you know when you need more! Having now lost 11 pounds I am going to increase my intake and keep my energy level high.

Happy Hump Day!

Robin

Training Jackpot

2011-05-23T14:30:00.004-04:00

Following my long ride this past weekend I rolled back into the neighborhood and was greeting with a HUGE SURPRISE!!! Our oldest son, serving in the USMC, was standing at the end of our driveway for a surprise visit. Having drove 7 hours home to spend 36 hours and head back out was such a treat!! I went into full baking mode and loaded him up with goodies for the trip back to his base.

After coaching myself for 22 weeks I am thrilled to say that I am now being fully coached by Vince Matteo for the remaining part of my training for the IMKY on August 28^th. Now I am not saying that I could not have continued just as I was (I am very motivated) BUT what I can say is now I can relax a bit and not worry over every detail (I was driving Scott crazy). The changes made so far have been so positive and I am 100% confident in all that Vince says for me to do!!

After our phone call last Wednesday I was left with so many positive thoughts about the work I have already completed and the ~~suffering~~ work he has in front of me. Having my Garmin data reviewed to reevaluating my heart rate zones are all so helpful.

I have hit the jackpot!!

Robin

Video Project

2011-05-18T12:31:00.002-04:00

At the request of my coach I had to video myself in all there aspects…run – bike – swim. Have you ever had yourself videoed while in motion? Only twice have I had my swim videoed but never running or riding.

So I thought I would share where I seem to spend my days and nights these days. :) Welcome to the Trainer Cave. It really is not all that bad. I have music, tv, and the entertainment of passing cars in and out of our neighborhood. Having spent so much time on the trainer I no longer get the strange looks as people pass by. This has become a norm and because I never ride solo I am on the trainer a ton. Strangely I really believe that it is making me stronger and when I am on the road for my really long rides I appreciate it in a new, beautiful way.

On the running front – My new shoes should arrive tomorrow (Thursday). I freaking love new shoes! I did skip my run all together on Monday and iced my shins instead. Today they feel so much better and coach has given me the green light to run following my swim today just back off the intensity a bit.

On the swimming front – I am on track to hit all of my swims this week. Sucking it up and focusing on the importance of these sessions. It will all count on race day. Anyone want to see my swim video? After watching it the only real critique I can say is that I need to kick…period. Even just the slightest increase would help..lol.

I feel so relaxed and confident right now in my training. Sure I have plenty of areas I can improve but this experience so far has been absolutely amazing.

Robin

Living Your Life Out Loud

2011-05-16T15:01:00.002-04:00

Thoughts in random order:

I have 19 days until the Rock N Rollman Half Iron!!! Yes I am getting very excited.

Ordered new running shoes after realizing that I was overdue and may have the slightest case of shin splints because of this oversight.

Added some extra electrolytes to my bottle this past weekend and had no cramps. SCORE!

Training for an Ironman leaves you feeling alone at times. Schedules and social gatherings become a challenge as each week of training increases. Some understand and some do not. :/

Had a massage Sunday following my brick session. Thought I was going to pass out the moment my body hit his table. Angry legs feel much better now.

The inside of my car looks like a transition station. I seem to have a little bit of everything for a tri.

I never understood how anyone could not make time to get a cut/highlight. Who does this? Well…my hair is now 7 weeks overdue and I still have not made an appointment. Thank goodness for ponytails.

In order of where I feel strongest right now... bike, run, swim. Why is it so hard to drag myself to the pool but once I start swimming the session turns out great?

This week has 3 Swims, 5 Runs, and 4 Bikes to make 13hrs of training.

Rinse…Repeat…. Living My Life Out Loud !

Robin

Like an Elephant

2011-05-13T14:02:00.004-04:00

With Thursday being my scheduled long run for the week I made a quick change into this new running outfit purchased at Target earlier in the week (top $15, skirt $17). I had hoped that it held special powers that would provide me speed and cooling comfort. NOT! My 10 miler through the park was HOT! The humidity has increased in record speed this past week. At mile 9 I began cramping in both of my calves as I did during my workout on Tuesday. Time to start taking some s-caps. I did manage to consume two bottles of liquid but even with that I drank like an elephant once arriving home.

To think…. The best of the heat is yet to come.

Robin

Kicked by Humidity

2011-05-11T09:23:00.003-04:00

How long can one push…push…push before they hit a wall? Well I hit my wall last night.

Before meeting the girls on the team for some practice team racing I went ahead and knock out a 5.5 mile run. The afternoons are already heating up in the high 80’s with a good amount of humidity. (Perfect practice for the heat I will endure in the IMKY race)

Mile 1 – 9:24 (warm up mile)

Mile 2 – 9:05

Mile 3 – 8:44

Mile 4 – 9:10

Mile 5 – 8:43

Mile .5 – 8:24

I arrived back at the car soaked with sweat, hydrated, and refueled before heading out on the bike. Since this was a race practice I made sure to GU and was more than nailing my fluid intake.

(picture taken from a previous race practice)

After a short warm-up we began our work at pace lining and chasing. This course has some pretty good hills and my legs immediately went to complaining. Around mile 8 both calves cramped up so badly that I was not even sure if I would be able to unclip from my pedals. (Time to add more salt tablets to the mix) I was toast and finished!

After arriving home Scott went to work at rolling my legs out. I continued the fluids and counted 6 bike bottles consumed within 3 hours. Wow! Scott had the perfect recovery meal ready for me and I all but licked the plate when I was finished.

This morning I feel exhausted and trashed. I am making the call to skip my running drills and stick to nailing my swim session tonight. I have a 11 miler on tap for Thursday afternoon so I am hoping that this decision will give my legs an extra bit of needed recovery.

Now back to more hydrating and fueling…..

Robin

Week 21

2011-05-09T09:57:00.007-04:00

Last Thursday was a first for me. Before heading out for my first Time Trial I arrived home from work and quickly completed my swim session followed by 30 minutes of running drills. What a way to prime my legs for the Time Trail that was about to take place.

Scott and I arrived early and I joined two of my teammates for a quick warm-up. The course is an out and back with lots of long rollers. Nothing too bad. Before I know it I am in line and ready for my start.

Since I know this road rather well I felt fairly comfortable with my effort but began messing around with my gearing far too much. Could not figure out if I wanted spin at a high cadence or a slower one and just about blew my legs up on the out-portion before turning around to come back. So many little rookie mistake :).

Distance: 10 miles

Time: 28:54 / 20.7 mph avg

RPM: 81 avg / 112 max

Placed 2^nd in female division (*29 sec back from 1^st place female)

Friday I set out to get my long ride of the week completed and knocked it out on my trainer. The road would have been more enjoyable but since I do not ride solo I just did what needed to be done. I truly feel that I had such a SOLID session for my 3 hr 30 min following my written training session to a T. Gearing mixes, 2 x 11.5 mile TT, 2x 10 min high effort outputs…. It was EPIC both mental and physical!

Sunday I wrapped the weekend up with a Mother’s Day half marathon. Scott provide moving aid station support for me. What an awesome hubby!! I could not have mapped out a hillier course. MY word it was work but still managed to hold my target long run pace.

9.6 miles – 9:33 avg (hills)

3.6 miles – 8:53 avg (flat)

So that wraps up week 21!! Received TWO massage gift certificates from my boys and Scott for Mother’s Day. Guess what I will be doing this week?

Robin

Over-Looked Warning =MAD DASH

2011-05-05T10:18:00.005-04:00

All week our family has battled some kind of sore, sour stomach bug thing. I have been less interested in eating and as a result some of my workouts have been less than stellar.

On tap yesterday –

Swim and Run

For a few reasons I chose to run first. I arrived home and quickly made my change into my running clothes.

Mile 1 – 9:26 nice warm up pace

Mile 2 – 9:02 legs begin to open up and feel good

Mile 3 – 9:00 time to pick up the pace a bit

Mile 4 – 8:34 my stomach gave me a warning at this point to head home but ignored it

Mile 5 – 8:40 stopped for a second to evaluate my stomach pains and ignored the warning again

Mile 6 – 8:28 decision time – walking would take too long so I would sprint as hard as you can to get home. This took major focus!

Mile 7 – 8:13 PLEASE let the door be unlocked!!! I all but crushed my dog greeting me at the door as I dashed for the bathroom

After I "gathered myself" I changed clothes to head to the pool. Drove to the Y, parked the car, walked into the pool….. then LEFT to head back home. Stupid stomach!

So this morning I am fine. I feel fine. Now I am processing my missed swim session. I know we cannot always nail every workout but I do hate it when I miss one. I am also a believer that I do not need to try and play catch-up. I am smart enough to know I have a full plate of training still remaining this week. I may have made a stupid call on my “warning signs” during the run yesterday but this girl does have a little bit of smarts about her.

Robin

Balls in the Air

2011-05-04T14:27:00.003-04:00

Just when I think I have this whole “training for an Ironman” thing down I get a few curveballs thrown my way and realize that I need not ever get too ahead of myself.

Last week was a solid week. I was so pumped that I hit all of my numbers dead on. To be honest it had me thinking that I was just cruising from one week to the next.

This week has much more family obligations thrown into the mix. No biggie. Just means I will be spending a ton of my bike time on the trainer. Good thing I do not hate it as much as I use to.

At-A-Glance

Wednesday – swim 1hr /run 30 min

Thursday – run 1 hr (a.m.) / TIMETRIAL event 1 hr(p.m.)

Friday – swim 1 hr / bike (course marshal for local 5k)

Saturday – bike 3hr30min (trainer starting well before it gets light out)

Sunday – run 2hr

Total for week 20 = 13 hours

So even with lots of other obligations happening around me I vowed to not let my training take over my life and time spent with family and friends. No one promised that I would actually be awake at these gatherings... LOL.

Btw – Thursdays TimeTrial will be a first for me. I plan on getting to the event early and warming up. The course is an out and back with rolling hills for a total distance of 10 miles. This should be good!

Now back to juggling all these balls in the air....

Robin

Reaching New Numbers

2011-05-02T13:21:00.004-04:00

What a week! I could just about write a book about the great ups and downs of last week. Instead, here is the short version….

Notable Highlights from this past week -

· I hit my largest training hours thus far - SWIM 2 hours, BIKE 8 hours, and RUN 3hr 50 min – TOTAL 13hr 50 min

· My long run on Thursday was by far the hardest mentally from the week. I bonked the last 2 miles…but I know that having pushed through it was a total victory.

· Saturday I headed out with a friend for some true road time. Having spent SO MUCH time on the trainer lately (solid workouts!) I NEEDED to have some real practice time in my bars on the actual road. Since I was a bit nervous about the bars I headed out with a friend who is also training for an Ironman as well. We wasted no time at stop signs or store stops. We stayed focused on the ride and was such a nice match in pace and ability as we tackled the miles. In the end I have no clue why the bars seemed to scare me. I LOVE THEM! Result – 60 miles, NO DRAFTING, 90% in bars, 17.5mph avg. Felt FANTASTIC!!!!

Over the weekend I also signed up for my Half Iron that will take place on June 4^th in Macon, Ga. I chose this race event because it will mirror the course and heat that the IMKY will have in August. Looking very forward to seeing what I can do at this event.

On to a new week......

Robin

Called Out

2011-04-29T08:45:00.004-04:00

Birthday flowers!

What a solid week of training. As of Thursday night I had completed 7 hours of training. :)

Notable Mentions:

I opted on riding my trainer for 2 hours on Tuesday (workout here) after I trusted the weather forecast. Missed out on some awesome social time with our friends but had a SOLID Kick-BUTT session on the trainer.

Wednesday I turned 39. What a better way to celebrate than with a 45 minute run/drills session followed by an hour swim session. Hubby had a beautiful dinner waiting for me when I arrived home. No words can capture how blessed and special our two boys and all of our family and friends made my birthday this year. Simply wonderful!

Thursday I had my long run for the week. I headed out in some beautiful 75 degree weather. All went really well until the last 2 miles where my legs seemed to add weight with every step. Basically I completely failed with have enough fuel/liquid for that distance. Hubby gave me a long scolding. Although i did not want to hear it he was right. I must practice nutrition and fuel every single time. Called out for being lazy on it. Guessing the salt on my hat and shirt were another telling story. Lesson learned…I promise! (10 miles/ avg 9:05 pace)

Have an amazing weekend everyone!!!!

Robin

Round and Round

2011-04-26T10:20:00.005-04:00

Weird things are happening. Things I cannot control. Changes within me. I am learning to enjoy the track sessions.....

Now that I have joined in on our Local Track Clubs weekly runs (only will do this when it fits my written plan) I am realizing that the track is not the most evil place to get a workout in. Running in circles is not the worst thing that could happen. Last night I joined in on the Monday Tempo run that was being held by this club.

Here is how it rolled for me:

1 mile warm up - 10 min pace (lots of social chatting)

3 miles at tempo pace (8:38, 8:40, 8:34)

short cool down

Did I mention that my hubby and 4 other friends joined in on the fun? Always amazed at what we can talk our frineds into doing. The love of the track was not felt by everyone BUT chatting before and after made it worth it in the end.

Today I have a 2 hour ride on tap. Was hoping to join a group of friends to share these miles with but the rain may leave me doing my time on the trainer. Crazy...but the trainer is not all that bad either.

Trainer Session -

10 min warm up easy spin

20 gearing mix

3x12 min steady state (80 rpm, low z4) 2 min recovery after each set

2x8 min intervals (85-95 rpm, high z4) 2 min recovery after each set

20 min spin (zone 3)

Happy Tuesday!

Robin

Where are You Headed?

2011-04-25T13:04:00.001-04:00

Recovery Weeks MAKE ME CRAZY!

I made it through last week but it was not easy. I am pretty sure that Scott is very thankful that I will be training again for hours on end during the weekend so that I am far too tired to tackle the chores that we both did on Saturday. Always amazes me how surprised he seems when I mention cleaning. One would think I was talking a foreign language.

Anyway, back to training. YES! This has become the one predictable thing in my life lately and I love the escape I get while training.

One of the things I often think about while “getting in my own head” is how some have not come to realize how absolutely amazing it is to set a goal (of any level), train, and love the journey (both good and bad). More than two years ago, when I thought I would finally be able to sign up for an Ironman, my husband lost his job. Our world changed and our entire direction of focus had to change. We turned down a new path and eventually that road lead back to where I could once again chase my dream of Iron. That is why this entire journey is so sweet for me. That is why I am so energized by all of the hours of training. Why should I ever complain?…. I wanted this… for my own personal reasons. I truly am blessed by every minute of this journey.

Your body follows where your mind leads…… where are you headed?

Robin

I CAN. I WILL. I AM!

2011-04-21T13:10:00.003-04:00

Since the suckfest….. I mean speed work session with our local track club went so well last week I decided to join them again this week. This time I brought a friend. I feared she would cuss me later into the workout but she didn’t. What a great friend!

Here is how it played out :

1600 meters – warm up (social chatting)

400 meters – 1:38 (legs opened up rather quickly)