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Friday, July 26, 2013

113 MILES.....

Last Saturday my traveling buddy Mary and I headed out yet again for a LONG bike ride in Princeton, IL. I have never been to Princeton, it was about a 2 hour drive in Mary's trusty van....man I'm gonna miss that thing when this is all over......Anyway, Princeton is a cute little old town. We found our other friends & made our multiple bathroom trips before starting on the ride. Coach Jen had 115 miles in my plan & Mary was gonna do them all with me. This supported ride had about 4,000 feet of elevation so I knew we were in for some hills....somewhere. As we started out we got to see a helicopter crop dusting the fields, pretty cool to have it so close. Then we had our 1st big hill, so much for zone 1-2 for the 1st hour. Our friend Michelle is quite the cyclist so off she went. I wanted so bad to keep up but that meant really getting the HR up so I pulled back a bit & stayed in zone 2.  Many of the country roads were recently tarred & chipped which got all over everyones tires due to it melting in the hot sun. the only downside to this route, otherwise it was beautiful & reminded me of Michigan. This route was marked as 102 miles so Mary & I decided to add on our 13 extra miles after about 30 miles in so we could not wimp out after 102. Really good thinking because I might have done that. Especially after about 50 miles on I was not feeling so good. My tummy was hurting, I had gas & it was getting hot. I felt like my cadence was slow, my heart rate was high & I was now struggling to keep up with Mary. We usually ride about the same which is awesome to have the company but she was ahead of me & I was alone with my thoughts, aches & pains. I kept wondering what was causing this because other than a new electrolyte my nutrition was the same as it was for muncie, just more of it. then it finally dawned on me....i ate garlic the night before with my chicken & sweet potato. note to self....NO GARLIC BEFORE WORKOUTS! I did catch back up with Mary & our other friend Shannon who seemed to be feeling the same way I was, maybe she had garlic too :-(. We were about 15 miles or so from the finish of the ride & I just needed to keep moving. There were some pretty good climbs towards the end of the ride, thank goodness for the extra adrenaline rush I had to finish. Unfortunately my GPS said I only traveled 113 miles, not 115!!!! Ugh, so close, but I was not going out for 2 more. I was happy to be off the bike.

I had a 75 min transition run to do so I took off the jersey, put on the running shoes & fuel belt & started to run. Mary was gonna keep me company for the 1st mile then head back. I lasted exactly 5 minutes till I was reminded again of the garlic I consumed the night before. I literally stopped running handed Mary my fuel belt & ran into the soy bean field to do what had to be done.....needless to say the run was over. At that point I was thinking a marathon....HA!!!!

I got myself changed, cleaned up, fed, & I was feeling good in no time. Come to find put I was not the only one that was having GI issues that day. O the joys of endurance sports. We headed home, me with a doggie bag of food they were giving away, score! Once we got home Mary let me know her tire completely ripped open from the tar. luckily that didn't happen to mine but the next day i spent some time cleaning the tar off my tires too. Hope I don't need new tires too. After a great night of sleep I woke up not feeling too bad so I did my long run at peak heat of the day. After 16 miles I was back to not feeling good again. Coach Jen said it was too much & I should have just ran the missed 75 minutes from yesterday.....so much for trying to switch days, but good to know there was a reason I was feeling so crappy! I will not make that mistake again! Follow the plan!!!!!

As of today July 26th....I have 29 days till the big dance!

IMLOU.....;-)


Sunday, July 21, 2013

MUNCIE 70.3 RACE REPORT.....

Lets begin with the day before the race.....

I go teach spin class at 8:45am then pack up the car & drop the kiddies off at the in laws. Todd & I are on the road about 11:15 am. I plan on arriving at packet pick up about 3pm then heading to the race site for my Pre race workout. Well.....it did not happen like that. We got to packet pickup  about 4:30pm, I forgot about the time change, 1 hour ahead! After looking around & talking with friends I finally arrived at the race site around 6 pm for my pre race workout. Feeling like it was so late I only did a quick 20 min bike & 10 min run. Todd & I headed to the grocery store for some snacks & then went to the hotel that was just across the street. Thank you Bob for letting us take your extra room so we didn't have to stay an hour away. I truly enjoyed the extra sleep. I always make my own food when I go out of town because I have had too many bad experiences with my tummy & restaurant food. My favorite meal is tilapia, quinoa, avocado & a little hot gardinera. I was still hungry later so I had sone chicken & rice. After we ate I was really looking forward to going in the hot tub so we did hot tub & pool, back and forth about 4 or 5 times. It felt wonderful & I was completely relaxed & ready for bed. We went up stairs I prepared my bottles & gear for the next day & watched a little borders & fell fast asleep. Of course 4:30 am came way too quick but I got it together & we were off after a quick breakfast.

Parking for the race was a good distance from the transition area & I still had a lot to do before my start time. Time to hustle! Got in to transition & I had a nice spot, near the end of a rack. I was kind of far from the bike & run out but close to the bike in....after walking through my transitions I went to the long potty lines & waited....still thinking about my warmup I needed to do I was running out of time. I did get in a short run & then put on the wetsuit as it was wetsuit legal & was ready to get on my swim warmup, that was until I had that feeling AGAIN! Off to the potty once again. I saw my teammates & kissed Todd goodbye & ran into the warmest water ever. I usually love cold water but this felt great. I did a short swim & then went to hang with team members till it was 7:35... My start time.

As I sit with friends I notice pink caps in line but not my color pink but it was minutes from go time so I hurry over there & sure enough this was my wave. How was I the only 1 with a different color pink cap on???? I was special I guess ;-) I find my friend Lisa & the horn goes off & I swim my little heart out. During the whole swim I barely touched anyone, it was awesome! On the way back in however, the sun was right in my eyes. Thanks MJ for the tip on tinted goggles, good lookin out! Since there was a long run in from the swim & I can't run barefoot due to the plantar fasciitis I had my crocks ready to go. I noticed wetsuit stripper & took full advantage of them. Once on transition I di go to the wrong side of my bike but thank god I was near an end so around I went. Socks, sunglasses, helmet, bike.....run. Mount my bike & I am gone. This bike course is supposed to be flat & fast but there were some rollers. I caught up to Lisa, shes a fast swimmer & we did a back and forth thing for most of the bike. it was great to have her there. One section on the bike was a no passing zone, going out & coming back, what a pain! There was a very bumpy section of road that lasted 15 miles or more that vibrated my insides & made me feel like I was losing bike parts. Aside from that it was great! I was not sure of my bike time but I wanted sub 3 hours & I know I hit that. T2 was fast even though Todd was yelling at me to go faster. I definitely felt like i hac to pee but the line was too long & i was not about to try and pull dowm my 1 piece trisuit only to wrestle it back up, so i just let it go....ahhhh! Maybe it will make people move out of my way. Lol! I knew the run course was hilly since I rode a portion of it the day before in my pre race workout. I was feeling great & kept reeling in runners even though I didn't feel like my pace was quick. The run course was amazing. Water, ice, perform, coke, sponges, hoses, music.....you name it, it was there. I can't tell you enough how much I LOVE ice. It went down my front & back every aid station. It was getting hot & holy hills. From all the ice & pouring water on myself I was cool, but wet. This meant my feet were getting wet too, & I felt a blister on each foot starting to form. There were some times I had to walk but I still felt good. I saw many friends along the run course & that just kept me going. Secretly I do math as I run & I finally realized I was not going to have a PR this day but I still ran tough to the finish. I saw my husband, teammates & the finish line. 5:55:05 was the official time & I finished with a smile on my face. This race was so important to me to build some confidence I needed going into this ironman thing....

Post race I had a seriously nasty blister on my right foot that kept me from running for 6 days. I had some soreness but overall I think I was in good shape. The next day I took a nap & enjoyed some pool time. :-)

Till my next adventure....
Courtney

Sunday, July 14, 2013

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY....

It always seem that when I go on a long ride it rains at some point on that ride. A few weeks ago was no different. I set out for what was supposed to be my second 100+ mile ride & what do you know....it rained! We had about 30 minutes or so of no rain but then it happened, dark skies, cooler temperatures, higher winds & rain. Not just a little rain but a down pour. The kind of rain you don't want to drive in let alone ride a bike in for 100 miles. The skies did not look clear anywhere, the downhills were so scary I kept feathering the breaks afraid I was going to fall. it felt as though i was getting shot with a million little pellets & i had no choice but to keep riding. I could not see a thing through the heavy rain & didn't know weather to keep my glasses on or take them off. I decided I rather have rainy glasses than get hit in the eyes by the relentless rain.

I was with some really good company & although I was definitely mentally over this ride & getting crankier by the minute they kept my spirits up & helped me keep moving. After about 35 miles my low back was giving me some grief & if I could have had a way out I would have taken it. We all decided to take the shorter route 75 miles due mostly to time....we did not want to be out there for 8 hours or more. I was struggling with my back & my mood, luckily when we made a stop Michelle told me to fill a water bottle with hot water & put it down my back....OMG it worked! After about 10 minutes my back was feeling better and the rain was letting up some. Everything seemed to have gotten better, & I was much more pleasant to ride with. We finished our ride almost dry but my phone was not so lucky. I had my camelbak on & the rain soaked through & my touch screen was shot....DAMN!

The rain & the ride took it all out of me, I was tired & I slept like baby that night. This was a definite character building ride for me & I hope it doesn't rain on race day, but if it does I know I can get through it.  The next day I had a 2 hour bike followed by a 2 hour run. I actually had a really good run with friends. Great to have the company when you need to go long.

My next long ride was the 4th of July metric century....only 63 miles but it did not rain! It was a beautiful day & my friend Mary & I were cruising. The following day I had a 90 minute bike & did a 6 mile run with my running buddies again. Up next is Muncie....race report coming soon!

Goodnight,
Courtney