Well, in 2 weeks, it will all be over with, and I hope I am leaving the finisher's merchandise tent clutching my purchases! I went to another camp last week, this IM training has been filled with out of town travels, to LP, to the Blue Ridge and Skyline Drive, to Smith Mountain Lake and finally to Lake Gaston. It was a not so torturous torturefest...mostly open water swimming, some running and some biking and lots of eating and some drinking. Speaking of eating, I've been a girl-gone-wild with eating and finally got on the scale yesterday. The number was not good, so I've got to rein in the free-for-all food attitude lest I lug lots of lard with me at LP, which will not make the race any easier.
Yikes, I do not feel ready for the race, my rational self knows I am as ready as I can be, but my emotional self is sitting in the corner sucking its thumb with its eyes closed and hoping for a miracle. Well, perhaps not that bad, but I feel somewhat unprepared. I was told that if one feels ready for an IM, then one has trained too much, and if one feels not ready, they are. I am not sure if I believe that. At any rate, in two weeks it will be in the books. I'll be thinking of my race report as the long day unfolds in 13 days.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
7/6/2009
OK, just to get this out of the way early, I did not ride the scheduled 100 miles this past weekend....I could only muster enough energy for 50 miles of hills along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Bottom line is that the furthest I've ridden for IMUSA is 85 miles. It will have to be enough. I am tired. Way tired. Ready to not be tired. Ready to not be worried about whether or not I'll make it in less than 17 hours. This has been so freakin hard and I am ready for the start gun, good or bad, rain or shine, cold or not. Whine.
So, there you have it! It will be an interesting day come July 26th, but I'll just keep moving foward until I cross the finish line or someone makes me stop. Yeehaw.
So, there you have it! It will be an interesting day come July 26th, but I'll just keep moving foward until I cross the finish line or someone makes me stop. Yeehaw.
Monday, June 29, 2009
6/29/2009
Whew! What does a bear cub, thunderstorm with downpour, and gusty winds have in common? The answer would be the Skyline Drive ride on June 20th. The IMUSA crew all converged in a rental house near Luray for the long Skyline ride on Friday, June 19th. After dinner and some beers Friday night, we all got some sleep and left early Saturday for the long ride. We had planned on 2 out and back rides of 25 miles (that would be 25 out and back, 2x). The weather at Thorton Gap parking was cloudy, and as we started out, it began to rain a bit. The ride was hard as shit. There was a big climb up to the highest point for that stretch of the drive, beginning at around mile 4.5 and ending at around mile 11 or so. Pretty much straight up. In the now pouring, and I mean pouring rain. At the top, in the rain, my riding buds and I all kind of dreaded the downhill, as our brakes really didn't work due to the wet conditions. But off we all went. My bike goes really fast downhill as I have said, and the rain didn't make me any slower. I was bombing down the mountain, fast as shit, brakes fully engaged, and not slowing down at all. I was not the happiest I've ever been, but at that point there was nothing I could do but go. I tried to stay in the middle of the road (cars be damned) since that was the only part of the road that wasn't running water, leaned back and down on the rear wheel hoping for traction. Raindrops were pelting me in the face and something hard hit me in the chest (not a clue what it was) but I kept screaming downhill. Finally got to the bottom, realizing that it was one long downhill that would need to be climbed back up. More up and downhills ensued, with my biking buds catching me on the climbs.
Towards the end of another downhill, I was alone and saw what I thought was a bigass dog coming out of the woods on my left. I quickly realized it was a bear cub and squeezing as hard as I could came to a stop about 25 feet from it. I was freaking out, b/c I was sure Mama bear was close, so I got off my bike slowly and backed up the hill a bit, until I was about 40 feet away. I was standing there, in the rain, looking at the cub, and it was looking at me and there we stood for a few minutes. Then Lynn came down the hill and I was frantically waving at her to stop. She did, and thankfully she saw the cub as well (I didn't want another goat incident). We stood there for another minute or so, then the cub rambled across the road and into the woods on the other side. No Mama bear showed up. So, again, off we went.
Now the weather got even worse, thunder and lightening, harder rain, maybe some hail...as we kept riding towards Dickies Ridge, because at least there would be shelter. We saw most of the rest of the gang coming back up from Dickie's Ridge in the thunder and rain, as we descended further into dense fog patches. Not a ride for the faint of heart. We finished the first 27 miles and gathered ourselves for the return trip, which was harder than the first part. So, 8 miles of uninterrupted climbing back to the top, more rain, and then the wind picked up. At this point I had decided not to go all the way back to Dickie's Ridge, and was having some serious conversations whether I'd go out again at all, if the weather didn't get better. More screaming downhills, but the rain finally stopped and Lynn and I decided to go to top of the big mountain one more time, back to the start and then out for another 10 miles to get 85 miles in. We did that, with the sun finally out but with the wind gusting pretty intensely. The ride back up sucked big time, but I made it. Since the roads were now drier, the ride down was a blast. After finishing the 85, Lynn and I ran for about 30 minutes and I actually felt pretty good. Other than MyKaren, who ended up riding 107 (she is a stud), people rode between 60 and 100. Much, much, much harder than LP. I figure 85 in that terrain is worth 100 on regular land....
We all drank and ate that evening and then the few that remained did a short lake swim at Arrowhead Lake. Swimming through underwater plants is kind of weird, but once free of those, it was a nice swim. MyKaren and I booked back home, reloaded the cars for a trip to the beach for my family reunion. That was uneventful, but I did get some sun.
We did our last long run on Saturday, was supposed to be 22, I did around 18, MyKaren did around 21. We just ran from our house. I hated it and if anyone had stopped me to offer me a penny if I quit, I would have taken it. Somehow, I got myself through the hot, humid, horrible run, and now I only have the marathon at LP to worry about. I hope to get through 18 miles in 4 hours on race day, so I would have 2 hours to do the last 8; that is my current hope. But if it doesn't work out...I'll just keep moving until the end!
Towards the end of another downhill, I was alone and saw what I thought was a bigass dog coming out of the woods on my left. I quickly realized it was a bear cub and squeezing as hard as I could came to a stop about 25 feet from it. I was freaking out, b/c I was sure Mama bear was close, so I got off my bike slowly and backed up the hill a bit, until I was about 40 feet away. I was standing there, in the rain, looking at the cub, and it was looking at me and there we stood for a few minutes. Then Lynn came down the hill and I was frantically waving at her to stop. She did, and thankfully she saw the cub as well (I didn't want another goat incident). We stood there for another minute or so, then the cub rambled across the road and into the woods on the other side. No Mama bear showed up. So, again, off we went.
Now the weather got even worse, thunder and lightening, harder rain, maybe some hail...as we kept riding towards Dickies Ridge, because at least there would be shelter. We saw most of the rest of the gang coming back up from Dickie's Ridge in the thunder and rain, as we descended further into dense fog patches. Not a ride for the faint of heart. We finished the first 27 miles and gathered ourselves for the return trip, which was harder than the first part. So, 8 miles of uninterrupted climbing back to the top, more rain, and then the wind picked up. At this point I had decided not to go all the way back to Dickie's Ridge, and was having some serious conversations whether I'd go out again at all, if the weather didn't get better. More screaming downhills, but the rain finally stopped and Lynn and I decided to go to top of the big mountain one more time, back to the start and then out for another 10 miles to get 85 miles in. We did that, with the sun finally out but with the wind gusting pretty intensely. The ride back up sucked big time, but I made it. Since the roads were now drier, the ride down was a blast. After finishing the 85, Lynn and I ran for about 30 minutes and I actually felt pretty good. Other than MyKaren, who ended up riding 107 (she is a stud), people rode between 60 and 100. Much, much, much harder than LP. I figure 85 in that terrain is worth 100 on regular land....
We all drank and ate that evening and then the few that remained did a short lake swim at Arrowhead Lake. Swimming through underwater plants is kind of weird, but once free of those, it was a nice swim. MyKaren and I booked back home, reloaded the cars for a trip to the beach for my family reunion. That was uneventful, but I did get some sun.
We did our last long run on Saturday, was supposed to be 22, I did around 18, MyKaren did around 21. We just ran from our house. I hated it and if anyone had stopped me to offer me a penny if I quit, I would have taken it. Somehow, I got myself through the hot, humid, horrible run, and now I only have the marathon at LP to worry about. I hope to get through 18 miles in 4 hours on race day, so I would have 2 hours to do the last 8; that is my current hope. But if it doesn't work out...I'll just keep moving until the end!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
6/15/2009
One long run and 2 long bikes left! The long Blue Ridge ride 2 weeks ago was on a beautiful day, one that started way early with some serious fog in the mountains. The LP crew that went did 3 out and backs, 1st from 13-3/4 to 0 and back, then from 13-3/4 to 25 and back, and then the 13/34/ to 0 and back again. Some hardy souls then went down the Gates of Hell up to Wintergreen and back, but I was not one of those. 86 miles or so of nothing but climbing or descending was more than enough for me! Lynn and I also did a short transition run afterwards, which I thought was not bad.
What can I say about riding the Blue Ridge? It is hard as crap, I think much harder than LP since there really is never a flat or even flat-like section. The climb grades are around 4% on average, whilst the LP ones are an average of 2%. So, if I can ride BL, then I guess I can ride LP for real. The time it may take me is the thing I am worried about! The 2nd leg goes up a 3+ mile climb, which is all switchbacks and which has been a fun, but sometimes scary downhill. I had the best time on that downhill I have ever had in my life. For some reason, I just took the curves perfectly and was flying downhill with a huge grin on my face and giddy with happiness! It was a blast! As I have said in the past, my new bike loves speed, and for once, I let it go! Wow! Of course the climbing is not so much fun, but after a few stops to talk to myself, I got through it. Working on nutrition, I tried Carbo-Pro and gu on the last leg, and that seemed to work for me, so I'll do that again for the bigass Luray ride this weekend.
Last weekend MyKAren, Sharon, Lynn and I all trooped to Pocahontas for a little bike/run fun. It was kind of humid and hot, and the run was supposed to be 20 miles. We decided to have an adventure and ended up taking our shoes off and crossing the creek downstream of the dam for a 14.5 mile loop. I was losing it for the last several miles of that loop, as that section of trails is not as shady as the the Old Mill Bike trails, but we all got through it. MyKAren, Lynn and Sharon (who, let me remind you, is NOT training for anything in particular) took off to run the BBT loop for the remainder of the milage, while I went off on my own to finish via the Old Mill loop...I actually ended up doing around 19 rather than 20, but I'm ok with that. Given my state when I finished the 14 miles, I was happy with my running for the rest of the run, I had downed some gu and managed to run the majority of the last miles. Who knows what race day will bring, if I can run even 1/2 of the marathon, I'll be happy! So we all finished running, and then ate and then I had to take a nap!
We swam at the secret 50m pool location on Sunday, Lynn and I did 2.5 miles, MyKaren and Shelley did 2.75. I love the longer pool for long swims. Next up is the 100 mile Skyline Drive ride, looks really scary and hard, maybe I should add lights to my bike!
What can I say about riding the Blue Ridge? It is hard as crap, I think much harder than LP since there really is never a flat or even flat-like section. The climb grades are around 4% on average, whilst the LP ones are an average of 2%. So, if I can ride BL, then I guess I can ride LP for real. The time it may take me is the thing I am worried about! The 2nd leg goes up a 3+ mile climb, which is all switchbacks and which has been a fun, but sometimes scary downhill. I had the best time on that downhill I have ever had in my life. For some reason, I just took the curves perfectly and was flying downhill with a huge grin on my face and giddy with happiness! It was a blast! As I have said in the past, my new bike loves speed, and for once, I let it go! Wow! Of course the climbing is not so much fun, but after a few stops to talk to myself, I got through it. Working on nutrition, I tried Carbo-Pro and gu on the last leg, and that seemed to work for me, so I'll do that again for the bigass Luray ride this weekend.
Last weekend MyKAren, Sharon, Lynn and I all trooped to Pocahontas for a little bike/run fun. It was kind of humid and hot, and the run was supposed to be 20 miles. We decided to have an adventure and ended up taking our shoes off and crossing the creek downstream of the dam for a 14.5 mile loop. I was losing it for the last several miles of that loop, as that section of trails is not as shady as the the Old Mill Bike trails, but we all got through it. MyKAren, Lynn and Sharon (who, let me remind you, is NOT training for anything in particular) took off to run the BBT loop for the remainder of the milage, while I went off on my own to finish via the Old Mill loop...I actually ended up doing around 19 rather than 20, but I'm ok with that. Given my state when I finished the 14 miles, I was happy with my running for the rest of the run, I had downed some gu and managed to run the majority of the last miles. Who knows what race day will bring, if I can run even 1/2 of the marathon, I'll be happy! So we all finished running, and then ate and then I had to take a nap!
We swam at the secret 50m pool location on Sunday, Lynn and I did 2.5 miles, MyKaren and Shelley did 2.75. I love the longer pool for long swims. Next up is the 100 mile Skyline Drive ride, looks really scary and hard, maybe I should add lights to my bike!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
6/2/2009
OK, now that I am actually 50, it kind of freaks me out. I turned 50 on Saturday, and to celebrate, MyKaren, Lynn and Sharon all went to Pocahontas State Park for a little ride and a lot of run. We rode the park roads for about 45 minutes and that was very nice. The roads are not flat, and since they paved the road to the group camp ground one can get in a loop of about 13 miles. So, we road all through the park and then we had to run. Running is most definitely not my favorite thing and it is not becoming my favorite thing. But, running on the fire roads and wide trails was very nice...cool, shady, challenging and not hard as hard on the body. We ran an 11 mile loop, and then a 7 mile loop for the required 18 miles. It is not an easy run, very hilly for the first 4 miles and then rolling terrain until the short hill at the very end. Very good training for Placid. I really tried to pop the Salt Stick pills and take gu every 30 minutes and drink all my fluids in an attempt to stave off bonking...it kind of worked, I still felt very tired and unenergetic for some of the run, but much better afterwards so maybe I am figuring it all out.
No big birthday plans as the party was my celebration! All of us met and swam Sunday am, very early at the secret 50 m pool site, very lovely and most of us swam 2.5 miles. We love the 50 m pool! Afterwards MyKaren, Lynn and I all had a big breakfast and then went home for yard work. Not a bad birthday weekend!
No big birthday plans as the party was my celebration! All of us met and swam Sunday am, very early at the secret 50 m pool site, very lovely and most of us swam 2.5 miles. We love the 50 m pool! Afterwards MyKaren, Lynn and I all had a big breakfast and then went home for yard work. Not a bad birthday weekend!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
5/26/2009
Beer = weight gain. I drank a lot of beer this past weekend and perhaps some days leading up to it, and have gained nearly 5 pounds. Shocking and scary all at the same time! I celebrated my 50th birthday this past weekend, with a very nice party organized by MyKaren and lots of my friends in attendence. I am humbled by the thoughtfulness of my friends and thankful for them being in my life.
Not much else to say about LPTF, we all did a full loop of the bike on Monday, followed by a swim in a very wavy pool that evening, and then more food and drinks and a mostly rest day on Tuesday. I am glad I went, and know that I can physically finish the course, I just hope I have enough time.
MyKaren, Lynn and I went to the Blue Ridge Saturday and rode 57-60 miles. For the record, the Blue Ridge is harder than LP course. Blue Ridge is either uphill or downhill, with no real flatter sections. And there are some flat sections at LP. So, we rode several hours, and then did a short transition run on the AT. It was a very beautiful day, with lots of cyclists out there. On Sunday morning, we did a 7-8 mile trail run on the downtown loop, and while it was humid, that was also very nice. I swam 1.25 miles yesterday to top off the weekend's training.
Not much else to say about LPTF, we all did a full loop of the bike on Monday, followed by a swim in a very wavy pool that evening, and then more food and drinks and a mostly rest day on Tuesday. I am glad I went, and know that I can physically finish the course, I just hope I have enough time.
MyKaren, Lynn and I went to the Blue Ridge Saturday and rode 57-60 miles. For the record, the Blue Ridge is harder than LP course. Blue Ridge is either uphill or downhill, with no real flatter sections. And there are some flat sections at LP. So, we rode several hours, and then did a short transition run on the AT. It was a very beautiful day, with lots of cyclists out there. On Sunday morning, we did a 7-8 mile trail run on the downtown loop, and while it was humid, that was also very nice. I swam 1.25 miles yesterday to top off the weekend's training.
Friday, May 22, 2009
LPTF-Part2
Did I mention that this whole multi-day torturefest was a birthday present from MyKaren to me? Silly me to accept such a gift!
The run for LPTF was listed as a 20 mile run, and one of the participants actually did run 20+, just not anyone else. ProKaren actually made us run 3 hours, which in my book is about 16 miles or so....that was the average milage, except for speedy-boy. We ran around Mirror Lake and then on to the run course. It is not easy. The long out and back is long, and I can only imagine it will be dark and kind of lonely after the sun goes down come race day...and I am 100% sure that I'll be out there after the sun calls it a day and sets. However, on the good side, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be (keeping in mind that we were running the NEXT day after an 88 mile bike, not IMMEDIATELY after a 112 mile bike) and the scenery is very pretty. The hills that are hard are the intown hill and the one that starts at the ski jump parking lot down to the bridge. The out and back is kind of rolling but not too bad.
I did ok on the run; started to bonk after 2 1/2 hours, even though I thought I'd been eating enough gu. I did, however, recognize that I was bonking, which is a good first step. I now just need to make sure I take appropriate actions, like eating, at the very early signs! Sounds easy enought, right?
But, I made it back, and up the bigass intown hill in one piece and I was happy about that. No real horror stories on the run, except that evidently someone had a badly timed potty stop and "lost" their gloves to that cause. I'll say no more about that, except I thought I was going to have the same type of bad potty stop, but my shy sphincter ruled that out. Bathroom humor is certainly the topic of any long distance racing, triathlons are no exception!
More eating and drinking and napping ensued and we all had a very lovely dinner at the View, where the food was good, but not as plentiful as our appetites would have liked. I did get a nice Happy Birthday dessert and got a nice photo of the group and that was great!
The run for LPTF was listed as a 20 mile run, and one of the participants actually did run 20+, just not anyone else. ProKaren actually made us run 3 hours, which in my book is about 16 miles or so....that was the average milage, except for speedy-boy. We ran around Mirror Lake and then on to the run course. It is not easy. The long out and back is long, and I can only imagine it will be dark and kind of lonely after the sun goes down come race day...and I am 100% sure that I'll be out there after the sun calls it a day and sets. However, on the good side, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be (keeping in mind that we were running the NEXT day after an 88 mile bike, not IMMEDIATELY after a 112 mile bike) and the scenery is very pretty. The hills that are hard are the intown hill and the one that starts at the ski jump parking lot down to the bridge. The out and back is kind of rolling but not too bad.
I did ok on the run; started to bonk after 2 1/2 hours, even though I thought I'd been eating enough gu. I did, however, recognize that I was bonking, which is a good first step. I now just need to make sure I take appropriate actions, like eating, at the very early signs! Sounds easy enought, right?
But, I made it back, and up the bigass intown hill in one piece and I was happy about that. No real horror stories on the run, except that evidently someone had a badly timed potty stop and "lost" their gloves to that cause. I'll say no more about that, except I thought I was going to have the same type of bad potty stop, but my shy sphincter ruled that out. Bathroom humor is certainly the topic of any long distance racing, triathlons are no exception!
More eating and drinking and napping ensued and we all had a very lovely dinner at the View, where the food was good, but not as plentiful as our appetites would have liked. I did get a nice Happy Birthday dessert and got a nice photo of the group and that was great!
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