IM Boulder - Training!

While I signed up for IM Boulder in August of last year (crazy?!), I only now feel that I am 'officially' training for that particular race.  I've only just realized the blessing of St. George 70.3.  While it wasn't my "A" race, it did keep me more or less on top of my training and I've found that I need some sort of mid-way goal, or I have this year, at least.  Last year, I think that I wrapped my mind around IM Coeur d'Alene and made that THE goal, but this year, there is so much going on with me life-wise that an intermediate or mid-way goal really helped.  Otherwise, the 'base training' probably wouldn't have ever happened!

However, base training has officially ended and I'm now building - and I miss the base training!  I know that I shouldn't compare myself to other people, and I try not to, but I'm really "comfortable" at around 10-12 hours of training a week.  Once I start to train over 12 hours, I really do feel it.  Also, my recovery from St. George didn't even last a full week!  I was back to a long tempo run and then a long brick (4 hour ride, 80 minute run) a week after the race.  Last Sunday, I thought to myself - "You're not in Kansas anymore".  Okay, it's lame to quote the Wizard of Oz, but I was officially out of my comfort zone with that workout.  I really did try to have a positive attitude, but I started the running with heavy legs and I ended the run with heavy legs.  It was about 10x harder than the St. George run was!

This week, plenty of ups and downs and new challenges.  I felt equally blessed and cursed on Saturday to ride part of the Tour de California Stage 7 course - up GMR (Glendora Mountain Road) which I'd done twice before, but then, for the first time, I kept climbing up to Mt. Baldy Village. The Tour finished at the Mt. Baldy ski lifts, but it was the COLDEST RIDE EVER - so the two other ladies and I riding together made a group decision - to not climb the extra 1,000 feet to the ski lifts.  Even though we didn't make it to the ski lifts, it was a  fantastic ride up to Mt. Baldy Village, and it was amazing to see so many cyclists and fans of cycling in Southern CA.  If I had been better prepared (had more clothes) and had more time, I definitely would have stuck around to see the pros go through, but it was a great ride no matter what.

 This is before we started climbing - and it looks like I have something weird growing out of my helmet, but not so!

Finally, on Sunday, I had my first double-run day EVER.  I actually thought that it was a mistake on my schedule until I read the information about said run.  Nope, not a mistake.  Honestly, the afternoon run felt better than the first run of the day, so I decided that double run days might be okay.  However, this is all new territory for me, which maybe is the point?  Yes, I managed an IM distance race last year and loved the experience, but now that I know that I can do the distance, pushing a bit more and going a bit harder is the challenge.

And, if that's not enough, taking in sights like these should be both the means and the end:

Huge shout out to CalTri and Harrison Shao for the Epic Ride on Saturday!

Ironman Take 2 - Just a few bumps along the training road

Had I written this update a week ago, I think that it would have been vastly different from the "report" that I'll make tonight.  It's not that SO much in my life has changed in the course of a week, rather a few things have shifted, but the shift has made quite a difference.

I'll back up, however, and say that up until last week, I had a solid 'base' training cycle.  Despite feeling a bit ambivalent about training (yes, I want this, no, I just want to stay in bed), the vast majority of my Training Peaks boxes were green for January and February - success!  I was completing my workouts with more consistency than last year, and, even better, I felt that the workouts were high quality, especially in the pool and running.

I will admit that the bike has been something of an issue this year, despite the Bat (who HAS been getting plenty of love, but a lot of it on the trainer).  Last year, I really prioritized getting in solid, long rides, and woke up early every Saturday, committing myself to some good saddle time.  This year, I'll be honest and recognize that I have not dedicated enough time to biking as I really need.  While I love the Cervelo - it is a wonderful ride, I still don't feel as confident on it as I do on the Trek, probably because I still think that it's TOO nice a bike for me and I get nervous on it.  Or something idiotic like that.  The other issue, before I blame it on a complicated love/hate relationship with my bike, is that, as we make these major life changes, triathlon/training is not first priority.  I want to spend time and connect with friends, something that I could sacrifice a bit last year but am very reluctant to do so this at this point.  While running and swimming seem more forgiving in terms of a time-commitment, biking is less so, and that has been an issue this year.  Because of that, I made my peace with a few long "rides" on the trainer which were good and painful!  Last weekend, I finally got in a great ride along PCH and felt pretty strong, especially in my new Vanderkitten kit (of which I have zero photos - sad face; I'm the worst so-called "ambassador" ever).  The extra bonus on the ride - we saw whales swimming south!  It was so fun to look for their spouts - and to spy them.

As I said, cycling aside, running and swimming had felt good.  While I had plenty of swims and runs that felt slow, overall, I saw gains from last year (in the pool) and enjoyed being healthy for my runs.  The only issue was niggling back pain while swimming, which probably started in January or at the beginning of February, but didn't really slow me down elsewhere.  Well, last weekend, after a long swim and a long trainer ride on Saturday and a long run on Sunday, the pain wasn't severe but I had to admit that it was more than just a minor issue that I could ignore.  So, at this point, I am trying to figure out what is going on with my back, not just scouring the Google, but also seeing a pain specialist and going from there.  What's interesting about the back pain is that running and cycling don't seem to be an issue, and I suspect that it is related to tight hips/glutes and other imbalances rather than something more major (or that's my hope!).  However, I'd rather err on the side of caution rather than try to push through the pain.  What is a challenge is that I've never had back pain before (unlike the array of leg/foot maladies that have plagued me), so I don't know how serious it is.  The optimist in me is confident that it's a strain that just needs time to fully heal, but I have concerns that it is more serious.  Either way, it's frustrating to not know, and I hope to have answers soon!

Obviously, I hope that this won't sideline me for the next few months, especially, my plans for Boulder IM.  I have questioned the decision to commit to another Ironman with everything else going on in our lives, but I also know that it wasn't a flighty decision. It's a goal that I'll continue to work towards, despite some challenges that life and my body have decided to present along the way.  But, training for this second IM has been harder.  Again, I recognize that there are a lot of life things going on that I have to prioritize, and maybe some of the excitement that comes from the new and unknown has worn off.  I do have hopes, goals, expectations for this second race, but I'm also more stressed about moving, finding a job, saying good-bye, and figuring out my life.  Small details, I know!

So, a bit of a rough go at this point, but I'm trying to trust the fact that I *do* have a good base to work from.  Also, I've (knock on wood) stayed healthy in other ways and am grateful for that.  I really hope to have answers to the back issue soon, and get back to some solid training!

2015 - It's happening!

I know, 20 days into the year and I finally decide to embrace it.  Good for me!  It's been somewhat of a low-key start to the year, so maybe that explains my reluctance to exuberantly celebrate the start to the new year.

Or the end to 2014, for that matter, which was a memorable year but wasn't exactly a *fantastic* year.  I think that I declared around this time last year that it would be a 'bold' year which, ultimately, it wasn't.  It's funny, in foresight, I believed that the whole Ironman thing would be an audacious experience, but that wasn't really the case.  As a family friend said to me on this topic, there is something militaristic about training for such an event.  He didn't say that in a negative way but rather matter-of-factly, and he was quite right.  By undertaking IM training, I ended up with a regimented schedule for about 6 months.  Not to say that it was easy - it wasn't - or that it wasn't a fantastic experience - it was -  and I certainly took risks and grew and learned about myself and about the whole swim/bike/running thing.  However, Ironman wasn't THE defining moment of the year, which is okay.  Maybe it's hard to find one moment in any given year, or, if you do, are you reducing all of the other moments that are pretty great?  I can say that 2014 was a year of growth, which came with good times and also harder ones.  Seeing relationships ebb and flow is natural, but it's not always easy, and I experienced some of those growing pains this past year.  Also, I know that it sounds silly to non-pet people, but I still miss Milo, our dog, who passed away last February.

I hope that 2015 is also a year of growth (I suspect that it will be!) and of tackling new challenges.  Despite some of my moaning, groaning and grumbling about lack of fitness, I have committed to another Ironman experience!  My plans in 2015 are Ironman 70.3 St. George and Ironman Boulder!  St. George was a tough choice because it's the same weekend as Wildflower, which will always be near and dear to my heart in terms of triathlon, but after last year's swim, I don't know how the conditions will be better this year (with the continued lack of rain), and Michael, Mr. Sherpa, said that he'd prefer to go to St. George anyway.  The only issue I'm currently experiencing with St. George - mentally at this point - is that it is a harder course than Wildflower.  Gulp.  This means that I need to get in gear, especially on the bike!  The bonus is that it looks like an amazingly beautiful course, so I can't wait for that.

And Ironman Boulder - it was the only 'obvious' choice for different reasons.  Summer plans, for instance, and also for the emotional pull that Boulder has had over the past 9-10 years.  It was my first Ironman experience, at Boulder 70.3 a few years ago, so it will be exciting to tackle the full distance this year.  Plus, we'll be there in June which will give me the chance to train on the course - what a concept!  Even better, I love the idea of seeing friends and family on the day of the event.

My only issue right now, is that... despite working with the same coach as last year (who is awesome) and despite the long off-season that should have reenergized me, I'm feeling...  Oh, a bit 'off'.  I was so excited to begin to train and to focus on 2015 training, and I still am, but I'm also worried that I bit off more than I can chew this year.  Maybe it's just that I'm nervous about the idea of another Ironman and I'm still waiting for things to come into focus.  I was so excited in July, still riding on the post-Ironman high, that I couldn't wait to sign up for another race, but now I feel somewhat intimidated about fully committing to the training program again - but here it is!

In the meantime, I recognize that I have much to look forward to in 2015 and exciting changes are afoot.  But there are also some scary unknowns (the Rumsfeldian "known unknowns" along with the "unknown unknowns").  I hope that I can embrace all of the experiences, good and difficult, and the changes that come my way in 2015.