What it takes. . . April 2012
Good morning ladies! How is everyone doing? Welcome to all the new ladies!
Spent yesterday at the Galvestion 70.3 expo working the Memorial Hermann tent. It was great to see so many peple and a couple of EN'ers. I was supposed to go back to th eShell Houston Open PGA tournament today, but one of my co-workers said we didn't all need to be there (I was there Thursday and Friday). So, I'm staying home and resting and getting some time with John. This is nice after working last weekend, too, with our (Memorial Hermann) Women's IMTX preview camp.
I signed up for the Kemah sprint at the end of April. I've had some twinges in my left foot that I think may be PF (it really hurt yesterday after standing all day at the expo; yet another reason to stay home today). I have an appointment with a doc Tuesday to see about orthotics for work and workout shoes Tuesday. I've started stretching, rolling and using a frozen water bottle on it. If all goes well, I'm planning on signing up for Redman in OKC in September as my first half. Still tinkering with signing up for IMTX next year as my first full.
On the funny side of the house, Baker - the new pup- likes to try to lick and chew on the frozen water bottle while I roll my foot over it. 
Hope everyone has a great day!
Comments
Thanks for starting this thread, Penny. I was going to start one this morning but you beat me to it! You sure are a busy woman, and you must be extremely patient to work all of your weekends. I have to work one weekend a month and I dread it every time!
Luckily you have great access to docs to heal up that PF quickly.
I'm in week 14 of my IM plan, and, unexpectedly, really enjoying it! I haven't done any serious training in about 2 years, and am loving feeling so fit. I just need to hold onto this feeling for another few weeks, and then it's taper time! Thanks to Penny's advice, I have been experimenting with more real food during long rides (and more food, in general), and that, in combination with a very light helmet and switching to a road bike, has led to far fewer migraines during this training period. I am so encouraged!
How is everyone else doing?
I am in week 16 in the countdown to IMSG. Totally approaching this as a race I just want to finish, no time goal. I am scared of the cold water but have a heated shirt (battery pak and all- use it for scuba diving) that I will wear under my wetsuit. I also have a neoprene cap. Hoping they will have hot tubs at the swim exit.
Heading back and forth to NY has impacted my weekend bike rides, so that is the other reason I am not setting up any expectations for the day. I feel certain I will be able to finish, I just know it will not be my prettiest moment.
For those that know, I am still working on my Dad's estate. Trying to get the house on the market. This is more stressful than training. The training is a huge break for me. It gets me away from the insanity.
I have settled on the school for my doctorate and plan to start as soon as the house is sold. After all this, I know I can handle IM training and the first class for my doctorate at the same time. So excited to head back to school. Nervous about it, but that is normal. This will be my last year of IM. After this I will be relegated to HIM if possible until I graduate- at least 3 years away.
Otherwise life keeps rolling along...
The weather hasn't been that great here in Pacific NW just yet, but we are expecting a "warm" low 60's this weekend, and I can't wait to get out and bike with a new compact crank I just upgraded.
Have a great week, everyone!
I have kept an eye on the weather out west and keep thinking that CdA will be cold. I hope I am wrong. Of course there is no hope for IMSG, always cold.
Michele: So sorry about all the stuff with your dad's estate. I lost my dad last fall. My brother decided to contest the will. We got through the hearings and the judge ruled against him. We are done with that but still waiting to see if he is going to appeal. This has caused everyone from the family to black-list my brother, including me. Just sad. Also, good luck with the PhD. I finished mine in December 2010. It was the hardest thing I have ever done.
Yasko: HI! Hopefully, I'll be a CDA for Chocolate Milk. :-)
Kristen: Great news about the migraines! YEA!
All here is good. Trying to get recovered and back into training. Plan on running and getting on the bike this weekend. YEA!
This weekend, I had a huge argument with my older sister. She did not come to help work on the house because "really, what else is there to do?" At the end of the day (8 hours of working), I loaded up my car and drove 3 hours back home. Max helped unload my car. With every box of stuff he'd say (as a joke) "really, what else is there to do?" I am going to hire pros to finish, my siblings are unreliable.
Yasko- I forgot to look. This time I made myself a note. I will check, I promise.
Just checking in. I'm about to pull the trigger on Redman. I need something to kick me in the pants to get back off the couch. And, I ate TWO Crave cupcakes today. YIKES! Let's talk about how not to reach my goals. ;-/ But, that is what happens when I don't plan.
I have a sprint next weekend that I have barely trained for (500/12/3.1). Just doing it for fun. I hope after that I'll get my motivation back.
What is up with you ladies?
I also saw my endo yesterday. He said that with the training I need to focus on keep stress levels down and getting enough sleep (hypothyroid issues). He also got on to me about eating enough and timing it with my workouts. He has some interesting ideas about eating before workouts I need to investigate more. If I end up following it, I'll need to workout at night due to medication and food timing issues.
Hope you ladies are doing well!
Good luck on your Sprint Tri Penny, I hope you have fun!. I just did a local one last weekend and had a great time. I got to ride my new bike... sweeet! And the weather was just beautiful, the bike course so lovely in the spring sunshine. Fastest bike split in over a decade in a Sprint. I'll take that. My run split sucked, but since I haven't been running much since I hurt my back, I figured on that. All in all, good for 2nd in AG, 4th women's OA.
@Penny- I'd be interested to hear his thoughts. I take Levothyroxine for my thyroid. As soon as I wake up, I take it with 16oz of Nuun water. Of course I don't eat at all until after my workout other than sports drink, but the first sip isn't usually for another 45-60 minutes. Only on days with workouts lasting longer than 90 minutes do I have a few sips of protein shake as I walk out the door, usually at least 30 minutes after the med. My blood levels are spot on.
8 days until IMSG! Thrilled that the water has warmed to mid 60's. It's going to be a scorcher! An interesting race for sure!
@Robin, nice bike! That's a pretty steep drop you've got there. Does that bother your neck on long rides?
@Michele, good luck at IMSG! That finisher's shirt will be a collector's item. I'm glad the water has warmed up so much, but hope the heat the rest of the day doesn't take too much of a toll on all the racers.
I just spent about 24 hours at the IMTX EN tri rally. For the opening run last night only myself and 2 guys showed up. They were both really nice (Pat Ward and Jay, a training plan guy), but clearly faster runners than me. I managed to hang onto them for almost 6 miles, though, and they were nice enough to dial it down when they could see I was falling behind. The opening meeting was informative, and I finally got to meet Coach P. He is freakin' ripped! His belt was literally holding up his jeans. I think all of his hard work is going to pay off on race day! For this morning's ride, I had 6 hours on the plan, so I took off on the course earlier than the scheduled groups just to get it all in. I kept expecting the fast guys to come rolling by me, but they never did. I especially wanted them to cruise by at any time during the last 40 miles when a stiff wind was in my face the whole time, so I could jump on the train for a little while. This was my third time riding the course, and definitely the hardest because of the wind, but my average speed was still a little higher than the last time.
Camp goes on all weekend, but I came back home to have a "normal" weekend. I need to earn some SAUs!
And good luck to you Penny!
Michele kick some butt at IMSG.
Kristen glad you were able to experience an EN camp, even if abbreviated. I have been to Placid the past 2 years and have been able to meet both RnP this way. I really like the camps as I don't really have training partners in my area.
On a completely non training note, I saw the movie Bully tonight. Go see it, take your preteen and teenage kids. That stuff just gets me fired up.
Need to get to bed big tri day tomorrow minus the run as I am scheduled for a local 1/2 mary on Sunday.
Michele, good luck at IMSG! That will always be one of my favorite race experiences. Last year was a windy scorcher for sure, but it's a very well run race and there was plenty of ice, sponges, etc. I stressed about the weather, but it ended up being a manageable situation. I hope you aren't a worrier like I was, that was totally wasted energy. Stick to your plan, enjoy your day, and kick some butt! If you have time in your schedule, go to Zion National Park before you head home. I went the day after the race and hiked up to Angels Landing. I hated myself on the climb up, and most of the way down, but the view from the top was totally worth the trip. I have some funny stories about my race I'll share with you after you're done
Robin! Congrats on your AG podium finish! Love the pink bike! Thanks again so much for your advice in picking out a tandem bike. We ordered the Bike Friday, and it should ship to us in a few weeks. My kids are very excited!
Good luck to everyone with training and racing! Can't believe it's almost May already.
@Sarah- Can't wait to hear the stories. As for worrying- I am concerned about the water temp since I am going sleeveless, my full no longer fits. If needed, I have a neoprene cap and heated shirt. The rest of it- bike and run, I am going to focus on avoiding dehydration and trying to have fun. I am not as trained for this race as I have been for others, but I have no concerns about being able to finish. I lived in Salt Lake for 6 years,so I am very familiar with the area, heat, dryness, weather. I have been to all of the parks. The day after the race, we will drive through Zion, it is not my favorite park, and go to Bryce. The next day we will take a horse trip through the park, then head to Lake Powell for the night and then on to the Grand Canyon for a night. After that we head back to Vegas (on my birthday). We will see the Cirque Show "O" at the Bellagio. Then it is back home and back to reality.
I am not planning to do anything strenuous.
Hope everyone is doing well and gearing up for race season.