Week 10 Training: 1/29/07-2/4/07

Training Schedule:
Mon, 1/29: PM - Swim = 1 hr Master's swim workout
Tues, 1/30: (On Travel) AM - Travel, PM - Run = 1 hr 10 min hotel treadmill
Wed, 1/31: (On Travel) AM - Run = 30 min hotel treadmill, PM - Bike = 1 hr 30 min Spinervals on hotel spin bike
Thurs, 2/1: (On Travel) AM - Run = 40 min hotel treadmill, PM - Run = 50 min hotel treadmill
Fri, 2/2: (On Travel) AM - Bike = 1 hr Spinervals workout on hotel spin bike before travel, PM - Swim = 1 hr Master's swim workout
Sat, 2/3: Bike = 5 hr road ride
Sun, 2/4: HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY TO ME! AM - Party, PM - Swim = 1 hr TTG swim workout (if the party wraps up in time)

Monday 1/29 update:
I think I have the training plan pretty much worked around the travel for this week. Thankfully the hotel has a gym, so I should still be able to bike and run. I've never ridden a gym spin bike, so that should be interesting. I'm taking my laptop along, so I figure I can set it up near the bike and still watch Coach Troy and Spinervals. If it bothers anyone in the gym, too bad! I'm training for an Ironman here! :-P

The key workout is the 5 hr bike on Saturday. I'm starting at 7:30am, hopefully finishing by 12:30pm so that I can go to Katrina's wedding shower. I've got a group of guys from work convinced to go on all or part of the ride, so at least I won't be alone. My planned route is up the frontage road along I-10. It's long, straight, flat, and no traffic lights. I'm going to ride 2.5 hrs in one direction, then turn around and come back. Yep, it will be boring, but it's training the mental side for IMAZ. That, and I finally get to practice my nutrition. I'm using the same fluids as my half Ironmans (I figure why change something that works) and I'm going to try a few solids like bananas and Fig Newtons to keep the stomach from growling.

Week 9 Training: 1/22/07-1/28/07

Training Schedule:

Mon, 1/22: Run = 1 hr 10 min

Tues, 1/23: Swim = 1 hr Master's swim workout

Wed, 1/24: Bike = 1 hr 20 min Spinervals on trainer

Thurs, 1/25: Run = 2 hr run, Strength = core workout

Fri, 1/26: Strength = core workout, Swim = 1 hr Master's swim workout

Sat, 1/27: Bike = 2 hr 20 min ride, Run = 15 min run (brick)

Sun, 1/28: Bike = 1 hr 30 min Spinervals, Strength = core workout

Thursday 1/25/07 update:

Yeah, I know I'm late updating this. Sorry Holly! ;) My schedule keeps changing this week and it's driving me crazy.

So last week's 4 hr ride on Sunday didn't happen. I got 1 hr 30 minutes into it and got a flat. I changed the flat and I swear it was 10 degrees colder than before. I was on Soldier Trail heading north, and saw some scary looking clouds to the west moving in. I decided to head up Snyder, and it started sprinkling. By the time I hit Catalina Hwy it was pouring. There were a ton of cyclists coming down the hill, so I just jumped in the line with them. I was in the aero bars going 20 mph in the rain...boy was I freezing! After 3 trucks passed by with snow in the bed, I figured it was time to bag the ride. I rode to Zac's parents house and knocked on the door, hoping they were home. They were, and I got treated to a fireplace, blanket, and hot chocolate. I called Zac for a SAG ride home. We decided to go out to dinner with his parents, and it started snowing. A few hours later there was 3" on the ground! There was no way I was riding home in that!

This week the inevitable happened: the request to go on travel for work. It appears I will be leaving on Sunday and returning on Wednesday night. I'm going to pack my running shoes and fit ball, in case the hotel has a gym. We're going to some scary ghetto place in NJ where the other folks going along mentioned they saw people getting mugged the last time they traveled there. Oh joy.

My daily schedule is becoming less strict. I'm transitioning out of the factory back to engineering, so my hours are becoming more flexible. I can't wait to get my off Fridays back!

Next weekend is a big 5 hour road ride, which I CANNOT miss. Gotta practice my nutrition and such. Sunday of next week is my 30th birthday, and were doing a combined birthday and IMAZ party. I'm really looking forward to that. We're having balloons, a pinata, the works! :)

Week 8 Training: 1/15/07-1/21/07

Training Schedule:
Mon, 1/15: AM - Rest, PM - Swim = Easy 1000 yd recovery swim
Tues, 1/16: AM - Rest, PM - Run = Easy 45 min jog, Strength = Core workout
Wed, 1/17: AM - Strength = Core workout, PM - Run = Easy 50 min run
Thurs, 1/18: AM - Bike = 1 hr 15 min Spinervals workout on trainer, PM - Swim = 1 hr Master's swim workout
Fri, 1/19: AM - Run = 1 hr 30 min run, PM - Swim = Master's swim workout
Sat, 1/20: AM - Bike = 2 hr mountain bike ride (pre-ride of 24 hour course with team)
Sun, 1/21: AM - Bike = 4 hr road ride

Monday 1/15/07 update:
I had a couple of good workouts last week. The first was a 1500 yd time trial we did at Master's swim. I did mine in 28:50, which was a 1:55 per 100 yd pace. I was pretty jazzed about that, since about a year ago I couldn't even do under 2 minutes per 100. And I still have 3 more months of training before IMAZ, so that's lots of time to improve. The other was the half marathon this past weekend (see report below). Everything went really well for that race. I hope to run 12-14 minute miles at IMAZ, so it will be a little slower than the half marathon pace. I think it will all depend on my nutrition and how well I'm feeling.

Today I went to Master's swim and just did my own thing in the pool, which was an easy 1000 yard swim to help with recovery. My quads are the most sore right now, but they should be ok in a few days. The temperature outside was in the low 40's when I got in the water. The water that gets splashed onto the pool deck had frozen, and the deck was covered in ICE! That's how cold it was! I'm so sick of this cold weather. I just wish it would warm up a little.

This week I have key bike rides for this weekend. The first is the mountain bike ride on the 24 hour course with the team on Saturday, and then a solo ride on Sunday for 4 hours to practice more with my nutrition. I have decided to stick with Gatorade and Carbo Pro as my liquid nourishment for the bike. I need to figure out a few gels and foods as well, but the Gator/CarboPro will be the main thing. They had Accelerade at the race, and I took a cup of it at the finish area. I couldn't even drink it because it was so sweet. That was the only other drink I was considering, so I'm just going to stay with what I know works. So at least I've started working on the nutrition thing.

Now if only it would warm up a little this weekend!

Race Report: PF Chang's Rock n' Roll 1/2 Marathon

My husband Zac and I headed up to Phoenix this weekend for the PF Chang’s Rock n’ Roll half marathon. Zac had been training for this event, which was his first half marathon, and his goal was just to finish. He had no running background, and followed a 2.5 month training plan. He needed something to motivate him to run regularly, so this event was it. I went ahead and signed up since I was training for Ironman Arizona anyways, and planned to use it as a training run. I decided to run with Zac the entire way to help him out and make sure he could finish well. Besides, I had never done a stand alone half marathon. I’ve done three half Ironmans, so I was wondering what it would be like to do the half marathon part on fresh legs.

We arrived at the parking area at 5:30AM, and found a great spot right across from the shuttle pick-up area. Since our race didn’t start until 8:30, we decided to hang out in the warm van rather than stand around in the cold. We used that time to get everything ready for the race and fill our water bottles. With so many people on the course we decided to just carry our own water and nutrition and skip almost all of the aid stations. During Zac’s 2 hour training run I had stuffed a bag of Clif Bloks in the zippered pocket of his water bottle holder so that he could try them out. At first he figured he could run the entire time with no electrolytes or food, but I convinced him otherwise and he tried the Bloks. They worked fine for him, so that’s what he was going to use for the race. I loaded my waist belt pouch with 3 bags of Bloks (2 for me and 1 extra for him) and my water bottle.

The most stressful thing was trying to figure out how to dress. At 5:30AM it was still dark out, so we weren’t sure how warm it would get and if it would be windy. I put on my compression shorts, running pants on over the shorts, and a long sleeved Under Armor shirt on under my Tri Girls tank top. I threw a windbreaker into my gear bag just in case. I also put on my fleece jacket and gloves to keep warm before the event. Zac put his long running shorts on and his pants over the shorts and a long sleeved jersey on. He also put on his Elvis socks, since this was the Rock n’ Roll race after all. I let him borrow my race belt that I use for tris for this race so that he had somewhere to put his number without attaching it to his shirt.

At 7AM we decided to get in the line for the shuttles. It was a pretty long line, but it seemed to be moving along. Our feet got cold waiting in line, and I was wishing I had put plastic baggies on my feet inside my shoes. We finally got on the tour bus which was heated inside and felt SO good. We were able to thaw out on the bus ride from Tempe to downtown Phoenix. 13 miles sure does look like a long way when you drive the distance.

We got off the bus, and by then the sun had come up and warmed up the air a bit. We found the UPS trucks and made our final costume decisions. I decided not to go with the windbreaker and run in my pants and long sleeves, and Zac opted for shorts and long sleeves and no windbreaker. This turned out to be perfect for both of us. The UPS trucks were alphabetical by last name, so we dropped our bags and headed to our corral. I ran into Anne along the way and wished her luck, as she was also getting ready for the half marathon.

We were in corral 18, so we stopped by the porta potties near the area. They had plenty of potties, so the line wasn’t too long. We waited about 15 minutes or so and decided to do our stretching then. Then we got in our corral and waited. They told us there were 38,000 people doing the races today. Amazing! The race was running a bit late (about 30 min behind schedule) so we stood in the crowd in our corral. I was fine with that since that meant 30 more minutes of sunshine to warm us up. The only thing was our feet got really cold just standing around waiting. They finally started the corrals moving, and we slowly moved forward. Finally it was our turn to go. We crossed the timing mats, started our watches, and were off!

My feet felt like blocks of ice and I couldn’t feel how my feet were moving during the strides. I was hoping they would warm up soon. The first 3 miles flew by, mostly because we were trying to get warm. Our feet would hurt and sting as they thawed but finally we could feel them again. We passed quite a few walkers just in those first few miles. The first few miles also had religious protesters yelling at us. The first big sign one guy was holding that we passed said “You are headed towards hell.” That cracked me up. I was thinking “No, were not doing the full marathon. Besides, we’re going to the finish line, which is heaven!”

My job was to pace Zac and make sure he didn’t go to fast or slow. He did his training runs at 13 minute miles, but I told him he’d go faster in the race and made a goal of 12 min miles for him. I ran with my Garmin 301 and made sure we kept on pace. The first few miles we went faster than the goal pace, but that allowed us to get past the walking groups. They had bands along the way every mile and a half or so, which was really cool. They also had little kid cheer squads out to encourage the runners. After a few miles Zac started to rely on the bands. “I need another band to get me through” he would say. We always waved and cheered for the bands as we passed by. It was a nice thing to look forward to and help pass the miles.

With so many people we never got clear road where we weren’t around a ton of people. We just weaved and bobbed our way through the crowds. We seemed to be passing a lot more people than were passing us, so that was cool. At the beginning we ran through the aid stations, which were really crowded. We tried to stay in the middle of the road to get through quickly. We had our water bottles, so we didn’t need to stop. I practiced my nutrition for Ironman, which was a Clif Blok every 20 minutes, which would give me about 100 calories per hour. I was also wearing my heart rate monitor, just out of curiosity and because I always wear it for training. We were pushing the pace and running 11.5 minute miles, so my heartrate was higher in Zone 3. I normally try to do my training runs in Zone 2, but this allowed me to try eating at a higher zone and see how the stomach reacted. I decided that I wasn’t going to wear my heartrate monitor in Ironman, because I would probably just get hung up on the numbers if it was higher than it was supposed to be. Sometimes too much data is a bad thing, especially if you over-analyze.

Zac did good constantly sipping water from his bottle and eating a Blok every 15 to 20 minutes or when he felt he needed one. I was glad he listened to me and ate the Bloks, because I really didn’t want him to bonk in his first race. A week before the race he had gotten a cramp in his left calf. For the first part of the race his leg was ok, but then at about half way through it started to hurt. I just tried to keep him positive and keep him on pace. We were going faster than the training runs, so that was probably also bothering his leg.

This was definitely a different race for me, because I’m used to being out there by myself and being alone in my head and paying attention to every single body signal. This race I was more concerned about Zac, and my head was more about what he was feeling and what info he needed to keep pushing him forward. I’d tell him when the next mile marker was in view, and he’d reply with “Sweet!” I’d tell him how good he was doing and how proud of him I was and glad that he was doing the race with me (all while trying not to cry). Throughout the race he was doing great keeping a consistent pace and not walking. I told him it was ok if he wanted to stop and stretch, but he wanted to keep going and not stop. I told him Miles 8 – 10 were “The Gauntlet” because that’s where most people start walking. But he made it through just fine. I think Mile 11 was the worst for him. We got into some hills and slowed a bit, and his leg was really bothering him on the uphills. I kept telling him that the hills weren’t that bad, and that they were short. By this point he was out of water, so I gave him some from my bottle, and he picked up a few cups at the aid station.

We started the crossing at the Mill Avenue bridge, and Zac was yelling “Why can’t we finish at the beach park?!” which is where all my tris up there finished. We rounded the corner onto Rio Salado, and the final band there was playing Led Zepplin songs. “Crank the Zep! I need the Zep!” Zac yelled, and then started singing along. I don’t think he remembers singing to the band. But I’m sure he’s going to have similar stories about me doing or saying strange things in Ironman. I checked my watch, and it said 2:26. “We can break 2:30 if we push the pace” I told Zac. “Man, that wasn’t even a goal. My goal was 2:45.” I told him to just keep going and kept telling him the tenths of a mile that were left. Finally the finish line came into view, and Zac started sprinting. I tried to keep up because we wanted to cross the line together. At the last second we held hands and put our hands up in the air as we crossed the line at 2:29:22. Just under 2:30! The final sprint spiked my heart rate to 201 and I hit the redline. I had to walk it off to try to bring it down but it felt stuck. I breathed deeply trying to slow down, and was dry heaving a bit but never actually puked. I grabbed some water and finally started to calm down. We took our chips off, got the picture taken, got some food and free sandals, grabbed our gear from the UPS trucks, and headed back to the van.

Zac was walking funny after the race but felt great about exceeding his goal. We went much faster than I ever expected, so I was really proud. He said he had fun and would maybe want to do the race again to try to better his time. But he had no desire to do a full marathon. After that race, neither did I. I know it sounds strange to be doing Ironman and not want to do a stand alone marathon, but for some reason that’s how I feel. I like training for all 3 sports and not focusing on just one sport.

So Zac is now done with running and will be shifting his training to mountain biking to get ready for the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo race that he’s doing with our co-ed Tri Girls team. I’m continuing on with Week 7 of Ironman training. I hope he’ll still join me on some of my training runs, because it sure makes the time go by quicker when you have someone else there.

I'm also glad that I didn't have any IT band issues for this race. I was a little worried about that. But I did my stretches before and after the race, and it never bothered me. I can't tell you how glad I am of that, because the last thing I wanted was to develop an injury during IM training. So it looks like the key is the stretches before and after my running and biking workouts.

We had lots of fun at this race. I really liked the rock n’ roll theme with all the bands along the route. We had a great time and thought it was well organized for 38,000 participants. I can’t imagine organizing such a huge event! They had tons of volunteers, and the cities were nice enough to block off and allow us to run on a wide portion of the road. Aid stations always had lots of stuff. For such a large event it does get crowded, but we were never in any huge lines for anything, and were able to get our stuff and leave pretty quickly after the event. Getting out of the parking lot wasn’t even that tough. For a first half marathon, it was a great venue.

Week 7 Training: 1/8/07-1/14/07

Training Schedule:
Mon, 1/8: Rest day & TTG club meeting
Tues, 1/9 - Fri 1/12: Erratic
Sat, 1/13: Possible ride in PHX, or on trainer
Sun, 1/14: RACE: PF Chang's Rock n' Roll AZ 1/2 marathon

Friday 1/12/07 update:
Sorry for the delay! This week has been crazy busy. Or maybe this was just a test to see if anyone reads this thing. I know Holly does. ;)

I'm deviating from the normal training plan this week, as the 1/2 marathon is on Sunday. I was supposed to have 2 long bike rides, but that doesn't work with the race. So I decided to fit what I can in this week, and rejoin the regular plan next week. Plus, with the weather being unpredictable this week, it's been tough to actually schedule workouts. So I'm just doing what I can but I'm not totally slacking!

Zac is doing the 1/2 marathon as well on Sunday. This is his first running race ever, and he just wants to finish. I've decided to stick with him the entire time and run his pace. I could go off and try to PR (actually, I've never done a 1/2 mary outside a half ironman), but I'd finish 20-30 min ahead of Zac and would just be stuck waiting around. I think it would be much more fun to run with him and help him through the race. He's never done a race this long, so the mental side may kick in. Plus, I think it would make a cool finishing photo of us crossing the line together. I may have to actually buy that one.

Tonight is Master's swim, if it's not raining. On tap for the workout is a 1500 yd time trial, so I'm curious where I'm at swim fitness-wise. Saturday we are heading up to Phoenix for the race, and visiting with a friend of mine. I may get a chance to do a quick road ride, but I'm not sure at this point. We'll see how it all pans out. Plus, Phoenix roads are scary! Much more scary than Tucson roads.

Training Week 6: 1/1/07-1/7/07

Training Schedule:
Mon, 1/1: AM - Rest, PM - Run = 1 hr 20 min
Tues, 1/2: AM - Strength = Weight training at gym, PM - Bike = 1 hr 10 min ride on trainer with Spinervals workout
Wed, 1/3: AM - Strength = Core workout, PM - Swim = Master's Swim workout
Thurs, 1/4: AM - Run = 40 min, PM - Rest (Tri Girls board meeting)
Fri, 1/5: AM - Rest, PM - Swim = Master's Swim workout
Sat, 1/6: AM - Bike = 1 hr 30 min, PM - Run = 1 hr
Sun, 1/7: AM - Bike = 3 hrs, PM - Swim = 1.5 hr workout

Monday 1/1/07 update:
Happy New Year! I'm starting the year off right with a long run. I did this run with Zac, as he's training for the P.F. Chang's Half Marathon which is in 2 weeks. He had a 2 hr run scheduled, so I did part of the run with him and turned around early. I got home and grabbed my mountain bike and some refreshments and met back up with him on the trail and gave him the goodies from my rolling aid station.

My run today was ok. My heart rate was higher than desired, but I figure it's because I'm getting over from being sick. I've just about kicked this bug, with just a little scratchiness and drainage in the back of my throat. I'm just glad to be back on the training plan again.

Tomorrow I am getting up early to go to the gym at work and rent myself a locker. I had a locker 2 years ago, but last year I didn't get one as they sold out. Well this year I will be there at 5AM and I WILL get a locker! This happens every year. The New Year's Resolution crowd comes out and buys up all the lockers and then never use them again. I actually use mine throughout the year. I've found it makes commuting in by bike so much easier, especially since I ride sandy dirt trails to get to work. Yep, I'm looking forward to getting my locker.

Tuesday 1/2/07 update:
Got to the gym at work at 5:15AM and was the second gal to get a locker. Sure enough, I was standing there filling out my locker rental at the front desk, and some new guy comes in that doesn't even have a badge for the gym. Here was the conversation:

Guy: "I need a locker"
Gym Supervisor: "Do you have a membership badge?"
Guy: "No, I don't need one. I just need a locker."
Sup: "Why do you need a locker if you're not going to workout here?"
Guy: "Well, I might workout here someday so I figure I should get a locker. It's one of my New Year's resolutions."
Sup: "I have a limited number of lockers available for rent. I've got guys working out here 3-4 times per week. You can always use one of the daily use lockers on the top row."

Arrgghh! That's exactly why I had to get there at 5AM today to get a locker. There are only 40 lockers for yearly rent available. Yet there are 40 daily use lockers available, but you just can't leave stuff in those overnight. I commute by bike into work once in awhile, and have found that panniers are too heavy on the cyclocross bike, especially when riding through sand (since most of my commute is on dirt trails). So it was really important to get a locker this year. It just bugs me that others who would actually use the facilities several times a week get shut out by people that rent a locker as part of their resolution, and then never show up, thus closing out the locker for use for the entire year.

Got my workout at the gym done, got my locker, it's all good. Tonight will be another dreamy Spinervals session with Coach Troy.