November Lessons Learned First Half

November is all about running for me.  It's about pushing my mental and physical limits and fighting for something that seems possible and yet not all that common. I have great respect for marathon runners and the ultra marathoners are more like aliens to me but it's all relative. I read a quote that made a lot of sense: " you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with"...so triathletes train for 4-5 different levels. Runners train for 4-5 levels.  It's that 5th level that seems so extreme to the outsider but yet so common to those that have completed the 4th level so often.  I think we athletes seek the next level of challenge to be "not so average".  My challenge is to run 6 halfs in 16 days - one double, one single, one triple half marathon race. This will get me to Earth, my 6th moon level, with the Half Fanatics.  There are 3000+ in the club and once past the 5th level, 6-10th gets to be pretty tough to achieve.  When I do achieve my goal, and others look at me like I'm nuts, of course I will just say... but what about those at level 7-10? what about the Marathon Maniacs that can run 6 FULL marathons in 16 days?  What about the Ultra Marathon runners 50+ miles per race?  There's always another level of achievement, but for me, I think this goal is about all my left foot can endure until surgery.  I will have to be careful not to injure myself and not push too hard because this is about the preparation, the journey, the finish, and not the PR. 

I look forward to wearing 6 medals + an extra for completing the triple. I am dedicating my goal/achievement to Sharon Chaix who is the strongest woman I know, and has been training by my side with breast cancer. I will wear a pink ribbon with her name so she will be with me every step of the way. When I feel weak, Sharon will be close to my heart pulling me forward as usual. I hope we both get to the end of this "race" with a clean bill of health and a big smile on our face! But first, I will start the month off with the last TCSD triclub race for 2012.

Nov 3: Fiesta Island Club Sprint Triathlon
All I can say is WOW thank you for the gorgeous weather!  and so sorry for the East coast : (  I PR.'d on all 3 legs of the race so my training was very apparent today.  I pushed as hard as I could especially on the bike but just couldn't hold 21mph for 12.5 miles.  I did hold it for at least 5 though so my average ended at 20.6.  My swim was 5 minutes faster than in October.  My run was steady 9:35 pace for 4 miles and I generally hover around 10 min/pace.  The temps were just amazing. My Sprint PR 1:32 (.42 mi swim/12.5 mi bike/4 mile run). Maybe I can break 1:30 next time!

In preparation for Oceanside 70.3, I have scheduled one monthly brick(bike/run) challenge on the actual course.  Today was the 2nd brick with a 40mi bike & 6.5 mi run.  My goal is to increase the bike 5 miles and the run 1 mile each month up to March where the final brick will be 60/10. I will do my very best to run the entire run distance after the bike, even if it's a slow jog.  the brick portion of the race was definitely a weakness in my training last year so this is most important. Bricks are exhausting, time consuming, and they tend to hurt near the end so I've thrown in an extra hill to run up at the very end. Today was a complete success even though the legs were definitely showing resistance after the Sprint event the day before. 

 

Now looking forward to my 6 halfs with light runs, no bricks, and rest in between Nov 10 - 25. 

 

Nov 10 Santa Barbara Half  #1/6

The best part of the race was the emphasis on Veteran's Day.  All military wore special red shirts and the were two flyovers during the run and the final mile was lined in American Flags.  Volunteers passed out handheld small flags to all the runners to carry along the final mile.  It was a beautiful run with lots of spectators and energy. The one hill was barely a blip to me and I also decided to practice Galloway's run/walk method to help quicken my recovery.  I decided to run 10 minutes and walk 1 minute right from the start.  It worked well and I took an ice bath to prepare my legs for the next day's run.

 

Nov 11 Malibu Half #2/6

This race was a bit unorganized. The expo was out of the way and just a bib pickup.  Our shuttle from the hotel to the starting line got us to the race late but they all waited for us. The half was much hillier than I expected.  I knew there were 3 significant hills but didn't count on the many rollers down the Pacific Coast Hwy.  I ran this race 6 minutes slower than SB but my thighs were trashed.  I loved that we received a Malibu beach towel instead of a tshirt at the finishline. This race is all coastline and very scenic.  The beautiful distractions really helped the pain I was feeling.  Took another icebath after this race but it took a few days to recover anyway with some minor shin splints so luckily the remaining 4 halfs are relatively flat.

 

Nov 17 Fishbowl Half - Fountain Valley #3/6

This was a very small race for Caring SHOS charity supporting homeless and low income kids trying to live and stay in school.  I loved the cause and happily donated extra funds to support their mission.  We ran in Mile Square Regional Park.  It was 3 loops that passed quickly.  The park was well groomed with ponds and ducks and beautiful greens. My run was actually 13.5 miles and I felt pretty good.  At least the shin splints were gone so the pain was minimal but we still kept the 10/1 cadence.

 

Nov 18 - Volunteer for IronMan Arizona

We drove from Fountain Valley about 2 hours after the Fishbowl Half to Tempe Town Lake, AZ which took 6 hours.  It's tough sitting after running 13 miles but we arrived at a gorgeous Marriott Resort and went straight to the jacuzzi!  My IT bands were pretty tight after the drive and this really helped a lot. I had a few goals for IMAZ which were to view each leg personally and visualize myself in this race next year.  Volunteering for a shift during IMAZ gets you an advanced opportunity to buy a $675 entry for the following year.  It's about the only way to gain entry since it sells out to the general public in less than 10 minutes. 

 

We awoke early to watch the racers prepare for their 2.4 mile swim in Tempe Town Lake. I can't even describe the energy in the area but it was raw and exciting! there are two bridges the swimmers passed under twice so it gave a perfect view of the 2500 in the mass start. I did believe it wasn't as scary as I had thought.  Yes 2500 swimmers at once is scary but I did see space and some start near the back and others on the sideline.  I am so thankful for my experience with TikiSwim which has now helped me become a confident long distance swimmer.  Before September, I wasn't sure, but now I know I can handle this swim.  It also averages 64 degrees and my experience in Palm Springs and Oceanside with water at 55-58 degrees makes Tempe seems like bath water. I recognized at this moment just how important experience in similar situations can really help your brain "believe" anything is possible.  I could definitely visualize myself among this "mass" in my future.

 

 

 As daylight arose with a beautiful sunrise, it was amazing to see the organization of the transition area with color coded bags for gear to support each leg of the race all in numerical order and bikes perfectly aligned awaiting the swimmers.  The racers prepare 6 months to a year just as the ironman directors, coordinators and volunteers to support this massive and complicated event.  The magnitude of effort was so inspiring. 

Although the elite pros arrive about 48 minutes later, the best part is after 2 hours when you see the determination of the weakest give their last drop of energy to arrive before the cut off at 2:20. I will never forget those that ended their day as they arrived too late or those that shook violently from hypothermia and needed a blanket or wheelchair to get to the med tent.  The first late swimmer arrived at 2:20:12 and she fell to the floor in a fetal position when the race director said her day had ended with those extra 12 seconds.  She stared at the timer in shock and cried violently that her efforts were short.  It hurt me enough to know that I never wanted to experience the cut off.  I must BELIEVE in all 3 legs of the race before I signup for IMAZ.

I really couldn't get a good feeling about the bike route.  I knew it was relatively flat but still 112 miles is a long way.  We brought our bikes in case we had enough time on Monday to ride one of the three loops before we left but again the best part was cheering in the last stragglers trying to make the 8:10 course time limit or 10:30 total time swim+bike. I imagined myself in a headwind struggling against mother nature and although today's weather was exceptional, it was the desert and in other years, the weather had been hell on the bike. I watched the clock and yelled for the cyclists to hurry to beat the clock.  I just can't imagine after 2.4 miles of swimming and 112 miles of cycling to arrive seconds after 10:30 to have my timing chip taken from me and be told my day was over...it would crush me... I walked away sad for this cyclist and decided I had some doubt on surviving without considerable pain like my previous 116 mile bike ride.  He was 17 seconds late.

 

I have incredible pain in my neck and shoulders during long bike rides and I'm very insecure in my physical ability to endure the pain AND run a marathon.  OMG "light bulb on" I have only run one marathon and never ran more than 13 miles after just 56 miles of cycling.  I have NO experience with longer distances so how do I know if I can get through it? I could be on a bike for 7 hours and then face a marathon?...wow.

 

So now it's time to watch the runners make 3 loops of 8+ miles each as far as possible in the daylight hours until darkness arrives by 6pm. Darkness means it gets much colder and the crowds thin out.  So I now know that getting through the bike as quickly as possible means there will be more time to run with the crowd's energy and this is magic fuel ... fuel...do I know how to manage nutrition for a 15 - 17 hour day?  wow no way... I have barely dialed it in for my ONE 70.3 race.  I have a lot to learn about nutrition to help me through the longest athletic day of my life.  I recognized quickly the importance of spectators as I screamed a name that I saw on the racer's bib. This personal cheering fed these runners like magic.  They looked like zombies until they heard their name called out in encouragement.  They gently smiled or gave a thumb's up in appreciation and I knew that it was important to be in a large race with a lot of spectators for a full ironman.  I would likely crumble if I didn't have spectator support.  I realized 3 loops might be a little boring but it makes it easier and exciting for spectators so they stay longer.  This is critical for the racer.

 



 

So my head is filled with IMAZ reflections at this point and eventually the day winds down to the 15th hour. This will likely be MY hour in the race or atleast I hope I don't need all 17 hours!  I can't imagine completing it any faster.  So I watch my triclub friends similar to my fitness level nearly throw themselves down the finisher's chute. Most are full of smiles and some are teary-eyed while others are visibly stiff and limping as the crowd goes wild for their amazing accomplishment. There are no words to describe when Mike Reilly announces YOU ARE AN IRONMAN and a family of strangers cheer for you like you are their best friend.  I want that feeling; I want to hear my name too.

 

By 10pm I had seen enough to recognize my own weaknesses.  My body isn't ready for this even though my heart and brain probably are capable.  I need foot surgery to run marathons and then I can push myself to run more marathons so this area of weakness isn't so fragile.  I need more century rides.  Most importantly I need more bricks of larger magnitude.  When I talk to "marathon" runners, they have the confidence going into a 15 hour day knowing their strength is the last leg and they rely on this when it really gets tough. Mental toughness is priceless in this sport and that comes from experience.  So, I will decline my IMAZ registration for 2013.  In place of this, I will pledge to volunteer again in 2013, get my foot fixed, run marathons, cycle centuries, learn more about nutrition for endurance athletes, and race more 70.3 events.  I have signed up for SOMA 70.3 instead of IMAZ 140.6 as my 3rd half ironman race.  SOMA races in the same location as IMAZ but in October and half the distance.  This experience will give me another boost of confidence long with more training time.  I think the extra year will be well worth it because it will be more fun to be more fit when I finally hear Mike Reilly call out my name.  IMAZ... see you in 2014.