A newbie goes to a National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) event

This weekend I went to my first NASCAR event at the Kansas Speedway, and have to confess that I didn't know anything about the sport. In a Forbes article Steve Odland says "If you haven’t experienced a NASCAR race, you owe it to yourself to see one.  Once you do, you’ll be hooked."

My friend Jan and I spent pretty much all day at the Kansas Speedway watching the KS Lottery 300. On the way over they played the Talladega Nights movie (Will Farrell) on the shuttle, which was hilarious. We were in a nice suite and also went down to the infield for the fan experience behind pit row. It was so loud! From time to time I needed my noise reduction earmuffs. The race started before 3pm and was 200 laps! I thought I'd never get through them, but I was wrong. It was really cool.

We saw a lot of dramatic wipeouts (sometimes people would swipe the walls or clip each other) and some drama between Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski towards the end of the race when there were only a few laps left - http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/videos/2013/10/5/nationwide-series-kansas-kyle-busch-brad-keselowski-tangle.html & http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2013-10-05/brad-keselowski-kyle-busch-feud-wreck-exchange-comments-nationwide-series-nascar-crash-sprint-cup-chase

It is amazing to see the speeds these guys and gals are driving with the precision, technique, and concentration that is required to be able to do that for HOURS! Practice laps were 177-184 mph. It's an adrenaline rush seeing that speed. Can you imagine driving that fast? And on a track with the curves?

The people watching was fascinating...I saw a lot of camouflage, college, and NASCAR clothing. Although I'm not into hunting, I am slight obsessed with camo (I have camo workout headbands, a Snuggie blanket, pants, and now a really cute Kansas Speedway hat with pink embroidery on it). There were a lot of flags in the parking lot - the American flag and college and NASCAR flags. NASCAR fans are some of the most loyal fans in the world, and no wonder they are interested. It's a really high-powered sport.

So after an exciting day at the track, I'm fascinated about learning more. Starting with going back to the beginning and reading about the history..."NASCAR was founded by William France, Sr., on February 21, 1948 with the help of several other drivers of the time. The points system was written on a bar room napkin."

And trying to learn more about the industry and the crazy amounts of money it generates...http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveodland/2012/02/27/nascars-back/. The average team is worth $143 million generating $100 in revenues? Wow. The industry attracts $3 billion in sponsorship money...twice the amount of the NFL. Wow. That is hardcore.

It's fascinating to think about the level of precision, technology, and skill that are also required by their support teams. It is amazing to see how fast the pit crews service the vehicles during pit stops. Not only do they have to do it fast, they have to do it for safety and optimum performance. There are some cars that we saw make pit stop after pit stop because something wasn't right! It's also interesting how they have to time the pit stops strategically...like during yellow flag caution laps when the safety crews are cleaning up debris from the track. That way they can catch up again. There is so much more to it than meets the eye...drafting, geometry, design, fueling, etc. Many variables go into optimum performance.

When they have yellow flag caution laps, all of the lead work that the top drivers did to get there has to be done all over again as they get queued up again. It's interesting to see all the jockeying and maneuvering. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye, like driving and racing etiquette (some concepts here http://simnascar.wordpress.com/help/driving-etiquette/). One gal in our group mentioned that the drivers had surrounded Kyle Busch after the crash to control and "punish" him after the Keselowski wreck because he was in 2nd/3rd overall at the time, and I hadn't noticed that.

I didn't know that most NASCAR teams are based in North Carolina and many of the drivers live there. The HQ is in Daytona. We got a program at the race and there are so many drivers...I don't have them all memorized yet ;)

I have friends and family that are NASCAR fans, and am happy to learn more about it. I think it's important to embrace new experiences and learn about different things!

2013

Training plans tend to log miles OR duration, and I've always wondered which was best and which to do. So this year I started keeping track of BOTH mileage and duration in a simple spreadsheet that adds the day rows and weekly columns. My coworkers know best that I LOVE spreadsheets. I've now managed to totally geek out and combine my love for Excel with my love for triathlon :) 

In 2012, I logged my second highest mileage total since keeping track starting in 2009. Even after taking 3 1/2 months 'off' after Louisville to do strength training and minimal cardio. The remaining 8 1/2 months totaled 277 hours of training and 2,560 miles of swim/bike/run.

In 2013 my goal is to go back to my roots and have more life balance doing shorter events. That is what I'm built for, and I miss feeling that burn and having that different kind of challenge. Will start off with two 5Ks in January and February to see how slow I am. I will geek out using some of my favorite tools like:

McMillan Pace calculator ~ http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/index.php/calcUsage/calculate
Triathlon Pace calculator ~ http://www.tricalc3.com/?x=3
Runnersworld ~ http://www.runnersworld.com/tools

If you are looking to get started on your fitness, check out sites like runnersworld.com, active.com, or beginnertriathlete.com for training plans, advice, and to search for local races. There are also countless run, bike, swim, and triathlon clubs in KC that you can join to meet up with active people with a spectrum of goals and a variety of paces. If your company does Corporate Challenge, sign up for some events!

We all start somewhere. In 2000, I did my first triathlon via Kansas City Corporate Challenge. I had no swimming background or experience, and did about every stroke imaginable (except Butterfly, lol) to get through that 500 meters. Halfway through, it felt surreal and I stopped and looked around in disbelief that I was out there in the lake. A friend shouted from the shore "Keep swimming Amy!". And I did. 

After years of getting coaching and working on my technique, I went on to swim several distance events including 2.4 mile swims in 2010 and 2012 at Ironman Louisville. Going back even farther to cross country, I had never run more than a mile in my life. Ran a marathon during Ironman and another in 2011.

Don't ever put any self-perceived limits on yourself (let alone let others do that to you). You can do whatever you choose to do if you put your mind to it and work hard. And once you break through, don't forget where you started or the journey. 

If you don't like running, maybe you like group classes or biking. Maybe you like shorter events and not longer. You can try whatever you want to and see what is best for you. Do whatever it is that you want to and enjoy doing, and remember we don't all have to be the same.

Ironman 2012 Lessons Learned

" And all the things that break you, are all the things that make you strong. You can't change the past, cause it's gone and you just gotta move on, because it's all lessons learned." ~ Carrie Underwood song

Enough time has gone by for me to reflect on the 2012 Ironman training and the event itself, and to feel ready to post some lessons learned. 

1) I've always been an achievement, improvement, and perfection junkie and pusher. I can turn that on or off and dial it up or down but it still comes with risk of being self-critical to a small extent. I take care not to go too far with that and appreciate & enjoy all the positive things...try to make it a strength and not turn it into a weakness. 

After not finishing in 2012, I have a new, great, deep appreciation and thankfulness for my 2010 Ironman finish. Maybe that one shining moment was where the stars & variables were aligned to the maximum extent, and it was the best I could do. I really thought that I could be faster in 2012 and I was MORE PREPARED. Yet leaving transition #2 I was TWO HOURS slower than my 2010 time. I tried to alter my state of mind from time goal to a finish goal, didn't even want to face not finishing. As with risk management, you have to ultimately be prepared for any scenario but plan for and expect the best result.

2) Doing an event like that has SO many variables where some are in your control and some aren't. It is part luck, planning, preparation, execution, hard work, and mental. I think my biggest mistake was diluting my system with too much water PRIOR to the race...the days leading up to. I was super hydrated for sure, but think that I flushed all the electrolytes out of my body. My nutrition plan during the race didn't lack that. 

3) I can always work on the mental game...one of the reasons I did Ironman was to try to challenge myself to toughen up. But let's face it, I really don't enjoy doing the endurance stuff (anything over ~3 hours where you have to take in nutrition during the workout). It's not fun for me. There are elements that are fun and of value or else I wouldn't do it. I really admire my "fast" endurance friends and the results that they achieve. It isn't a good thing for me to try to compare myself to that. I took myself out of my comfort zone, but it is still more fun to do things you are better at. We all have different skill sets and can't all be the same. I've been doing endurance events for 5 years now and it's time to change things up and have more fun. 

4) There is no shortage of wisdom quotes out there about "quitting". Well sometimes it is the wise thing to do. Coming out of transition 2, I was spent but tried to see if I could string something together for the run. My body was falling off of a cliff and I had 19 more miles to go when a volunteer put some ice on my legs and tried to elevate them. They cramped up so tight, so acutely that I wanted to start screaming. I knew those cramps were a bad sign and there was still so far to go. I ran through all of the scenarios and options in my head. I tried to walk one more mile and felt that the wise thing to do was not put my body at serious risk. The cramps, the heat rash, and I was falling off my nutrition plan. 

I got into a van to go back to downtown, and was sitting next to a 9 (or 10?) time finisher. I decided that this failure to get to the finish line wouldn't define me as a person. My attitude going forward, reaction, and lessons learned would define me. Don't get me wrong, not finishing is profoundly disappointing and it hurts. And it was really not fun having to explain what happened over and over again when I got back. 

But I have to focus on the positive that in 2010 I DID finish...so thankful that I wouldn't have that unfinished business because like I said, this isn't super fun for me. I understand both sides a lot better now...the glory of finishing and the agony of defeat. 

5) It is AWESOME having my life back and not having to do hours and hours and hours of long workouts that I don't enjoy. I have more time for everything I need and want to do. I am mixing up my training and focusing on strength again. I will be retiring from anything over Olympic distance triathlons for the foreseeable future.

So there you have it. I think that I've gotten past it in a healthy way. It will always hurt, but time heals all wounds. I choose to focus on the positives, and I will cheer on my friends that choose to do the endurance events! 

Ironman Louisville 2012 ~ 122.4miles out of 140.6

Thursday August 23rd

Departed for Louisville, this time sans Meagan Leahy, Alex Franz, Carly Farrel, and Mike Coburn. However, 2012 had a big KC contingent with a few veterans and many first timers! Travis Allen, Jon Bohnsack, Brad Cope, Todd Dicus, Heather Evans, Greg Fay, Brandon Goeman, Casey Kershner, Mary Jenkins, Julie Kareck Lopata, Hannah Lubis, Tami Martin, Barry Ogden, Beatriz Pettus, Jessica Provost, Erny Remy, Tom Ruzicka, and Jill Taylor. I arrived in town too late to pick up my packet...drat. Met with Jon and Brandon for pasta. Carbs!!!

Could not believe that this time has finally arrived, 11 months after I signed up AGAIN on 9/26/2011. I said I would never do it again, but I lied.

Friday August 24th

Picked up my packet in the morning then met some of the iamtri.com Louisville group including my 2010 buddy Toby for a drive around the bike course. Minda, who was participating in the wheelchair division was in our group (I saw her on Sunday and said hello on a very hilly part of the bike course). Didn't arrive back until 2pm and started to lay out my gear and special needs bags. Then met up with some KC folks to attend the athlete dinner. I already knew that the Voice of Ironman Mike Reilly wasn't going to be there, and the program was a little um, boring. There were a couple of great videos, including one of an iamtri group member that lost a significant amount of weight. Bravo! After the athlete dinner it was relaxing and early bedtime.

Saturday August 25th

The day before the race. Went to the practice swim in the Ohio River and it seemed to go fine. Grabbed some lunch, worked on my gear bags some more and then my parents rolled into town to meet me. We took my bags and bike down to transition and then went over some of the course info. Then we met Jon, his dad, and Brandon for some more pre-race dinner carbs! We went to Bearno's again on an early reservation. When we came out, there was a crowd waiting. I went back to the hotel and relaxed and got to sleep relatively early. It was a bit overwhelming to think about the magnitude of the race. Oddly enough, I was pretty calm but a bit nervous. The first time you do an Ironman, ignorance is bliss. I didn't have that luxury this time, I knew what I was in for.

Sunday August 26th

Start/Swim 2.4 miles

Woke up at 3:45 AM and got ready, ate a little bit. Met Jon down in the lobby and the plan was for my dad to drive us to transition when it opened at 4:45 and then to the start about a mile away. Brandon had 'ditched' us because he needed to do his own thing. Some people do. We jumped out the car and went in to pump up our tires and put drinks on our bikes. Then we were whisked to the start where we got body marked. As I made my way down the line to look for Brandon and Jon, I met up with Jon to get in line and was shocked that I didn't have to walk very far. We were very very close to the front, because of the new rule about no advance line-holding (camping out) and my dad driving us. I was thinking that we would have been midway through the line, but we guessed that we'd be in the water around 7:05 (it was actually 7:04:41 as I glanced right before jumping in). 

I was feeling nervous, but there really wasn't time for that. The 2 hours pretty much flew by. They were pretty strict about no cutting and no non-athletes in the line to keep things tight. Then they opened up the ramps and we moved forward, kept moving. There wasn't any more time to sit around and relax. They have volunteers come through the line to collect bags so we kept our stuff (phones, etc) as long as possible then gave them up. They played the national anthem, the pros went off, and then it was time to move. We walked down the ramp, and I felt really emotional and apprehensive. I went off dock #1 and jumped...then started swimming the 2.4 miles, 1/3 of the way up around Towhead Island and then 2/3 back downstream to Joe's Crabshack and the transition at Great Lawn park. At the island before the turnaround my arm hit the soft sandbar and I had to get up and walk a few feet to get to deeper water. I looked around and saw a lot of people on their feet moving over the sand.

I really didn't have any problems on the swim and it felt pretty smooth and steady to me. But as I approached the finish I wasn't happy with the time I was seeing on my Garmin. Around 14 minutes slower than my 2010 time...not really sure what happened there. I didn't lap that segment correctly and got some land in there, but it still said 2.9 miles (1/2 mile over the 2.4). Ummm, did I just swim way off? I never really got that far off course and swam fairly straight...I think????? Yikes. 

Bike 112 miles

I didn't let the notion of "catching up" to my 2010 time deter me, stuck to the plan of setting a very relaxed pace. Do not 'hammer' the bike or you will fry your legs. And everyone was passing me, EVERYONE. A couple of miles in, I followed the recommeded taped line across the train tracks and heard a thud. Reached back and confirmed quickly, yes I lost a bottle of hydration+nutrition. 2 miles into 112 is WAY to early to lose that, so I turned around and a gal retrieved it out of the middle of the road for me. Sigh. And I was off again. The first half was solid and slow 15 mph including some stops for water. I was feeling good but my feet were starting to get uncomfortable. I have had some tightness in my calves and feet with the longer distances, not pain but a lot of discomfort and annoyance. On the out and bike, I saw a gal laying on the side of the road not moving and the ambulances were on their way.

The second half of the ride I started stopping more frequently to stretch my feet and calves. Despite the sodium I was taking in (almost 900 mg per hour) I was really cramping up...mainly my hamstrings and my lower back ached a bit. After I stretched every 10 miles or so, I'd feel a lot better but just couldn't maintain that comfort and the stops were adding a lot of time to my ride. Some discouragement set in and the sun was beating down. I felt a bit disappointed. The last 20 miles the mini-meltdowns hit and I definitely remembered how tough and unforgiving the event is. If I'm having a meltdown, odds are I'm not having fun.

Despite the mini-meltdowns, I did spent a lot of time smiling and enjoying the fans particularly in La Grange. I thanked the fans, waved to people, I thanked the volunteers down the line as they stood there for so long attempting to hand water, sports drink, GU, bananas, and bonk breakers to us. I really tried to have a good attitude. I will confess something though, this long distance stuff really isn't my idea of a good time. I'm not particularly good at this really long endurance stuff. I do enjoy challenges and life lessons and epicness though...

I was so happy to get off that bike. Spent about and HOUR longer on there than in 2010...not what I was hoping for. I stopped too much. Total duration I was almost 2 hours off my 2010 and goal pace.

Run 26.2 (or in my case, 8)

Oh boy. My legs were just shot. I figured that I would walk for awhile and see if I could rally and put something together for the run. A volunteer saw that I was looking upset and came over to help with my gear. She was an angel...so nice. I got my stuff on and took a bathroom break and then headed out. My parents were at the fence line coming out of transition and I knew that they knew I was way off-track timewise. Still 2 hours behind my 2010 pace and target, so I knew the personal best time that I wanted was not going to happen..

I gave my dad a hug, gave my mom a hug and was so thankful they were there. My dad ran with me for awhile, which was impressive. I then saw a friend of a friend that had heard I was doing the race, and thanked him for giving me a shoutout. I saw Mary A and Jen K, who are also angels. And then yet another angel also known as Jenny W-C on her bike. I gave her a hug too. Then hugged Glenn. I would have hugged more people if I could have.

I power walked across the bridge and tried to gauge what was going on with my body. I was so sick of the Perpetuem despite practicing with it for MONTHS. I came to 3rd St and then tried to do the math in my head about what pace I'd need to do to make it to the finish by midnight for worst case scenario. It was coming to that. For 3 miles I tried some 3 minutes walking / 2 minutes running and thought maybe I could pull that off. Then walked again and it got more and more slow. I came to the aid station at mile 7 or so and talked to the volunteers...I wasn't sure I'd even make it to midnight and the notion of walking a marathon (19 more miles) at that point and not making it was a possiblity. My legs and feet were still shot. The volunteer helped me ice my quads but then tried to prop my legs up and my muscles started having severe spasms and cramps. He tried to send me on my way and I thought well, I'll go a little farther. I hit the mile 8 aid station and still had 18 miles left. At this point, the calculation wasn't adding up and I felt like a truck ran over me. I sat down for awhile and told the volunteers that I thought it would be wise for me to withdraw from the race. They talked through it with me, asking if I was sure...did I need anything, etc. I weighed all of the variables.

I looked up and saw my T2 volunteer lady and I started crying...I think I said "you are here!" and "how did you get here"? I thought it was a sign that it was time to go...like she made it less painful. Another really really sweet lady got me some coke and some fruit and I cried. I felt so sad and disappointed but I knew it was the right decision to stop. I know my body and my limits and thought my ego is healthy enough to handle this. I looked up and saw Bea P running by, looking calm and graceful. In that moment I was so proud of her and happy for her. 

A staff van was picking up 3 other athletes at Mile 8 and I dragged myself up into the seat. I was sitting next to a 10 time Ironman. We removed our race chips, handed them to the driver, and it was over. I was sad and relieved at the same time. 

I was just shy of the next chip time marker at 8.2...and I was glad that I didn't get there and give my friends tracking me false hope. They kind of knew what was up when the splits stopped after the 3 mile checkin :(

All in all, I had been going about 12 hours and 15 minutes.

Med Tent Part Deux

My goal was to avoid the med tent again, but there I was back on a cot with a shiny metallic blanket. I couldn't feel my hands and my body was stiff. The numbness was moving up to my elbows. They tried to do an IV but couldn't find any veins...they tried the tiny sized tool on my hand and that didn't work either. So instead I sucked down 3 cups of chicken broth, a bottle of poweraid, and water. The volunteers in there are so sweet! They really do a tremendous job. 

After awhile I looked over at the next cot as the new inhabitant was settling it and it was Jon B from KC!!! Oh no...but he DID finish!!!! I was relieved to see his medal. He was in bad shape, but ultimately recovered!

Mom and dad came down and retrieved me...I was so happy again that they were there!!!! Being in the med tent in 2010 after I finished was depressing...I never really got to enjoy the party of the finish line. My parents were amazed at how terrible all the finishers looked too...a bunch of really fit people that can barely walk and look like trucks ran over them :) 

I was not a 2-time Ironman, but thankfully I did my 2010 race under my belt. For me, there is no unfinished business.

Lessons

Coming soon...

The Road to Louisville blah blah blah

You might read this post and think that someone else is writing it. It's Cranky Amy and it's time to buck up. 

Six months of training starting ~ February with winter base before that. The beat goes on. We're into the longest run, bike and brick (bike/run) segments but closing in on taper where the volume goes back down. I really do want to go to Louisville and enjoy it but I'm just ready to get there. I've reached that point in Ironman training where I just don't care anymore...bring on the event so I can go on with my life instead of cranking out hours and hours and hours on the bike and runs. 

On the positive side: I'm not over-trained or injured (knock on wood), have my nutrition and hydration down, and have come up with a few Jedi mind tricks I will attempt during the race :)

It's been one of the hottest summers (ever?) in Kansas City and we've had weeks and weeks with the majority of the days in a week being 100+ degrees. It's sad to see brown grass and vegetation everywhere. I've learned to cope up to a certain point with hydration and sodium intake, but have also dealt with heat rash and furnace-like conditions out there on the asphalt. After the Firecracker 100 on 7/7, I was seriously concerned that I might have something bordering heat exhaustion or heat stroke and had a horrible looking rash. It was fairly scary. Another bright side, though Louisville is in the 90's, the forecasts have been 5-10 degrees cooler than KC. Let's hope...

Last weekend fellow IMKYer Tami and I went out to Louisville to train and it was great to be reminded what a great venue it is. It really is a beautiful course. Now really is the time to focus on all the positive things, the good things. I AM thankful to have this opportunity to do this again and become a two time Ironman Finisher. I will hopefully execute the race FAR better than in 2010 when I didn't know what I  was doing and had the poison ivy incident. Do I always enjoy everything about the process of getting to Ironman? No. Is it good to take oneself out of a comfort zone and learn from this experience? Yes. It is worth it although it's tough sometimes. And lonely out there on the open road.

Another one of the many reasons for doing it has changed, and I find myself wanting to do other things besides THIS MUCH training. Fun things and spending more time with people. I do look forward to those things, and changing things up fitness-wise. I am really much better at and prefer shorter distances. I miss doing more strength training and also want to get my edge back.

So I know some people are going to read this and want to smack me :)  Just needed to vent! Time to go watch the Olympics...where there should be no shortage of motivation.

2012 Kansas City Triathlon

It was a glorious morning for a triathlon. My first race of the season since I skipped out on Emporia the day after Tornadogeddon. The rains held off, and 90% of the Kansas City triathlon community turned out to race and spectate. To those that weren't there, we missed you! Thanks to everyone for the support and it was fun catching up. 

Swim 1500 meters: After two years of choppy swims with swells, we had nice water today for the Kansas City Triathlon 5150 (1.5 K swim, 40K Bike, 10K run adds up to 5150 meters...that is where that name comes from). The Garmin says it was about 1690 meters....hmmmm.


Huge props to Reds Coach Liz Weidling and Jenny Wise-Cook for helping me hike up my wetsuit!!!! After a heinous practice swim a couple of weeks ago where I had no pull, I knew the wetsuit hike-up would be key and yes I could actually move my shoulders this morning. Whoohoo! Basically if you don't pull up your wetsuit enough, it is going to restrict your range of motion which will impact your stroke and your speed. No bueno.

I'm doing lower volume swim training this year and was 1 second faster than 2011. Whoohoo. Also, didn't get kicked in the face like another gal I was talking to :( I had my own water for 98% of the race yet didn't have to get too far to the outside, just a little bit. 

T1: Took a hit here with + :47 seconds more than last year. Oh well. 

Bike: they changed the bike course this year so it was essentially a closed course (to general traffic) and there was some grumbling about the turnarounds but they were pretty wide and I didn't think too bad. I am a geek so yes I did check mapmyride.com and saw that this years course had a whopping 13 feet MORE of ascent :) I did like it, but with the crosswinds it did feel windy from more directions today. Not bad though considering yesterday we had 25+ mph winds! Yikes, yes we did luck out. 

I tried to start conservatively and ended up + 1:21 compared to different course last year. I was pretty happy with my effort though.

T2: Fine, but + :34 seconds. 

Run: Sigh. + 1:12 BUT...I felt really good. I just don't have the speed this year. And there were a TON of FAST runners out there today. They were just flying by. It was quite impressive. 

This year I have spent a lot of time learning about, planning, and working on my training and race day hydration and nutrition. And I think it really helped. Between the bike and the run, I averaged 683 mg of sodium per hour and did 3 bottles total of water. 220 calories / hour on the bike and 180 / hour on the run. And so far, I don't have that post-race feeling like a truck ran over me although I could use a nap about now.

My overall time was just under 4 minutes slower, but it isn't horrible. I had a really smooth, happy race and executed everything the way I wanted to so I'm happy. What I really need to do is drop some weight...it's killing me!

From 10 months out to 3 months out...

When I signed up for Ironman Louisville Part Deux, the event was 10 months away. Now here we are 3 months and 1 week away!

Next weekend's Kansas City Triathon (Olympic distance) is my first race of the season since I decided to skip out on the 3 hour roundtrip drive for 30 mph winds in Emporia. It feels so late for a first race.

I'm already ramped up to 5 hour bricks (bike + run where your legs feel like bricks) so I'm pretty sure that I'm ready for the Olympic distance ;). Then Kansas 70.3 (half Ironman) is a fast 3 weeks after that. I have to admit that I'm nervous about that because I phoned in the two 70.3's that I did in 2011. Being unprepared for those distances did not make for a pleasant day. I just want to do something more respectable to and for myself this year at KS.

Really, anything has to be better than last year...including my epic KS swim that I made it through after being swept across the course back to the first buoy line. It wasn't 2012 Ironman St George epic though...perspective! http://iamtri.com/group/ironmanstgeorge2012

Reading the St George race reports got me to thinking about character, preparation, and dealing with obstacles and challenges. I need to be ready for the tough stuff.

I have been participating in triathlons since 2000, and sometimes have days where I don't feel very tough. Like last weekend where I felt claustrophobically constricted in my wetsuit during my first open water swim this year. I felt so weak like I had no pull because of how my shoulders felt in the sleeves. I'd rather be a little chilly than feel that way. After the swim, we were biking the KS 70.3 course. My calves had been tight that week and that impacted my feet during the ride. The bottom of my foot was killing me more and more during the ride...it felt really tender. I literally wanted to cry and was worried about what the deal was. Thankfully after resting a couple of days, foam rolling my muscles (could feel a calve muscle knotted like a cord), and icing it...it feels normal again! 

Everyone is different but here are my words of advice as a novice Ironman finisher. If you want to sign up for an Ironman keep your year simple. It helps for attempting to stay healthy, avoid burnout, and lower the risk of getting injured. When I do Ironman, it is all about Ironman and I'm 100% invested emotionally, financially, and time-wise. Sometimes I miss out on some things that could be fun, but my ONLY goals are to get to that Ironman start line healthy and in one piece, and then to complete it healthy and in one piece. That's it. Everything else is preparation for it or nothing else. For me it is all about singular focus.

Regarding nutrition, I'm working with my friend Aaron and have learned a lot. It is nice to be able to bounce that stuff off of him because who else wants to talk about calories, sodium, and ounces per hour all the time? I was so random and clueless about my nutrition in the past. I've learned a lot about sodium and endurance events. "Studies have shown that ultra-endurance athletes can lose 1-2 grams of salt per liter of sweat. If you consider that athletes may lose up to a liter (or more) of sweat each hour, you can see that over a long endurance event (12 hour race), it is not unimaginable that an athlete could sweat out a huge amount of sodium. Replacing this loss of sodium during the event is critical to performance and safety.

Symptoms of Hyponatremia

The early warning signs are often subtle and may be similar to dehydration; nausea, muscle cramps, disorientation, slurred speech, confusion, and inappropriate behavior. At this point, many athletes get into trouble by drinking water because they think they are dehydrated. In fact, water alone will increase the problem of hyponatremia. At the most extreme an athlete may experience seizures, coma, or death." 

Yikes!

After my last two long runs, I'm needing to listen to Aaron more about implementing a different plan for the run. Running out of gas during long workouts is not fun. And you have to find that perfect balance of getting sufficient calories and hydration in without eating and drinking TOO much. I've made a lot of progress but still have work to do and every long workout is nutrition practice too.

So that is where I am 3 months out from Ironman! And hopefully I'll have a decent race report next weekend!

IMKY here we go again!!!

It's on again! I will be training and competing in Ironman Louisville in 2012!!!

"But Amy, you said you would never do an Ironman and then you said you'd never do another one again!"

True, but I changed my mind. Never say never! If you really don't want to do another one...definitely don't go to your friends' Ironman races and spend hours watching people attain the glory of the finish line!

Feeling bored and wanting another epic challenge with personal improvement, I took the plunge. With other KC friends doing the race, I won't be alone. And I have to say, I'm excited about the challenge.

I have re-mixed my Ironman Video to honor my first Ironman experience and to celebrate a new adventure!!!

1st Annual Kade Meyer Celebration 5K/10K

Here's something you haven't seen from me in awhile...a 5K race report. These days I use them as time trials to assess my fitness or lack thereof! You see where you are, then plug your numbers in to determine training paces a la http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm. All in all, considering I have been goofing off the last 6 weeks and not doing any speed work...I'm really happy with how I felt this morning. I averaged about 8:08 per mile.

Most importantly, I would highly recommend this 5K or 10K. It was held at Celebration Park in Gardner and is a fantastic course. The race celebrates the memory of Kade Meyer ~ in September 2010, this wonderful little boy that I never met was killed by a car outside of his Elementary school in Gardner. There was a strong show of support for Kade by the participants, and it was great that they were out there on this beautiful morning doing something healthy and getting their bodies moving.

This story illustrates the grace and strength of his family, friends, and others that carry on without him. It's not just about carrying on, it is also *how* you carry on. It's also about having the support of family and friends (and they are grieving too). There are choices in life, and so often you see people that do not or cannot cope with difficulty and the toll that can take. It can be debilitating or self-injuring (there are examples of this all the time on shows like Hoarders or Biggest Loser). Of course there are natural stages of emotion that people go through after a loss and feelings that continue on, but there is also a choice to make: are you going to curl up in a ball and hide and not live, or do you fight to regain some new and healthy sense of normalcy and live the best that you can?

When there is nothing you can do to change the circumstances that life hands you, you have to reach down deep and be strong. How do you acquire the life skills to be strong? It's always easier said than done. And you wish that people didn't have to have their character tested like that. But it happens. I am thankful for people that dig deep, find the grace to be as strong as they can and live the best that they can under the circumstances. As someone standing on the outside looking in, I can say a prayer for them and let them know that they are not alone, and that they are setting an example of grace that others can learn from.

You can read more about the story at http://www.kademeyer.com/.

Boulder 70.3

After participating in KS 70.3 four times, it was time for a getaway! After checking out the website and pictures (http://ironmanboulder.com/), I selected Boulder 70.3. And as it turns out, two other friends would join in, which made it a lot more fun!

My 2011 KS 70.3 race was pretty hideous...from the choppy, wavy swim to backaches on the bike from a mis-fitted seat to the mess of a run, I wasn't feeling the love and had lost my mojo. Just burned out and was over the longer distance training and races. After KS, I decided to focus just on one thing and put some

effort into biking. After weeks of 100+ temperatures, I did some swimming too but not much running. And those levels of effort ended up playing out according to exactly how much I put into each sport. Shocking right?

The good news is that I was in a more happy place this time, and Boulder is certainly gorgeous. I drove out Friday and arrived shortly before 4pm and went to pick up my packet. The venue was outstanding...really good setup. Parking was convenient, there was ample transition space near the beach. Good stuff. As usual I spent too much money at the Ironman store and got a deep discount on the Boulder 70.3 shirt because they accidentally put last year's participant names on the back...whoops! A mere two hours later, Katrina reported that all the shirts were GONE. But not because they sold out...they took them off the floor. I'm not sure why they would do that, won't they lose money regardless? Maybe they thought that was better than having to explain the mistake to 2,000+ people.

I went to check in at the hotel...Katrina made an awesome choice. We were at the Residence Inn which was 4 miles from the race site! And a mile from Whole Foods. We were SET!

On Saturday Katrina and I drove the bike course (http://ironmanboulder.com/course/bike/). It is kind of hilarious to see the profile of the course, because of the squished miles scale it looks like you are biking up a giant mountain and back down. Which could be conceivable in CO right? In reality, it is about 3 miles on the first part of the loop at a 2% grade. Then another 6 miles of 1% upslope, aka false flat. If you look at my mapmyride fullscreen, you can see the profile image is a lot more gentle/realistic: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/45362870/

After that, we went to the race meeting and they announced that Andy Potts was going to be at the Power Bar tent. So we booked it over there and were the first ones. He just walks up and we got to chat with him. He said he trains 30 hours a week, talked about his family, etc. I made some comment about needing to train more/swimming yadda yadda and he asked if I visualized swimming. I said yes, and he joked "you need to actually swim". So true :) He seems like a very down to earth guy and family-oriented. It is fun that he takes the time to meet people. Andy was the first out of the water but then wasn't feeling well after the bike and unfortunately DNF. I could understand how he felt after my race!!!

Race day comes and I was pretty excited, but nervous. The half ironman is still a significant effort. Katrina and I got rockstar parking on the 2nd row and made our way to transition. Unlike KS 70.3, you don't have to leave your bike there overnight. It wasn't that bad getting everyone in there, if you get there early! We got our spots in order and made our way down to the water. It looked calm!!! We met up with Lindsey and waited for our heats.

Once again, the 35-39 men would be right behind my heat. Oh well. I decided to swim WAY out on the outside. They had configured the course to go clockwise from the left side of the beach to finish on the right side in order to avoid having us swimming directly into the sun for a whole segment of the swim. We were only into it for part of one turn, which was still really tough but way better than the alternative. I may have been way too far to the outside, but the beautiful thing was...no one else was there and I had all that water to myself. It was so relaxing and I felt really smooth in the calm water. Every breath, I could see the mountains in the background. Was still thinking about our troops shot down in Afghanistan. I was happy and sad and mad at the same time.

Not really sure how much time it added, but at the first turn I had to swim way back over to the turn. Ooops. But at the next turn, I could see tons of the 35-39 men coming through and I was happy they weren't swimming over me. Really happy.

All in all "okay" but was way off what I was shooting for (low to mid 40's): 48:15

I head out on the bike feeling okay. The first few miles were slow and relaxed and then around mile 9, I let it rip...it's downhill and virtually flat for the the rest of the 28 mile loop. Then repeat. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. I was feeling the love. By the second lap, I was tired and it was getting a little more windy. Getting back into the park was scary because there was a huge line of cars trying to get in and only a tiny bit of space for the bikes...and some fast guys were wanting to pass. Scary.

Bike personal best!!!! 3:00:49 (~18.6 mph)

Getting off the bike, I had not yet seen any of the run course. I was going to have to just tough that out, because I knew that I wasn't prepared to "rock it". I did not realize that the entire course was going to be gravel/rocks. It was not easy to run on and actually was pretty uncomfortable. Unless you have tough feet, you don't want to wear flimsy shoes on that. The first lap I tried to go conservative and felt okay. If the race would have stopped after a 10k, I would have been golden. I think the lack of being prepared + the altitude, heat, surface, and long distance burnout just got me.

I will be honest...I wanted to care and try hard, but I just didn't and couldn't. I was done mentally AND physically and walked 90% of the second lap. Lindsey came by and was not feeling the run love either, but she hung in there longer than I did! I wanted to run and get it done but didn't. Was I disappointed in myself...oh a little bit. But frankly, I was thinking about the guys that were killed in Afghanistan and their families, & was feeling sad. Nothing else seemed as important.

I crossed the line and at that point felt totally fried...in all likelihood dehydrated despite drinking and drinking and drinking. It was hot. I felt terrible. Katrina was at the finish line and her foot injury had taken a beating on the gravel, so she smartly called off her second lap. It was great to see a friendly face at the finish, because I felt TERRIBLE! The kind of terrible that only throwing up could fix. Sounds fun right? No worries, because now I'm finished with 70.3's for the foreseeable future!!!!

Had a great time in Boulder and hanging out with two of the coolest women I know (that is you Katrina and Lindsey!). I am glad that I did it. Now it is time to adjust to post Ironman and 70.3 life!

Mojo

Austin Powers: So I started to work my mojo, to counter their mojo; we got cross-mojulation, and their heads started exploding.

Dr. Evil: Mojo: The libido. The life force. The essence. The right stuff. What the French call a certain... I don't know what.

Jerry Springer on Austin Powers: You know, what have we learned here today? Perhaps it's that no one can take your mojo. You can look around all you want, but what you're really trying to find is on the inside. Take care of yourself, and each other.

Austin Powers: I've lost my mojo.

I think I got my triathlon mojo back! We'll soon see, as I will be doing my "last" Half Ironman for awhile. It's time to mix things up, all this long distance stuff is hard work. Not that there is anything wrong with hard work, but it's time for fun and something different. How long have I been saying that I want to try some other things but I never get around to it because I'm doing long swim/bike/runs all the time??? A long time...4 years. I want to crank out some shorter races and focus on power again...and maybe some speed! Relatively speaking of course.

So going into this last 70.3, I'm actually stronger on the bike than I have been in a long time thanks to some group training rides. I'm feeling "okay" about my swim. My running not sure...it might be "okay" as well. I guess we'll find out!

KS 70.3 was possibly my worst race ever, and it's time to celebrate and have some joy & fun. After KS, there is nowhere to go but up right?

Paleo Pear Pie

I have quite a few friends that adhere to the Paleo Diet For Athletes (http://www.trainingbible.com/pdf/Paleo_for_Athletes_Cliff_Notes.pdf). I do not follow it strictly (I like Greek yogurt!!!) but work on incorporating as much of it as I can as often as I can. Being involved in triathlon, I have to fuel wisely while also balancing trying to enjoy life (and great food...and pizza).

One thing that I know is that I love desserts, and maybe I could find some that are a bit better than others. Enter tonight's experiment: Paleo Pear Pie.

Crust: Blend together via processor

1/4 cup almond flour (160 calories: 14 g Fat, 6 g carbs [1 g sugar], 6 g protein)

4 medjool dates

Filling:

1 pear chopped (100 calories: 26 g carbs [16 g sugar])

1/2 cup pecans (377 calories: 39 g fat, 7 g carbs [2 g sugar], 5 g protein)

2 tbsp Agave nectar (120 calories: 16 g carbs [15 g sugar]) the less you can use, the better.

Total for entire recipe: 757 calories (53 g fat, 61 g carbs [34 g sugar], 11 g protein.

Now, of course you have to divide that into more manageable portions :)

Two would be pretty large sized and 378 calories each. Three portions would be more ideal...only 252 calories and a lot of flavor. Notice that this isn't low fat, but you have to have some...and this source is nuts so that is a better fat than others.

Swimming!

After my abnormal, horrific, panic-filled, epic KS 70.3 swim (24 minutes slower than my goal time and much time spent hanging on to boats in the choppy / 35-39 male infested waters)...I really want to redeem myself and get that swim PR at Boulder 70.3.

So tonight I had one of the best swims maybe ever! Over the last few months, Kathy Boyd helped me with my high elbow/body roll, arm position, and hand entry. I had to figure out what to tackle next!

Over the weekend I was checking out swimsmooth.com and got ideas to try some new things with my catch and pull. It immediately felt different and like I was pushing more water than ever before. It felt as though I was moving through the water more efficiently and faster. It immediately took seconds off my 50/100 times without expending any more effort than usual. Towards the end I got a bit tired, but still felt decent.

I will continue to work on this...I've really grown to love swimming over the last couple of years but I really want to make a breakthrough and get faster now.

We all start somewhere...

There was a day when I had not run more than 1 mile in my life. Everyone starts somewhere right? Where will the journey take you?

News from my dad:

"You know that great picture of Amy finishing the Ironman Louisville last year? She had her arms up and was smiling. I put up my arms and smiled too this morning when I finished my nonstop 2 mile / 25 minute run. Everyone in the gym was wondering "what the h*ll is that guy doing?" It wasn't an Ironman (26.2 miles running/2.4 miles swimming/112 miles biking) but I felt great about finishing it anyway. A 12:30 pace. From now on I will run for 25 minutes or more. I will work on improving my pace time and distance in each workout."

Awwwww!

Live, Laugh, Learn

Right after KS 70.3, all I could think was that this day happened for a reason and I'd learn whatever I need to from it.

Here are my random musings about being bummed out during my race and for 30 minutes afterwards:

I'd find things to laugh about. Like the pre-swim chat the announcer was having with our swim wave as we waited to go in the water. He said he had made a mistake announcing that there were no coed heats...ours was the only coed swim heat of the day so maybe we could make some dating matches. The only thing was....we 35-39 women were paired with the 18-24 men. I called out, yeah we could date these guys...if we're Cougars! We could have been the Cougar swim heat. Then the announcer said to each wave when the gun went off...see you back here soon! Me, not so much!!!

A bad race can make a good story.

I think about the girl on the run course with the really huge smile on her face. After we finished and were picking up our equipment, I told her that I really appreciated her smile when I wasn't feeling good, and asked her what she was thinking about. Pizza, she answered. Awesome.

Thought about the awesome volunteers from KC Multisport and everyone cheering. They made a lot of effort to be out there. The volunteers were there before 5 AM.

Another club that made a great impression was Columbia (MO) Multisport...they had a camping site and were out in full fun force cheering on their members. And they cheered for me too...which I really appreciated. They were really cool. I think we should do a club mixer with them!

I wondered if this Half Ironman was actually harder than my Ironman, and couldn't decide. Okay probably not :).

Thought about all the really serious issues in the world, which this one was not. Perspective please.

If I had quit, I would not have FINALLY received my finisher medal from Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington. That alone was worth any bad day. If you quit, you could also miss out on something amazing.

Mind over matter is a very very interesting exercise. It's weird.

The bad days make you appreciate the good ones a lot more.

It's not good to sell yourself short. You have to believe in yourself and do your best (whatever that is) any given day and let the chips fall.

You can't be too hard on yourself or think one bad performance totally defines you as a person. It doesn't. Life goes on and you figure out how to go from there.

I need to figure out what my goals are and should be for the rest of this year and next year.

I need to figure out a strategy for better dealing with power swimmers pummeling me.

Need to have some FUN, and I think that means some group training and trying new things. Also, some new scenery which I will have for my last two triathlons of this year.

Be happy for your friends and celebrate their success! If you are feeling down, it will make you feel better. How would you feel if a bummed out friend didn't feel happy for you?

It's also funny, because in this experience a few friends shared some of their heinous race experiences...and I have to say mine is not as bad!!! There were PLENTY of bad things that didn't happen to me. No flat tires, no bike wreck, no vomiting in the water, no major equipment malfunctions. Maybe I feel more lucky after all.

Cheers.

Winners never quit, and quitters never win

Kansas 70.3 ~ Swim 1.2 Miles; Bike 56 Miles; Run 13.1 Miles

2008 was the inaugural year for KS 70.3 and the race was cancelled during the run due to lightening. I had two miles left to go, so my total time didn't reflect the complete distance. I was hurting that day, and can only project that my final time would have been approaching 7 hours.

I learned a lot about what it took to prepare for the event (I wasn't) and came back to give it another go in 2009 where I took a bit under 3 minutes off of my swim, 5 minutes off the bike time, and maybe 20 minutes off of the run. Finish time was 6:37:05, after adding more time for transition was ~23 minutes better than 2008.

2010 was a great season. I completed the Kansas course in 6:10:38, 27 minutes faster than 2009. Every segment except transition #1 was a personal best. I took 2 minutes off the swim, almost 16 minutes off my bike time, and over 7 minutes off of my run. I appreciate that day more now.

Now 2011...possibly the worst race ever in my 11 years of triathlon. Okay, that might be pushing it..."one of the worst". Top 3 worst? Whatever it was, it was not good.

This was my fourth time at Ironman Kansas 70.3. That could be the first clue that there is something wrong. After completing Ironman Louisville (Swim 2.4 miles, Bike 112, Run 26.2) last fall, I probably should NOT have signed up for this race. Most of my Ironman friends (or maybe 90%) were re-charging this year and doing other things. I needed to mix things up a little bit and take a break, but I didn't. Instead, I decided to try to break 6 hours for the half Ironman! That would be a lot of hard work. I've been doing triathlons since 2000 and put a lot of pressure on myself to improve race after race, year after year.

Did I mention that the half Ironman costs $225? So I went through the motions of training thinking that I was still going for this goal. But my heart wasn't really in it. A week before the race I had a burnout meltdown and decided to try to focus on trying to have as much fun as possible and on general fitness. And that I'd still do the race.

So off to Clinton Lake I went on Sunday June 14. My pre-race plan went flawlessly and smoothly. I put on my wetsuit and talked to other racers. The water didn't look that choppy.

Getting into the water was quite the rude awakening. It is hard to say if it was worse than the Kansas City Tri the last two years...the swells were quite large. Swimming out the long rectangle buoy course, the waves were coming at us from the left (east). Up and down - if you get seasick it wasn't a pretty picture (yes, people vomit in the water). I could deal with that, but when the wave of muscular 35-39 year old males came up behind us churning and powering through the water I totally panicked. I have recovered from panic before, but getting bumped, kicked, grabbed, and mauled was too much at the time. I felt claustrophobic and started hyperventilating. So for the first time ever, I grabbed the nearest boat and seriously pondered quitting. I had a LONG way to go still and it wasn't seeming super fun. It seemed kind of dangerous actually.

The people on the boat gave me a pep talk and I closed my eyes, calmed down, and stopped hyperventilating. I thought surely I could find a way to finish this. So off I went.

This time, I'm swimming further to the outside so I have my own water. I feel relieved and finally turn the corner to get halfway. But then the waves were coming right at us, which is much worse than if they are from the side. They were literally smacking me in the face hard when I turned to breathe. That was just insulting! Another wave of 35-39 power males were coming through and I panicked again. I tried to make it to the nearest boat but they were going away from me helping someone else. So I just tried to tread water and/or breast stroke and figure out how I was going to calm down again. Then the other boat came over and I could hang on there to do that. I looked at my watch...halfway through it was 30 minutes and my goal time was 40 minutes or less. Sigh. What did my time matter at this point...the swim PR wasn't going to happen.

So my next goal was, I could get through this swim and then decide if I wanted to stop. So I started swimming again. I could see the buoys to my left and thought, awesome. The only problem was, they were the wrong buoys. The waves had pushed me across the entire course back to the first buoy line. A gal in a kayak let me know I should go back to the other buoys. Sigh.

I made it to the finish...over an hour in the water. 22 minutes slower than my goal. I didn't run through transition like I normally would. I tried thinking that maybe I could still *kind of* salvage this. Or maybe it could be like a training day and I could just try to enjoy myself as much as possible. So off I went on my bike.

The bike was probably my best segment of the day. Sure I was 13 minutes slower than my best time but that was WITH stopping 3 times to stretch out my back because the seat I had been trying out (and should have taken back off!!!!!) was KILLING my lower back. It ached bad. I relaxed at times and was cruising back into transition thinking...well I don't HAVE to do the run. I can still quit if I want to.

I knew that as soon as I got off the bike, my back would be fine. I still could relax and just not worry about my pace. So off I went. The first lap I did a training pace and actually felt decent.

Then the second lap started. By that time, all the earlier heats with fast people were finished and it looked like EVERYONE was leaving. And "EVERYONE" was wearing their medals because they were finished already. That was annoying, and kind of depressing. I should have been finished by now.

I had already come that far though, why not just finish? Crossing the finish line would still be fun. That is always a good feeling. So on I plodded.

I walked quite a bit on the run and threw myself a pity party. Reminded myself to buck up (get some perspective for gosh sake...there are people out there doing this race with serious physical disabilities, what about my friends that would love to be out there and cannot be because of injuries, etc) and would have moments of clarity and get moving. I mean really, let's put this into perspective. Life will go on, this is not a major problem, and my time for that event would not define me as a person. So maybe it's kind of a hitting rock bottom kind of day (relatively speaking)...so what. I'd still get a big medal and I didn't waste my $225.

During the second lap, I saw Ben Schloegel at his campsite and told him I was having a bad day. He walked with me and gave me a pep talk, asking me if I was giving the best I had in that moment...I answered no. But I could still do that for the rest of the race. He gave me a slap on the tush and off I went. I thought...did that just happen? and ran the rest of the way. Funny.

I sprinted down the finish line and tried to look okay for my finisher photo. Then I looked up and saw who was going to put the finisher medal around my neck. It was Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington. I started crying again. The past two years...I missed her at the finish line because of bad timing. She signed my poster in 2010 "See you at the finish line" when I told her that I missed her in 2009. But then I missed her again. Not this year...after all of that she was there!!!! Hours after her finish, she was there to give finishers their medals. She could have been back at her hotel chilling. But she was there for us. I was blabbering something like "It's you, you are really here!!!" and gave her a hug. She is the coolest, nicest, most excellent Champion.

Thank God that my friend Kristen was right by the finish line. She helped me just by being there, and also distracted me that I could feel happy for her and her super awesome finish. She had a very short time to make a big life and economic decision about whether to claim her championship spot. It would be a further huge time commitment, and expensive to travel across the country to do it. And then thanks to Lindsey...she helped me brush it off.

I need to re-evaluate how to have some fun and mix things up...11 years of racing is a long time.

It's all good. More about what I learned later...

2011 Kansas City Triathlon

2011 race #2 is complete ~ Olympic distance Swim 1500, Bike 24.6 miles, Run 6.2 miles. Woke up at 4 AM after sleeping through the tornado warning last night. The race was at Longview Lake, which is a great venue although sorry to say the roads are in pretty bad shape. They look and feel due for a redo, and might impact a future race at some point.

I think the conditions were pretty similar to last year...the water was pretty choppy with 15+ mph winds. 360 Olympic distance finishers ~ 78 women and 282 men.

Swim 1500 meters: 36:29 (-3:41) For me it went a lot better than last year although we had to fight our way back to the shore through the 'waves' again. I had one choking episode after swallowing water but managed to recover. To get my composure back, I had to sidestroke a couple of times to calm down. For most of the race I had my own water except this girl and I couldn't seem to get away from each other heading back into shore. I think the waves were pushing me off course too ;) This split meant a lot to me because it was last year *after* this race that I hired my coach Kathy Boyd, and I was hoping that everything she taught me would pay off in my swim splits. I wanted this PR a lot.

T1: 2:39 (-0:26) Spent a little too much time recovering from being freaked out by the swim and not enough time hustling! It's always fun and "interesting" trying to take off that wetsuit.

Bike 24.6 miles: 1:20:17 (-0:59) Can't really argue with a faster split than 2010 BUT...okay I'm hard on myself. Still working on getting the power back after spending all winter and spring on the marathon. Just have to put in the work! Love that south tailwind heading back to transition. There were a couple of moments of scary crosswind action, and I realized that I'm really bad at cornering. Note to self, do not take that rocky turn back into the park too fast. Scary! My life flashed before my eyes.

T2: 1:11 (-0:18) Put on the shoes, grab the stuff and go. Put on the hat and race belt on the run. Feeling decent.

Run 6.2 miles: 58:57 (+2:27) First lap was okay but then I had to do another. Ugh. Was not feeling the running love today as you can see from my slower split. They changed the run course from pavement to that soft packed surface like the Trolley Trail and it was still really wet from all the rain.

So that's it...I feel happy about a personal best, but I wasn't tough enough on the run. I have been having some really good run workouts, so it was kind of not a fun surprise :)

Lots of friends got personal bests today...a great day!

Tom

Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break. ~ William Shakespeare

Tom and I met because I had a bike wreck in the 1999 Corporate Challenge duathlon, and one of his BFF's sent me a get well card. Thus our paths crossed.

Saturday night I happened to see his post on Facebook that he was really looking forward to his vacation in June. He bantered with friends and I thought how fun ~ not too much longer until that vacation...I hope he has a great time. Looking back now, I couldn't help but wonder if that particular post made an impression and stood out for some reason.

Today I learned that Tom passed away Easter morning in his sleep. He was only about 3 years older than me. It's a shock. There is a disconnect...'but I was just reading about his vacation and what he was up to. How can this be?'.

I didn't know him like a best friend, but I know that he was a very nice, friendly, decent, intelligent, and interesting human being. Wish that I knew him better. I feel really sad for his close friends and family. It's just flat out sad.

Life is so unpredictable. And sometimes fragile. It just reminds me to appreciate every day, every little thing, and the people that I love. Can't hold back on that.

Don't Supersize Me

There are 610 calories, 29g fat, and 77 g carbs in a McDonalds Super Size french fry "serving". Add a Super Size soda (42 oz 410 calories) and say a Big Mac (540 calories) and that totals 1,560 calories. That is approaching or equal to a WHOLE day's worth of calories in just one meal.

Making healthy habits a way of life: we have smart phone apps (I use Calorie Counter on Android) and websites that make it easier than ever to get calorie/nutrition information and to keep a food diary. Until you develop a new "normal" and develop knowledge about portion sizes and healthy options, keeping a food diary can be very eye opening to see how quickly things can add up - calories, sodium, carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

From my dad...Supersizing and the 'thrifty gene':

"That distinction [of inventing supersizing] belongs to a man named David Wallerstein. Until his death in 1993, Wallerstein served on the board of directors at McDonald's but in the fifties and sixties he worked for a chain of movie theaters in Texas where he labored to expand sales of soda and popcorn - the high-markup items that theaters depend on for their profitability. As the story is told in John Love's official history of McDonald's, Wallerstein tried everything he could think of to goose up sales - two-for-one deals, matinee specials - but found he simply could not induce customers to buy more than one soda and one bag of popcorn. He thought he knew why: Going for seconds makes people feel piggish.

"Wallerstein discovered that people would spring for more popcorn and soda - a lot more - as long as it came in a single gigantic serving. Thus was born the two-quart bucket of popcorn, the sixty-four-ounce Big Gulp, and in time the Big Mac and the jumbo fries, though Ray Kroc himself took some convincing. In 1968, Wallerstein went to work for McDonald's, but try as he might he couldn't convince Kroc, the company's founder, of supersizing's magic powers.

" 'If people want more fries' Kroc told him 'they can buy two bags.' Wallerstein patiently explained that McDonald's customers did want more but were reluctant to buy a second bag. 'They don't want to look like gluttons.'

"Kroc remained skeptical, so Wallerstein went looking for proof. He began staking out McDonald's outlets in and around Chicago observing how people ate. He saw customers noisily draining their sodas and digging infinitesimal bits of salt and burnt spud out of their little bags of French fries. After Wallerstein presented his findings, Kroc relented and approved supersized portions and the dramatic spike in sales confirmed the marketer's hunch. Deep cultural taboos against gluttony - one of the seven deadly sins, after all - had been holding us back. Wallerstein's dubious achievement was to devise the dietary equivalent of a papal dispensation: Supersize it! He had discovered the secret to expanding the (supposedly) fixed human stomach.

"One might think that people would stop eating and drinking these gargantuan portions as soon as they felt full, but it turns out hunger doesn't work that way. Researchers have found that people (and animals) presented with large portions will eat up to 30 percent more than they would otherwise. Human appetite it turns out is surprisingly elastic which makes excellent evolutionary sense: It behooved our hunter-gatherer ancestors to feast whenever the opportunity presented itself allowing them to build up reserves of fat against future famine. Obesity researchers call this trait the 'thrifty gene.' And while the gene represents a useful adaptation in an environment of food scarcity and unpredictability, it's a disaster in an environment of fast-food abundance when the opportunity to feast presents itself 24/7. Our bodies are storing reserves of fat against a famine that never comes."

Author: Michael Pollan
Title: The Omnivore's Dimemma
Publisher: Penguin
Date: Copyright 2006 by Michael Pollan
Pages: 105-106

Feeling Little Rock's Vibe

2011 marked another year where I did something I said that I wouldn't do: a marathon. In 2010 it was Ironman...said I'd NEVER do an Ironman, which is swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, followed by a MARATHON. On November 14, 2010 I signed up for my first solo (non-Ironman) marathon in Little Rock. I wanted a goal to carry me through the winter, wanted to see what doing a marathon would be like after NOT biking 112 miles, and needed an Arkansas destination in my quest to visit all 50 states.

It was a wise decision, though a little challenging getting through winter's snow and ice. Leawood and Olathe's trail-clearing prowess saved me numerous times. The idea of spending any time (let alone over an hour) on a treadmill is MOST unappealing. I went to a few a la carte Runner's Edge sessions and scored big on the random inquiries "so what race are you training for?"...I found a big KC group going down there for the race (including some that I knew and people that I didn't know). It turned out to be a lot of fun! That plus my aunt Kristen going down there with me...which was helpful too. I swung through Springfield to pick her up and off we went.

We rolled into Little Rock and I thought it was so cute! I was feeling Little Rock's vibe. The metro area has around 900,000 people. Aunt Kristen and I went to packet pickup and then drove over to see the State Capitol building, and then to the national historic site/museum Little Rock Central High School. This was the site of the nation's first school integration after Brown vs Board of Education struck down "Separate but (not) equal".

The visit to Little Rock Central High School was deeply moving. The museum is excellent and includes photos and video, as well as context of our culture and the Civil Rights Movement at the time. The video kiosks overlook the actual school (which is still operating) and it was surreal to see the present day site compared to the video of the mobs and military on that site where history took place in 1957. Nine black students attempted entry to the school several times unsuccessfully before President Eisenhower intervened. The mobs & threats they faced were beyond overwhelming...it is hard to imagine how these 15/16 year olds faced it with the grace and convictions that they did. They just wanted a better future, and thank God they believed that they deserved to have a better opportunity. They changed history. I thought about them during the race...as "suffering" and "perseverance" tend to be themes for me during marathons. And perspective. To see more about the Little Rock 9 and the adults they became, see http://littlerock9.com/

So pre-race night comes and the KC running crew hit downtown Little Rock and we ate at the Dizzy Gypsy, which was a really unique cool place. Our meal of choice, pasta of course. We got back pretty early and I went over my race instructions and gear. I was ready to go!

Race morning was overcast and about 32 degrees...I chose 'less' rather than more and went with capri tights and a short sleeve with a long sleeve layered over that. No hat and no gloves. By the end of the race it became sunny and was mid-40s. PERFECT conditions for a marathon!!!!

My main goal was sub 5 hours and to NOT LET THE RACE BREAK ME. I executed my training plan, which included everything up to 22 miles (one 20 miler, one 22 miler). So now it was going to be a mental battle, and I didn't want to "break" mentally (which can mean give up / not try / etc). The Ironman marathon did break me a bit...I recovered but it wasn't pretty and I didn't execute the run like I really wanted to.

I ran with Renea and Angela from KC and we start out conservatively and had fun chatting. The first 13.1 to 14 miles are "easy"...I felt strong and really great. I tell myself how great I feel and enjoy that positive feeling while it lasts. The first part is fun...the scenery, the crowds, the experience. It's all good. A random weird fact...I didn't stop for a "pitstop" the whole time. I was well hydrated and drank at every station, but kept telling myself that my body was going to absorb it and sweat it out at the perfect rate. I didn't want to stop and jeapardize my goal time!

We run through many historical areas in town, by the capitol, high school, and Governor's mansion. The Governor is out to greet us. Lots of fun bands playing along the way.

After 14 miles, a little fatigue sets in. Miles 14-15 are a big hill that just goes on and on. Which for me is fine because I'm a hill runner. Bring it! Actually running back down the steep downhill after that was more difficult because of the angles on my muscles.

After that from 17 on it is mostly flat with an out and back where you can finally see a lot of the other runners. Now even more fatigue is setting in. It's sunny and warmer now. And around mile 18, the "wall" comes or "pain cave" where it is fatigue with way more discomfort. My legs feel a little stiff...lactic acid buildup? Not so much fun anymore. But I achieved exactly what I wanted to...I didn't give up and I hung in there. I wasn't quite as fast, but my pace didn't fall off the cliff either and I was investing the effort and fully engaged.

Getting to mile 22 lifts the spirit a bit because then you are counting down...but it is major fatigue time. The whole race I had been doing an 8 minute run/1 minute walk ratio but had to keep going the last 3 miles...I just couldn't stop anymore. It hurt too much.

There was one more hill and then the lipstick station. I grabbed a lip gloss but kept going and was SO ready to be finished. Overall I was really happy with my race. After I crossed the finish line, I'm just in a massive hurt locker...I can barely walk and feel exhausted and stiff. Not fun!

Overall, worth it though for the learning & character building experience. And I met my goals! That's why I do it...and for fitness of course. There are other fun aspects too...like the people. I had a great time with the KC crew. Little Rock is a great race...highly recommend. The marathon finisher medal is enormous!

Marathon 1,811 finishers & half marathon 2,921 finishers