Both me & my bike went to the doctor today

If you take one piece of advice from me from this blog, if you buy a bike, talk to Greg at Deerfield Cyclery.  He is a heck nice guy and super honest salesman. 

Today, I had two doctor's appointments... went out to Arlington Heights to see my favorite dentists for my 6-month cleaning and check up.  Then I rolled back into the city for my annual exam.  I seem to be in good shape and have no health worries at the moment.  If you don't count sleep deprivation and exhaustion!

I was supposed to do an open water swim after all of that and opted for my couch and bad TV.  After watching two hours of "The Bachelorette", I cursed myself and knew I should have just gone swimming!!  I can't get those brain cells or two hours back...

Bicycle anatomy

I'm turning into "that guy"

Toe nail

Here's the first victim after 7 months of training. He's holding on for dear life!

It's actually awesome that I'll probably only lose this toenail in training... Now post-race; I have no idea how punishing it will be!

Tuesday strength

I've decided to possibly go back to that "Factor 94" class at FFC that I did last week where I wanted to laugh, cry and have my arms cut off.

I think it's the same instructor so at least I know what I'm in for as far as her accent and "counting techniques".  I put that in quotes because I distinctly recall her saying "four more!" and then all of sudden we've done four and there's a whole other set on deck.  I didn't really understand that.  I also had a good giggle when she shouted at the beginning, "I hope you've all done some yoga before!".  Which really didn't enter much into the work out except for a 1/2 dozen sun salutations done at the beginning to techno music.

The other option, in my mind, is the insane "yoga sculpt" option at Core Power Yoga since there is slightly more yoga involved than "Factor 94" and there seemed to be a LOT more emphasis on the core- which helps me with long distance biking.

I was supposed to be swimming tonight, but with the open water Lake Michigan wave advisory, I knew that I wouldn't be able to stomach it. This Midwestern girl could not swim in 10-12' waves.  NO WAY.  I'd rather deal with the above-mentioned pain rather than puke my guts out while swimming!!!  "..UNSEASONABLY LARGE WAVES LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY

MORNING..."

Positive thought for the day

The benefit of doing this race only once-in-a-lifetime, is that whatever time I make, it will be my PR!!!

:-)

College boyfriend drinks!

After not seeing "Hoagie" for at least the past 15 years we reconnected on LinkedIn and he happened to be in town for a course for work so we met for happy hour. 

It was really lovely to catch up on the past 15 years & where we were at in our lives.  He is happily married with two kids & living back in Madison!

We had an amicable split and it was so many years ago that was really nice to see how happy he is in his life. Ironman is on his birthday, but I may have convinced him to take his family to cheer me on during the marathon!

And as if perfectly timed, Big Head Todd came on the radio as I was driving home!!  Soooo mid-90's!!! :)

7/22/13 1:15 AM run to be followed by 1:20 PM run

It was tough getting up at 5am on Monday after what felt like a workday with the multiple baby showers and late evening workout. 

I wanted to get on the treadmill with the heat and humidity (and potential for rain) outside a d just generally get closer to work since I had a 9am walk through. 

This morning's run was challenging since after a warm up, I was supposed to do three minutes at 10:30-11min/mile pace and follow that with nine minutes at a 9:30-10min/mile pace, topping off the set with 1 minute of walking. This was to be done five times. I'm a relatively slow runner so those were challenging paces after being tired and having done that insane yoga sculpt class... My back hurt!

I showered and changed afterwards and opted to pony tail my insanely gross, wet, dirty hair and get to work before the walk through. I basically refuse to wash it 2xday!

After that, I took a longer lunch and ran another 1:20 over lunch at one of our Loop properties with a small gym facility. During this run the three minutes was the faster pace and the nine minutes was the slower pace. Of course this is all "technically speaking" because I had some issues following it as well as earlier in the day. Also, there wasn't much recovery since I had just run 4 hours earlier!

After that run, I showered again- this time washing my hair- and headed back to the office. I worked until 6pm at which time I walked over to Grand/State streets to meet Hoagie for a couple drinks. This was a guy I haven't seen in 15+ years who I dated almost 20 years ago in college. It was fun to catch up and hear about his life and family today. 

Sunday, OWS that turned into Yoga Sculpt at CPY 7/21/13

My plan called for a 2.5 OWS (open water swim) at Ohio Street Beach, but I knew with the baby showers I had and the apartment showings I had planned, that was going to be very unrealistic.  For that reason, I had psedu planned for yoga at 8am on Sunday morning.

I set my alarm for 6:45 to get some laundry done and tidying up in my apartment before I left.  Well, that all went to hell!  I just turned off my alarm and was in bed until almost 9am at which time I also cancelled my apartment showings after a long day thinking about moving on Saturday!

I went to the baby showers and hoped that I could make it to an evening yoga class.

Well, as it turned out the second shower ended around 6:30pm and it was literally 2 blocks away from a Core Power Yoga studio that had a 7pm class.  I had brought workout clothes with me and left them in the car in the case this would work out (pun intended!) and indeed it did.  I'm sure if I was "happy" or terrified that it was "yoga sculpt" class that I was going to take.

These classes are HARD.  They involve some yoga moves, but include plyo, cardio and WEIGHTS.  I was DYING after my long day on Saturday and my booty hurt from my saddle sores, despite all the goop!  At one point she had the class doing burpees...  I don't do burpees.  Let me repeat:  I DON'T DO BURPEES!  I just did something else and looked like a complete slacker!

I'm glad I got in a workout, but I slept HARD on Sunday night and had to get up early for a double on Monday.  In good news, the Internet is back on at home, so I can catch up on "The Newsroom" one of these nights!!

Saturday, Century Ride! 7/20/13

I stayed in Friday night, despite having a ticket to Bjork and Pitchfork and an opportunity to hang out with friends in Wrigleyville for Pearl Jam in favor of some more rest and sleep.  It was truly a difficult decision and it weighed on me a lot since I really wanted to spend a summer night at a concert.  Concerts have been my "thing" for a few years now and I miss them with this Ironman training.

Anyway, I opted to stay home without Internet access (still waiting on Comcast to fix it for my neighbor), I decided to take the time to start to reorganize and clean out my closets and drawers.  If you know me, you know this is one both my favorite things to do!  My tax attorney/accountant is always surprised at how many donations I make each year- which I guess is also representative of how many useless purchases I've made (?)- but it was a good time to do it.

I also decided to bake some cookies- if only to eat some dough!  The baking was secondary and I have a stack of cookies in my kitchen now that I'm not even that interested in eating (need to bring those into work on Tuesday!)

I hit the hay early-ish, probably just when it started to storm around 10pm and set the alarm for 4:15am.

I got up and prepared both my ride nutrition and on-the-road breakfast.  I wish I would have had another envelope of "UCan" since I think that has become my long workout secret weapon, but I had some Gatorade power so I doubled it, boiled 3 eggs and made a PB&J for the 2-1/2 hour ride to Princeton, IL.

This SAG ride was called the "Z tour" and it was put on by a local group in that area.  Princeton is west of Starved Rock and on the way, seemingly pretty close to, Rock Island, IL.  I drove from downtown to LSD to 55S and then I80 all the way past Midway and Joliet.  It was an easy drive at 5am.

When I arrived, I met up with my coach, Mary and Courtney.  We rode the first 7-8 miles together and then they just blew me away.  The remaining 92 miles I rode solo.  Believe me, the 20 miles after they left me, I cursed them.  Big time.  But the first 50 miles weren't too bad.  The Z tour had its first rest stop around mile 25.  I didn't feel I needed a stop, but I did stop, refilled my water bottles, ate some snacks and then went out for another 20ish.  The next rest stop was appreciated and required for more food and more water fill up.  That put me around mile 45 (I think) and I was feeling pretty good.

There was what seemed to be a very old train along the ride

The first half of the ride had two pretty decent hills that I recall.  One, from afar, looked completed vertical, I mean, straight up!!  -Especially for a Midwestern gal!  :)  This rivaled Madison's hills if not beat them.  I took some momentum starting this hill and then quickly shifted down to my small chain ring.  The women I was near at the time got OFF their bikes at about 75% of the way to the top. This is very hard to see and keep riding (for me).  I wanted to give up, but I forced myself to keep spinning, yoga breathing and stay in the saddle.  They cheered me on from below when I passed them and I was SO RELIEVED to be done with that one- I can't lie!!

The second half of the ride was more challenging for me.  I'm not sure I like hills, but they do keep things more interesting.  There were rollers, but a lot of it was flat and my bike shorts, by this point in time- between 3-4 hours in, were giving me a LOT of grief.  I could feel the seams ripping at my flesh in some of the most delicate areas of one's body!!  Eik!  I had brought lube with me and stopped and reapplied at the rest stops and even coated the right side of my bike seat, but it did no good.  You know you're in a bad way when the lube BURNS on your butt... that means BAD saddle sores.  I wanted to cry and likely often squealed in pain since I was riding solo anyway!!

Around hour 3.5, I listened to a couple Endurance Nation podcasts on triathlon tips while my iPhone 5 was stuffed upside down into my top so I could hear it while I rode up and down the hills.  I don't ever wear headphones for safety's sake and I was just so bored.   I also listened to "This American Life"'s 500th episode which took about 45 minutes and distracted me for that long too.

At about hour 6 (?), I had gone through the penultimate SAG stop and one of the roaming cars passed me.  I waved them down for some more water-- the sun was hot now (around 3pm?) and just baking me.  They gave me two bottles and while I was stopped at the side of the road, along came Mary!!  She and Courtney had done an extra 13 miles (insane!) because Courtney's Ironman plan called for it.  Michelle (my coach) had not done it- she was ahead of them- and Courtney was behind.  We all rolled into the last SAG stop together.  I wanted to eat more and they wanted to finish up, so I told them I'd see them at the finish.  Courtney had a 75 minute run anyway so I knew they'd be there when I rolled in.

Land of the Wind Farms

I felt so happy to get to the parking lot where we started, but was SO ANNOYED that my odometer only read 97 miles!  I rode around the parking lot and back out for 1.5 miles and then back in to hit 100.  That was a really mind screw, but I fought through it and did it.  Not to mention, a very small, yippy AND FAST! dog came out of nowhere and was barking and chasing me like it was going to attack me.  I finally yelled and unclipped by left foot and kicked towards its way and it backed up.  I mean, this dog was IN THE MIDDLE of this country road.  All I could think was that it was going to get run over if it didn't leave me alone!  Then, of course, I was super nervous to turn around to ride back to the finish again!!  I'm sure my heart rate shot up around those miles!

When I got off my bike, I had some food (again!), washed out my Speedfill (water system), put my bike in my car and then changed into my running shoes for my 30 minute run.  It was SO FLIPPING HOT at this point, I don't know how I did it.  I ran 15 minutes around the park and then back, giving myself a "walk" in every spot of shade!  I thought I wimped out when I finished in 22 minutes, but then happily re-read my plan which said it was supposed to be only a 20 minute run.  Yeah me!

After my run, I grabbed a Coke and a water for the road and hit the highway for a 2.5 hour drive home.  One word:  BRUTAL!  I was so happy I didn't think I was Superwoman and planned anything for Saturday night.  By the time I got home, it was 7:30pm and I had to unpack the car, clean up a bit and make some dinner.  I set my alarm for Sunday morning for 6:45am and passed out around 9:30-10pm.

It was a very long day, not even as long as Ironman race day will be, but I was happy to be home with my Bag Balm and have completed 100 miles.

The Sunday of baby showers

Believe it or not, two of my very good friends BOTH had baby showers on Sunday.

One started at Noon in Rosemont and the second was in Bucktown around 3pm.  I was able to make it to both:  leaving the first one early and arriving to the second one late.

It was a long day of breast pumps, "My Brest Friend", baby monitors and diapers, but both moms were very gracious and genuinely happy as they both had different challenges in their pregnancies and relationships to get to this point in their married lives.

I'm very happy for them.  Genuinely happy.  I look forward to getting to know their children and getting them into trouble!

Tona and her Talanian twins!

Shazza and her Baby Girl Bump

1:15 run in the AM on 7/18

Today, I am supposed to run twice and what is the hottest day of the summer along with playing 18 holes of golf for work in between.  I'm not sure I'm going to get it all done?!

I decided to drive out to our property in Downers Grove in the morning around 5:45am and do my first run on the treadmill.  I have several morning meetings there and I think this is the best way for me to get the run completed, make the meetings and get to the golf outing on time.  I'm afraid if I run and shower up at home, I'll be late.

This run wasn't awesome, but it wasn't too bad either.  I always enjoy when I can watch trashy TV while I'm working out.  Thankfully the guy who as in the in gym when I got there left pretty early and I could put the Kardashians on!  :)

2x
5 minutes walking
5 minutes at 12:00 pace
Then:
5x
10 minutes at 9:45 pace
1 minutes walk

Cool down by walking 

The first run went as planned as noted above, but after heading out to Rich Harvest Farms and the group deciding to only golf 9 holes due to the heat and humidity- it took its toll on me- and I couldn't bring myself to run again that evening.

Friday yoga

Ferra's expression pretty much sums up how I feel about working out today.  

Thank god it's only yoga.

Thursday 7/18 - Golf at Rich Harvest Farms

Details on my whole day later...

The bulk of the day was spent in Sugar Grove at a gorgeous golf club. We only played 9 holes due to the heat index and I sweat my arse off for about 5 hours as it was!!

Unfortunately, I didn't win longest drive this year!!

Wednesday 7/17. Pool swim

While my training plan called for a OWS (open water swim), I opted for some calm and serenity of the pool at the gym tonight. I even had my own lane!  Yes!!

I was supposed to swim 1.5-2 miles which is somewhat boring solo in a pool, to be honest.

I did a 300 warm up and then pretty much just swam laps until I hit 1,000. Then I did 200 kick (blech!!) and I don't know how far of a pull- maybe close to another 800-1,000. I threw in some drills to work on extending my stroke and in the end, stop at close to 1.5miles or about 50-55 minutes later. 

It was the first time I used my new kick board/pull buoy thing I got at the Muncie expo and I liked it!  It was awesome as a pull and ok as a kick board (a bit small. But was easier to use on my side for some drills and fit perfectly between my legs the way it's cut. The only other thing I'd say was that it's a little different to do flip turns with it as a pull buoy because its is longer than normal ones but I think I'll get used to it!

Tuesday 7/16/13 Strength

Since strength is something I actually really don't like to do and since I REFUSE (categorically!!) to do burpees (ever, ever again!), when it's in my plan, I have started to try and get to a gym strength class.

Tuesday, I went to FFC's "Factor 94" class.  It was difficult and super weird.  It's a bizarre take on CorePower Yoga's "yoga sculpt" type class, I think....

Add these factors up....
No shoes or socks
+
Yoga mat
+
Hand weights
+
94 F degrees and super humid
+
Insane disco, pumping music
+
Middle-eastern instructor (?) - I only mention this because her accent added to the whole strange vibe of the class
=
45 minutes of pumping your triceps, biceps, shoulders, lats, and abs so much that you think amputation might be less painful.  I'm so weak, I mean, I did most of the class with only 2.5# weights and on occasion felt strong enough for a 5# dumbbell.

What I failed to do, is run for 15 minutes prior to this class to get my heart rate up before it started, but I was doing work on my phone up until the start of class.  Afterwards, I got the treadmill for about 20 minutes, but I'm honestly not sure if that met the requirement.

Tomorrow is another OWS and it's supposed to be close to 95F (outside!) however after my last few experiences, I think I may head to the gym and just swim indoors and get in a good and hard practice.  I'm supposed to do up to 2 miles; I'm not sure how successful I'll be in the pool, but I can push myself a bit more in there at least!  I just hate waiting until 6:30pm to meet up with the team... it is always more crowded- which I like- but it's also generally harder to get a locker and it's wavier with more boats at the Playpen.

Chub rub: a result of racing & lube

... Or lack thereof!

Yet another ailment I'm treating with Bag Balm!!

This little ditty is a result of water, skin & a bike seat for 56 miles. Ouch!!

Monday, 7/15/13 Rest day and triathlon transition "clinic" for cousin Shayna

I decided to do a juice cleanse on Sunday so it was a good time to do a 3-day cleanse since I had the day off on Monday too.  The day went fairly easily.  I wasn't hungry and I was ready to keep going on Monday.

Monday during the day at work really wasn't bad either; I wasn't "hungry" per se, but I missed chewing food!  On my way home from work, I needed to go grocery shopping for when the juice fast was over and that was likely a poor decision!  :)  I ended up deciding to eat a sensible dinner of FOOD rather than juice.

After my dinner, I headed over to Shayna's apartment to talk her through triathlon transitions...

Shayna in Africa

She is doing her first triathlon this summer (Chicago) and had some questions about how to set up and do a transition.  Instead of going to Northerly Island (our first plan), we decided to meet up in her living room and just lay it all out and have me give her some tips and hints and making transitions easier.  In the scheme of things, Shayna could've completed a sprint triathlon the day she signed up; she is fit and she is a strong swimmer (where many people are nervous in triathlon).  She is riding a hybrid bike with tires that could ride through a mud pit and she isn't going to be clipped in.  This girl is tough!!  That is EXACTLY the way I did my first triathlon (in a relay, no less) and it's a great way to start.  Not a ton of time invested, not a ton of $$ invested and almost assuredly success and time improvement down the road virtually guaranteed by just buying and riding a road bike.  I think, despite her travel requirements for work, she's going to get hooked after this!

A typical transition area

I think now that she's seen how to set it up and since we talked through some faster options and ideas, she will be able to mentally go through it while she's traveling the next couple weeks for work.  Hopefully this will lessen her stress about it too.  When she's back in town, we'll have two weeks before her race to practice together at Northerly Island. 

I should be in taper mode then too, so I can practice and think about my own transitions (which will be VERY different) for Ironman since they're enclosed -and I intend to actually change clothes between disciplines- and get comfortable with my race decisions and transition plan.

In the meantime, I am still firming up my race plan and my visualizations for Ironman and need to get my "assignments" done for my coach and monthly coaching meeting!

Sunday restorative yoga 7/14/13

I was so happy this morning that we fought the exhaustion and drive back to Chicago Saturday night. 

It was amazing to wake up RESTED in my own bed on Sunday morning without any plans or a particular time to set the alarm clock!!

I woke up naturally around 8:30am feeling great (after passing out at about 10:30pm). 

I ran some errands when I got up and picked up a prepared 3-day juice cleanse. I thought this time would be okay since I had yoga today, rest Monday and a workout on Tuesday. We'll see. As of tonight, I'm really not hungry. We'll see how tomorrow goes at work!

I was to do yoga today which I did myself rather than head to a studio or video/podcast. After I brought the juice home, I walked to my beach and hung out and relaxed for a few hours. Luckily since there's a lot of variety at my beach (families, singles, gays, kites, SUP, boats), me doing some yoga on my beach sheet is no big deal. I was hoping to work on my now atrocious "tri-tan". I'm guessing that I will end up getting spray tanned for my cousin Ian's wedding the week after Ironman because this just keeps getting reinforced weekly (even with the poor weather we've had this summer). 

After my beach time, I walked back home and did 3 loads of workout laundry and watched the WGN movie (thank god since I don't have wifi this week- my neighbor has Comcast coming on Friday) and made some homemade granola for later in the week. I've never made it before but I bought the ingredients a few months ago and thought I'd finally try it. I'm going to bring a few mason jars to Madison for Jenny and Polly to try and test -and to thank them for their ongoing hospitality!  I'm heading back up there on 7/27 again for a VERY long day of riding and running. 

Do more of what makes you awesome

Saturday 7/13/13 - Ironman Muncie 70.3

Finisher's medal

Excellent race conditions, strong execution and adherence to my race plan, personal record by 21 minutes!!

6:31:56 

Post-race picture

1.2 mile Swim: 41:01 minutes

Swim wasn't too bad. I did well with my sighting although I felt like the first 1/3 I had my head out of the water frequently. Swimming back in was directly into the sun but I stayed pretty centered. The last 1/3 was a free-for-all. Lots of different colored caps (waves) and a bit more bumpy with dudes going all out all around me. I stayed calm and just kept swimming. The best part was they had sleet suit strippers!!! So I've now experienced it before Madison!!!

56 mile Bike:  3:14:07 
(I wanted to hit 3 hours but rode a bit cautiously the first half)

The first 15-ish miles of road were a dream!!  4 lanes of smooth, clean closed highway. Unfortunately, after that there was a VERY narrow section "no passing zone" on a horrible country road. Bumpy with a lot of lost/fallen water bottles, gu, gear, etc dropped from people's bikes. Of course there were gonzos (Dudes!  Who else?!) who were passing and not even shouting "on your left"- it was like they were sneaking up on you. I just tried to stay calm and not get too upset. After that section there were some nice rollers (Who am I?!  Enjoying hills...) that broke up the monotony before the turn around just over 1/2 way. I saw everyone I knew racing but Courtney on the bike.  I negative split the ride and my average mph was just under 18mph. That's fine for a flat course but does present some stress about Madison's hills.

13.1 mile run:  2:30:06 
(Again, I really wanted to hit 2:20 but the course was hillier than I expected. This was the best I could do. I did the whole thing run/walk so I was booking it when I was running!). 

My run plan was to run until my body said "break!!" And then take a walk break. Since all the aid stations seemed to be near mile markers I knew I'd be walking through at each mile at the very least. I avoid the nice people staying runners down with hoses until mile 10. It was really hard to do that mentally, but I knew I'd have happier feet that way!  I wanted to negative split the run but I was off by 3 minutes- can't complain. When I was jogging the last 5 miles, I was booking it!  I can't wait to upload the Garmin data later today. A few times that I glanced down, the watch said 9:45 and even under 9 once!  Yes, these were brief bursts but I was glad I had the energy!!  I tried cola on the run and loved it and watched my water intake- I didn't want a slushy stomach. I used a lot of water to pour on my arms and head- again trying to avoid my feet- and put ice down my top. I chatted with the people around me and had a "good time" with what I was doing. The final .25 miles were a b*tch straight up a hill, but I had been doing the math and was shooting for at least a 20 minute PR and barely managed to do it!!

With my 27# bike!

Friday 7/12/13 pre-race brick

On Friday I worked until noon and then hit the road for the 4 hour drive to Muncie, Indiana. We arrived around 5:15 (it's eastern time there) and went directly to the expo. The course talk had just started and we ran into a few friends participating too. 

Aqua Sphere Kickboard

We took our time wandering the relatively small expo and made a few purchases. I am most excited about my new combo kick board/pull buoy. It's awesome!!  I'm excited that I'll never have to put another gross, dirty, someone-else's pull buoy between my legs!!  The fact it serves as both is a bonus AND it was only like $16. Expos are the best places to buy gear since they're always on sale and sometimes don't charge taxes too. 

After that, we went to check in at the hotel and meet up with the gals to decide on dinner. We picked Olive Garden (don't judge; there are no choices in Muncie!). Apparently the entire Ironman community also settled on Olive Garden too because there was a 45 minute wait for a table for 9. After calling around to a few places, we ended up back near the hotel at the Thai restaurant Mary wanted to try in the first place. 

Thankfully the food was good, the portions big and cheap prices. I think everyone was satisfied and as far as I know, no stomach issues. 

We got back to the hotel after dinner around 9pm and got our stuff ready for our 4:30am wake up call for the race. 

As one will note, the pre-race brick prescribed in my plan was impossible with the time we arrived and dinner. More rest worked for me just fine. :)

Thursday 7/11/13. Day off!

Thursday was my pre-race rest day and unused it to clean up the apartment, do laundry and pack for tomorrow. 

Melissa also came over and we got her bike into my car for the drive to Muncie. I was planning on working a 1/2 day on Friday and then heading to the expo directly from work. 

I'm glad it was a rest day since I have been dragging a bit this week. Work has also been challenging and draining the past week... Or I've just been more tired which has made it more challenging & draining. (Chicken- Egg?). We've also made some personal changes at home which have been stressful. 

I'm hopeful that I make it through the next few weeks of workouts strong and that I really recharge with the taper. There are a lot of very challenging and long distance workouts on my schedule the next 3 Saturdays. I welcome them but they're also a reminder that race day is fast approaching. 

7/10/13 OWS (open water swim)

Today I got to work early and left around 4:30-5pm to get down to the lake before the complete post-work influx of triathletes. 

I'd prefer to swim with more people, but I doubt want to wait for a locker!!  

Unfortunately instead of swimming 1.5 miles, inseam about .75 miles. I started off okay and th waves didn't even bother me as badly as I was anticipating. Apparently if they hit me in the face straight on or puch me forward w a current, it doesn't make me seasick. Rather, if they hit me on either side of my body longways, I'm a seasick goner. That's NOT what happened Wednesday night...

I swam from the start of the buoys to the 1/4 mile market without a lot of issues. There were people swimming bit definitely not a lot. I was pretty much swimming alone again. When I got to just about the 1/2 mile marker, I had sufficiently freaked myself out. I also guess I get freaked going from sunshine to building shadows along the lakefront. It's a pretty significant difference in how the lake looks while you're swimming in it:  almost transparent to murky and scary looking...

When I got close to the 1/2 mile marker, I looked left (west) and noted where the nearest ladder was and promptly swam to it and got out of the water. 

When I exited a man who was virtually surprising his college-aged (?) daughter proudly informed me that it was 750 feet "between this and that.  I just counted it". I responded by telling him the distance to the sticks, between the sticks, and from the beach.  He shouted the same information to his kid who yelled back, somewhat exasperated, "Are you kidding me?!".  Swimming miles feels like swimming MILES- especially if you haven't done it before. 

Anyway, after I got out, I walked on the path all the way back to the 1/4 mile marker (& back into the sunshine) and climbed back down into the water. The levels are so low that even gingerly entering the water, I destroyed my left big toe nail. After that, I shamed myself into swimming back to the beach. I felt my wetsuit catwalk down the path was enough and I had made it that far without anyone I know seeing me. 

My 1.5 mile/1:15 minute swim ended up being 35 minutes (at best) and 0.75 miles. Shit happens. 

Tuesday 7/9/13 rest day

I needed a rest day. 

It wasn't part of my plan but I haven't been sleeping and I think after all these months, I know my body well enough to know what I need or when I'm just being lazy. 

Tuesday was a rest day. I came home anxious to watch some terrible movies or tv on my iPad but as luck would have it, the Internet was not working. I spent hours trying to figure out my hardware but eventually texted my neighbor (I use her wifi) who said she thought it was a Comcast issue. 

I was relieved that it "wasn't me" but disappointment when I got home the following night and it still wasn't working. 

It's shocking how much we rely on electronics for entertainment alone!

Let's get back to this reminder....

Credit:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessicahagy/2012/10/04/40-things-to-say-before-you-die/2/

Monday, 7/8 Open Water Swim at Ohio Street Beach

Another early morning at work (I was in at 6:30-45), so I could leave around 4pm. I wasn't sleeping anyway after 4:30am so I thought I might as well just go to work anyway. I like being in early after a holiday or long weekend since its easier to catch up when the office isn't buzzing with weekend summaries!

I had a great and fast swim on Monday. I was to do 1.5 miles and it went pretty well. The lake was flat (thank god) so I didn't curse my sea sickness and was able to donut without a lot of discomfort. That being said, I do need to buy some of those wristbands!

I got home relatively early too!!

Sunday yoga-ish 7/7/13

Sunday was a yoga recovery day and Iwas  feeling pretty good. 

I met MB near his mom's and we took a nice, long walk on the Prairie Path. It was SUPER hot outside and I was stuck at how little of the path (at least near where we were) was covered by any foliage. We did stop for awhile in a partially shaded area on a bench to catch up too. 

I didn't do yoga per se, but I did stretch out and walked for a couple hours so I think the purpose of the yoga prescription in the plan was met. 

2 loops of the Madison course on Saturday 7/6

I had a horrible Friday personally, quite honestly, and I was nervous about my performance on the two loops on Saturday. So much so and such little sleep that my coach actually recommended I not meet them for the ride. Since I had driven up to Madison already and planned my entire weekend around it, I was going to do it. She said that I should see how the first loop went and decide on loop two afterwards. 

I was going on 1-2 hours of sleep at best but I also thought that it could be a good training opportunity since I doubt I will sleep much the night before Ironman. 

I decided to try some new nutrition as my breakfast:  U-can. It's a new fad/item that allows your body to absorb fat at the same time it absorbs the actual nutritional carbohydrates. I believe this 120 calorie decision was a huge factor in my Saturday success. 

We all left at the same time and I finished the first 40 mile loop in 2:58. I was VERY happy with this time. 

The second loop took me about 15 minutes longer but I was pleased with it. I rode the hills harder and took more rest going downhill. Not to mention, I met a local along the way with whom I rode the last 12 miles or so. His name was Joe and his Trek road bike was outfitted with a plastic milk carton in which sat his 18 lb dog, Vinnie. 

We had passed each other a few different times and he was a chatty guy. Making sure I had "enough water" and shouting back when a new hill was coming up. I'm not going to lie, the first 20 minutes or so I was really annoyed. Especially since this dude kept stopping and then passing me with his freaking dog on his bike!  However after we started talking, I actually enjoyed his company. I lost track of the miles and was glad to have the company since I don't ride at the same pace as the other gals there. 

When I finished both loops I was finished about 6:15 later and was feeling great. 

My nutrition was challenging on the ride because I had a new Speedfill water bottle system, but had not brought the bike valve... Thereby requiring that I suck the liquid through a relatively long tube going from the bottom oft bike frame up through my aero bars. 

The bite valve is important because it keeps the liquid in the tube and you don't have to work hard for it after you've started sucking it through the tube. I managed to quickly figure out how to have a few swigs at once by holding the liquid in the straw with my tongue while I swallowed but it took some effort!!

I ate a couple honey stingers and stopped during loop two for another bottle of water. After the first one, I traded one empty bottle for a full one and then put a small one in the back pocket of my cycling jersey. It was the only time in my life that I successfully kept all my liquids frozen... When I actually needed WATER!!

I think my coach's nutrition plan is heavy on the calories and I need to reassess this with her- I've done well with what I've taken, but again haven't followed any workout with a full marathon so I'm still not sure. 

After the ride, we went to Cousins Subs and I had a salad and then went to Jenny's to clean up. We all went to dinner early around 7pm at Sardine and had a lot of laughs!  Both families managed to get last minute babysitters so both parents were able to come out. What a treat for me!!  

Friday, 7/5 OWS at Ohio Street Beach

I worked from home on Friday so I decided to get down to Ohio Street beach in the morning before an appointment for a swim. If I'm not headed to to office, I don't really need to primp as much. 

I swam 2 miles for the first time and it went well. Inseam nice and easy an finished in 1:16. 

I really feel like the water is calmer in the morning and I prefer the sunshine rather than the shadows in the lake. 

I get slightly freaked out swimming in the lake "solo" but I keep trying to plug away!

July 4th. Cycling and running for our freedom. Ok, not really.

On Thursday, MB and I both woke up at 5am to start the day.  My alarm went off at 4:30am technically, but I didn't get up until 5.  He was heading to some cheap golf course with friends to play somewhere between 9-18 holes (I can't remember) and I wanted to get my ride done downtown on the Lakeshore Path before the throngs of city dwellers, BBQ masters, families with 17 kids and suburbanites got to the beach to clog up the path.

The morning started off with a bang.  I was all ready to go and just had to get my bike out of storage and my bike shoes out of my car.  Michael headed to the Damen bus stop with his clubs and I went into the storage space for my bike.  I pumped the tires and left the basement.  With my keys in the storage space door-- inside the main entrance.  Awesome!  Thankfully, I had my phone on me (nothing else) and called Michael.  His bus hadn't left yet, so I ran up to where he was (with my bike in tow) to grab his exterior key.  Later on, I left his key in the car, so he could get back into the house.

After that debacle, I headed out for my ride with an initially elevated heart rate due to locking myself out, I'm sure.  Riding on the path was truly a poor decision on my part.  While the path was relatively low key at this hour, I was still not able to get high enough into zones 3 and 4 on this ride.  Too many turns, too many obstacles and fear of running over children or hurting myself being clipped in.  I think forever more if I'm doing a true training ride, I cannot be on the path.  Only running.

After I finished my 90 minute ride (barely reaching zone 3, mind you), I went back to my apartment, threw my bike in my car and switched to my running shoes for my hour run.  I felt a rumble in my belly as I started my initial run and decided it better of me to turn around and use the facilities at home, rather than start an hour run worrying or regretting that I didn't use the can!  After this slight delay, I was back at it.

For my run, I ran north through the park at Senn High School and all the way up to north Rodgers Park.   I pretty much stayed on the same street (Glenwood Avenue) for the entire run.  I started a new audio book that was pretty good by Chrissie Wellington.

Credit:  www.slowtwitch.com

The foreward was by Lance Armstrong, obviously prior to his fall from grace and it was interesting after his recent admissions of guilt.  In any case, Chrissie read her own forward and I got through a couple chapters during my run.  I was able to completely zone out mentally, but still reach my pace zones, which was great.  She is oddly relate-able which I found surprising for such an elite athlete.  I look forward to listening to more of it.  I will likely only let myself do this while running.

After the hour run, I headed back home to shower up and take a little nap.  Kate, my sister, was in town and we had plans to get brunch and then relax at the beach.

She picked me up and we headed to Tweet for a huge brunch and then back to my place to change and walked over to the beach.  In the interim, MB got back home and took a nap of his own.  After a couple hours on the beach, we came back home to clean up and we all went to Kate's friend's house for a BBQ.  It was a very relaxing day and although it wasn't a huge "4th of July" type celebration, it was a good day.

7/3/13 the last group indoor swim that became a nap...

My schedule included swimming with the team at Northside College Prep High School on Wednesday night. MB was also coaching, so the plan was to get home from work and to go together.

When I got home, I was really down and tired and climbed into bed... I had had a long day at work the past few days.  I just wanted to "rest", but we all know where that goes.  I told Michael that I was going to skip swimming and just opt for some sleep.

My coach certainly knows a lot about triathlon, but I know more about myself and sometimes, I need to give myself the space to slow down and rest.  If you've been reading this regularly, you know that I'm still doing a lot and trying to fit LIFE into my life and not have it be all about training.  Wednesday night I needed to listen to my body more than my coach.

It was too bad that I was too tired to get up and go out and enjoy some fireworks or a walk in the beautiful night air and take advantage of the day off on Thursday... but it is what it is!

7/2/13 Day off spent with Kari

I haven't seen my yoga friend Kari in some time and we planned a hang out date for Tuesday evening.

This is Kari

We met in Bucktown at the Core Power Yoga Studio on Milwaukee Avenue that Kari manages and teaches at and walked over to get mani/pedis together... something I desperately needed!!!  It was great and relaxing and we were able to catch up on a lot of time and life happenings while being pampered.

Then we walked up Damen and popped in and out of a couple shops.  I managed to purchase both a dress and a summer sweater from one of my favorite stores.  They were 30% and already on sale, so I didn't feel too badly!  I also now have a new dress for my cousin Ian's wedding in mid September!

After that, we walked a bit further south to Feast.  Lucky for us it was 1/2 priced bottles of wine!  haha  I had the whitefish and she had fish tacos and we continued catching up over food and vino.

All in all, it was a fantastic and great relaxing evening... when I got home I was tired, but not exhausted and very ready for bed!

Monday, 7/1, 2-hour run

Today's run went well since I essentially had two days off in a row in Lake Geneva.

It was a pretty close repeat of last Thursday's...
20 minutes of warm up run/walk
Five times of 1 mile at 11min mile followed by a 1 minute walk
Two times of 1 mile at a 10min mile followed by a 1 minute walk

As per my usual treadmill/gym routine, I watched horribly awesome cable TV (Real Housewives of Orange County and New Jersey) and loved every minute of it!!

Ironman Wisconsin 2012

I was balling... Fear or excitement, I'm not sure!

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=zZSvxTGgcU0&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DzZSvxTGgcU0

Matt Thomas- last finisher of last year- I salute you!!!!!

Swim:	1:33:14
Bike:	8:16:19
Run:	6:53:23
Overall:	16:59:37

Sunday 6/30 OWS

I was supposed to swim in Lake Gebeva for an hour without a particular distance noted. 

I finally got into my wetsuit and the cold water around noon. This was a poor decision on my part because by then, a lot of boats were on the water and it was wavy. Not to mention, I get seasick. Yes! Even in the water... I'm playing around with how to deal with this... It's never been a race issue but it's been a practice issue. Unlike most triathletes, I think I may actually prefer the chaos of the swim because it distracts the seasickness!!

I also happen to slightly freak out in large dark bodies of water. So, these two factors added up, plus the fear of boats coming and going between the area I was swimming, instead of swimming for 1 hour, I only swam for 10 minutes or about a 500.

Bad workout that Sunday. 

Saturday 6/29 Rest day

I was so excited that I had a rest day in lake Geneva with friends. The plan was to get some sun and boat. Unfortunately Mother Nature did not cooperate with that and we did neither. 

We ended up heading into town to take a walk and window shop and grab some lunch. It turned out to be a relatively nice afternoon for that and probably was better for me personally than laying out- although I love it, it really sucks the energy out of me.