It is that time again, time to get back on the plane. I live out of a suitcase now even when I back home because it just takes too much energy to unpack and repack a couple of days later. The good news is that Chris is coming home with me this weekend, the bad news is that it is for wedding stuff. I am not one of those girls who has been planning her wedding since she was little, and it is not something I want to start now. I have the world's best mom and she has been doing about 99% of the wedding planning, and since I am not picky and she is creative and has good taste, I am hoping I can just show up. I hate going to stores to shop, I hate trying on clothes (even wedding dresses), and I hate driving around in traffic to get to the next store. But my mom mentioned that she would not do 100% of the registering for me. Yes, she is helping me by explaining what we will need and what certain pots are for (no, I dont know the difference in a pot used for cakes and a pot used for casseroles, or even if you use pots for them), but she is not going to actually register. And I have to bring Chris because since my tools in the kitchen stop with a can opener, fork, and spoon, I will need someone who actually will use the stuff to select it. I was secretly hoping we could register for this.! Would it be wrong to put this on the website? If you really want to make the bride happy, she would love a kinect and the new Michael Phelps game so she doesnt have to get up in the cold to go to the pool.
We are leaving tonight which means two days on the bike instead of 1 and you all know I need it! Next week I am going to be working on marathon outfits for Austin. I got an idea from Chloe to post some pictures of the final few next week.
Feb 10, 2011
Feb 3, 2011
I couldn't do it without
This guy...
I know I have said it many times before but Chris keeps my life together. I have healthy homecooked breakfast, lunches, dinners, fresh juices and stress free living becuase of him. When he goes out of town my meals turn to crap and I am eating peanut MMs for breakfast and tuna from the can for lunch and dinner. It is a good thing that I am left solo very infrequently. But he outdid himself last weekend. When I went out of town to train, I asked to see if he could put on my powertap. I figured I would come home to a bike in a million pieces, but not so. He apparently stayed up all night and had it in one piece and actually reading my power. Or lack thereof, but that is a different post. If we were living in the US, I would have just taken it to the local tri store and had them do it, but since the best shop here uses gasoline (yes like for a car) to clean and degrease the chains, I figure it was better if I put Chris on the job. And it is a good thing, because he has honed his talent as a bike mechanic and I have someone to help me break down and build up bikes in the future.
The problem now with the power is that I have to see what a bad cyclist I really am. I had my test yesterday and am waiting for feedback from my coach. I tried sending her the file a few times yesterday and she wasnt able to view it, and I am convinced that it is because the numbers were too low. Good news is I have nowhere to go but up, and now I have something that is really telling me how I am improving. I cant wait!
I know I have said it many times before but Chris keeps my life together. I have healthy homecooked breakfast, lunches, dinners, fresh juices and stress free living becuase of him. When he goes out of town my meals turn to crap and I am eating peanut MMs for breakfast and tuna from the can for lunch and dinner. It is a good thing that I am left solo very infrequently. But he outdid himself last weekend. When I went out of town to train, I asked to see if he could put on my powertap. I figured I would come home to a bike in a million pieces, but not so. He apparently stayed up all night and had it in one piece and actually reading my power. Or lack thereof, but that is a different post. If we were living in the US, I would have just taken it to the local tri store and had them do it, but since the best shop here uses gasoline (yes like for a car) to clean and degrease the chains, I figure it was better if I put Chris on the job. And it is a good thing, because he has honed his talent as a bike mechanic and I have someone to help me break down and build up bikes in the future.
The problem now with the power is that I have to see what a bad cyclist I really am. I had my test yesterday and am waiting for feedback from my coach. I tried sending her the file a few times yesterday and she wasnt able to view it, and I am convinced that it is because the numbers were too low. Good news is I have nowhere to go but up, and now I have something that is really telling me how I am improving. I cant wait!
Jan 18, 2011
Running
The running and swimming are still getting better, I dont want to talk about the bike. Although as I type Chris is trying to put together the powertap on my bike. Maybe that will perform miracles. My past few long runs have been getting faster and faster and I had a run on sunday that used to be my pace at sea level. That's the good news. The bad news is that I was starting to have some hip problems, but I am hoping that I have solved them. At first I was worried it was a stress fracture, but the internet told me it wasnt. I laid off running for a week and it felt a ton better, and I was able to have a good run on sunday. Rolling and icing has been the trick. I trust wikipedia more than I trust the doctors in Mexico so until I can get into a doc in the US, the internet will continue to guide me. On sunday I sat on the trigger point ball for an hour in the exact spot that it hurt and I had no after running pain at all. Then running today I realized that my left foot was turning out, which doesnt happen normally. So I think it is a strength issue with my hip (or a flexibility issue. Im not sure since I havent researched it yet). There has been no IT pain so far (knock on wood) and it is really just the upper hip socket area. The marathon is in a month, but unless I am 100% I am not going to push it. I was a little bummed when my coach said she wasnt sure if I should run it, but then I reminded myself the goal is in may and everything leading up to it is training.
Jan 13, 2011
Pesky Resolutions
We are still withing the first two weeks of January, so I think I am still in time for my resolutions. I had some last year and one was to pack lighter. Then we showed up in the airport with 8 bags (including carry ons) coming back from Christmas and I realized I should have a do over on that one. So here goes - the 2011 resolutions.
1) Finish and Ironman - I have been training for this one for a while, so I figure I should make it an actual resolution. The only challenge will be the bike. Which brings me to #2
2) Get better on the bike. I got a power tap that Chris is going to attempt to set up this weekend so hopefully that will help. It is my mission to improve
3) PR a marathon - this shouldnt be too hard since my last one was a disaster. I think I can even PR in the ironman - it was that slow.
4) With the engagement I figure I need to start being more wifey (as Beth says). Even if it is for my own health. If Chris leaves town for even a weekend I am stuck eating cereal and tuna fish. I can cook, Im just lazy, and I need to become unlazy in 2011.
5) And finally pack light*. If at first you dont succeed right?
I may add one or two more in there before the 15th, but so far this is the list. Hopefully I can check them all off at the end of the year!
*I will pack light going to the US, coming home is a different story since we always import all of the basic necessities (like velveeta for queso -DUH).
1) Finish and Ironman - I have been training for this one for a while, so I figure I should make it an actual resolution. The only challenge will be the bike. Which brings me to #2
2) Get better on the bike. I got a power tap that Chris is going to attempt to set up this weekend so hopefully that will help. It is my mission to improve
3) PR a marathon - this shouldnt be too hard since my last one was a disaster. I think I can even PR in the ironman - it was that slow.
4) With the engagement I figure I need to start being more wifey (as Beth says). Even if it is for my own health. If Chris leaves town for even a weekend I am stuck eating cereal and tuna fish. I can cook, Im just lazy, and I need to become unlazy in 2011.
5) And finally pack light*. If at first you dont succeed right?
I may add one or two more in there before the 15th, but so far this is the list. Hopefully I can check them all off at the end of the year!
*I will pack light going to the US, coming home is a different story since we always import all of the basic necessities (like velveeta for queso -DUH).
Jan 4, 2011
Christmas and New Years
I am really trying to be a better blogger, but it is hard! I am going to have to combine my Christmas and New Years trip into one quick post. We went home for about 2 weeks which meant lots of quality time with my bike. It is much needed because I SUCK at biking. I am starting to get nervous that I wont even make the bike cut off time in IMTX, so these trips home will start to become more frequent. The swimming is fine and the running is getting much better with the altitude training, but the trainer rides here just arent cutting it. I really have no idea what the issue is becuase my legs are way stronger than my arms so I should be good right? Wrong. Maybe I need to lose weight. Or gain weight. Who knows, but when dudes on mountain bikes are passing me it isnt a good sign.
For Christmas Eve and Day we traveled west to Charleston to spend the holiday with my brother's inlaws and a really close friend. Here is the happy fam plus Chris plus our special friend at cooking class.
Did you know Santa lives in Charleston? It took about 5 takes to get this shot because the dude taking it had had one too many vodka redbulls.
After that we came back to Houston where my body decided to get sick so I spent a few nights at home watching hoarders (my mom is obsessed and DVRs every one) and do puzzles. We had to teach Chris our technique to getting them done quickly. Luckily by New Year's eve I had recovered enough to go out because what a night it was. After midnight Chris decided to propose! After many beers and glasses of champagne it probably was much less nerve wracking for him. It was perfect to be able to celebrate this special moment with our close friends right after as well. It was also nice to already have champagne at the house to toast with.
Just after the happy moment. Doesnt everyone ask their girlfriend to marry them in a tuxedo tshirt. This was his favorite Christmas present.
And telling the story to our friends who didnt notice what was happening right outside just minutes before.
I hate the word fiance so Chris will continue to be my boyfriend until we get married, but we are both so excited and can't wait for our future together. What a great start to 2011!
For Christmas Eve and Day we traveled west to Charleston to spend the holiday with my brother's inlaws and a really close friend. Here is the happy fam plus Chris plus our special friend at cooking class.
Did you know Santa lives in Charleston? It took about 5 takes to get this shot because the dude taking it had had one too many vodka redbulls.
After that we came back to Houston where my body decided to get sick so I spent a few nights at home watching hoarders (my mom is obsessed and DVRs every one) and do puzzles. We had to teach Chris our technique to getting them done quickly. Luckily by New Year's eve I had recovered enough to go out because what a night it was. After midnight Chris decided to propose! After many beers and glasses of champagne it probably was much less nerve wracking for him. It was perfect to be able to celebrate this special moment with our close friends right after as well. It was also nice to already have champagne at the house to toast with.
Just after the happy moment. Doesnt everyone ask their girlfriend to marry them in a tuxedo tshirt. This was his favorite Christmas present.
And telling the story to our friends who didnt notice what was happening right outside just minutes before.
I hate the word fiance so Chris will continue to be my boyfriend until we get married, but we are both so excited and can't wait for our future together. What a great start to 2011!
Dec 14, 2010
My support team has left!
Since we are heading to Houston for Christmas this year, Chris wanted to go see his family in Canada before the holidays. He asked me to go, but I looked at the weather there and decided that minus anything is too cold for me. Hell, when I wake up here to 40 degrees I cry and whine and dont want to get out of bed. So off he went and he left me to fend for myself. I have been stressed out about this ever since he booked his flight, because in reality Chris is what holds the house together. He does EVERYTHING. I come home from work/trainig and the dinner is made, coffee is ready for the next morning, dogs are fed, etc.
Sensing my fear, he did what any amazing support crew would do, and made sure that I would be well taken care of and not have to do anything. He cooked me enough homemade chili that will last a month (I froze most of it), he disinfected all of the fruits and veggies so i could have salad and smoothies, he cooked me Beth's gluten free muffins so I would have breakfast and made sure I was stocked with enough fresh water to last me the week. He thought I would be fine with that, but he totally overestimated me. I am not in good hands. I dont know how single mothers do it, especially single triathlete mothers. Seriously, hats off to you. I just have dogs and I am hoping they survive until the end of the week. Chris is actually so worried about me forgetting to feed them that he has the driver feeding them every morning. He even tried to feed them last night when he dropped me off, saying Don Chris asked me to feed them, but I finally convinced him that I would not forget to feed them by the time I walked down the stairs. Guess what, I forgot! And I only remembered when I heard Fatty's (what I call my little dog - do you think he will get a complex?) stomach growling. The dogs were so sad when Chris left, but I assumed it was because he was leaving and they would miss him. I now know that it is because they are left with their incapable mother.
I know how hard Chris works to keep me going and make sure I get through this Ironman a sane person and in one piece, and I appreciate him everyday for it. I am also really happy he got to go see his family for the holidays. But I am going to think twice next time I let him leave without me!
Sensing my fear, he did what any amazing support crew would do, and made sure that I would be well taken care of and not have to do anything. He cooked me enough homemade chili that will last a month (I froze most of it), he disinfected all of the fruits and veggies so i could have salad and smoothies, he cooked me Beth's gluten free muffins so I would have breakfast and made sure I was stocked with enough fresh water to last me the week. He thought I would be fine with that, but he totally overestimated me. I am not in good hands. I dont know how single mothers do it, especially single triathlete mothers. Seriously, hats off to you. I just have dogs and I am hoping they survive until the end of the week. Chris is actually so worried about me forgetting to feed them that he has the driver feeding them every morning. He even tried to feed them last night when he dropped me off, saying Don Chris asked me to feed them, but I finally convinced him that I would not forget to feed them by the time I walked down the stairs. Guess what, I forgot! And I only remembered when I heard Fatty's (what I call my little dog - do you think he will get a complex?) stomach growling. The dogs were so sad when Chris left, but I assumed it was because he was leaving and they would miss him. I now know that it is because they are left with their incapable mother.
I know how hard Chris works to keep me going and make sure I get through this Ironman a sane person and in one piece, and I appreciate him everyday for it. I am also really happy he got to go see his family for the holidays. But I am going to think twice next time I let him leave without me!
Dec 12, 2010
LA-Z-GIRL
The lack of blogs does not mean I have slowed down at all in the training. In fact, between work and training and sleep I have no more time. The past few weeks have been a blur and I am finally able to sit on the couch and relax for a bit. I thought I had posted the blog of my Half ironman race report, but I think I dreamt that. So here goes -it was a while ago, so I probably forgot some things and with the way I raced that isnt a bad thing.
My dad, grandmother, Chris and I all headed to Conroe on saturday so that we could spend the night close to the race site. It was freezing. I have only raced one race with a wetsuit and I loved it, but I quickly realized I would need a long sleeve one. The air was 33 degrees in the morning and all i had was a short sleeved wetsuit. Oh well, too late to stress about it.
The best part of the race was that it started about 50 feet from our hotel room so I was able to warm up until right before my wave started
Pre race - dont let the smile deceive you, I was effing cold.
We finally left the room to go outside and get ready to start. I think the look on my face says it all. This is probably the first time I didnt want to actually get in the water.
The swim was one of the worst I have ever experienced. The fog coming off the water made the visibility so bad that I couldnt see more than a foot in front of me. I had to stop and breastroke every couple of minutes just so I would stay on course. Twice during the race I saw people walking. I was so confused because we were in the middle of the lake, but apparently we swam over two sand bars (or mud bars) and people actually got up and walked. I tried to swim as long as I could over both and only stopped when my arms hit the ground. My arms were also freezing since the air was so cold, so I didnt even really warm up. By far worst tri swim ever. I came out in 2nd or 3rd (cant remember), but still was not happy with my performance. Hopefully I have gotten the bad swim out of my system.
The bike - this is where it went from bad to worse. In T1 I put on as many layers as I could which wasnt much, as you can see in the photo. Luckily I was able to score some toe warmers at the expo and found some gloves stashed at my mom's house in Houston. On a side note, this bike was in the same area as the Ironman Texas course and being in Houston I figured it would be flat. Boy was I wrong. Those of you coming down south in May be prepared for some hills.
It took me about 20 miles to warm up and literally everyone around me was saying the same thing. But finally I did and was feeling tons better. Before this race I knew that my biggest issue in the longer races is nutrition. As hard as I try, I cant get anything down. This race was no different. I waited 15 minutes after the swim and then started to try the plan that coach and I had talked about. 230 cal an hour. I know in Ironman I need more, but coming from my last half ironman where I took in 100 cals total on the bike, this was a good first step. Well I tried to take in as much as I could without puking and actually felt full the whole time. I didnt realize it at the time, but I only took in 1.5 bottles of gatorade and 120 calories of shot blocks so about 300 calories overall for the bike. This would prove to be disasterous. I got off the bike and saw my family and waved. I thought I was feeling good but as you can tell by my poor attempt at a shaka, I was not doing as well as I had thought.
The Run -
The goal was to take in 1 shot block every mile and a half starting right out of the transition. I took the first one with a glass of water from T2 and right back up it came. I tried again with the same result. I started to run but realized by the amount of people passing me that it was more of a shuffle. All of a sudden I had a horrible pain in my stomach and could barely stay upright. I continued this way for 5 miles. I tried to take in water, gatorade and anything else at the aid stations with no luck. FInally I saw Chris at mile 5 and stopped to talk to him. It just so happened that right by him was one of the medical team drs. She came over and took my blood pressure a few times and told me that it was too low and the machine wasnt able to read it. We started talking about what had been going on and she finally suggested that I pull out. It was the hardest thing I have had to do in a race to date but knowing that it was not an A race and my season is just starting, I thought continuing would do more harm than good. I spoke to my coach after and she thought that I had made the right decision, and from now until May the focus is on training my body to take in more calories.
Here is where things started to get better - the post race drink always helps!
Over Thanksgiving and for 2.5 weeks over Christmas I will be in Houston training mostly on the bike practicing to get in nutrition. I have realized that on the bike I am really only able to take in liquids, so I am trying to add carbo pro to my gatorade and with that, I am getting in about 250 cals an hour. Over thanksgiving I was able to get in everything but was peeing every hour, which is a huge pain in my ass. I am back home friday and will continue testing this out. But if anyone has any suggestions, I am open to try anything!
Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend in HNL!
My dad, grandmother, Chris and I all headed to Conroe on saturday so that we could spend the night close to the race site. It was freezing. I have only raced one race with a wetsuit and I loved it, but I quickly realized I would need a long sleeve one. The air was 33 degrees in the morning and all i had was a short sleeved wetsuit. Oh well, too late to stress about it.
The best part of the race was that it started about 50 feet from our hotel room so I was able to warm up until right before my wave started
Pre race - dont let the smile deceive you, I was effing cold.
We finally left the room to go outside and get ready to start. I think the look on my face says it all. This is probably the first time I didnt want to actually get in the water.
The swim was one of the worst I have ever experienced. The fog coming off the water made the visibility so bad that I couldnt see more than a foot in front of me. I had to stop and breastroke every couple of minutes just so I would stay on course. Twice during the race I saw people walking. I was so confused because we were in the middle of the lake, but apparently we swam over two sand bars (or mud bars) and people actually got up and walked. I tried to swim as long as I could over both and only stopped when my arms hit the ground. My arms were also freezing since the air was so cold, so I didnt even really warm up. By far worst tri swim ever. I came out in 2nd or 3rd (cant remember), but still was not happy with my performance. Hopefully I have gotten the bad swim out of my system.
The bike - this is where it went from bad to worse. In T1 I put on as many layers as I could which wasnt much, as you can see in the photo. Luckily I was able to score some toe warmers at the expo and found some gloves stashed at my mom's house in Houston. On a side note, this bike was in the same area as the Ironman Texas course and being in Houston I figured it would be flat. Boy was I wrong. Those of you coming down south in May be prepared for some hills.
It took me about 20 miles to warm up and literally everyone around me was saying the same thing. But finally I did and was feeling tons better. Before this race I knew that my biggest issue in the longer races is nutrition. As hard as I try, I cant get anything down. This race was no different. I waited 15 minutes after the swim and then started to try the plan that coach and I had talked about. 230 cal an hour. I know in Ironman I need more, but coming from my last half ironman where I took in 100 cals total on the bike, this was a good first step. Well I tried to take in as much as I could without puking and actually felt full the whole time. I didnt realize it at the time, but I only took in 1.5 bottles of gatorade and 120 calories of shot blocks so about 300 calories overall for the bike. This would prove to be disasterous. I got off the bike and saw my family and waved. I thought I was feeling good but as you can tell by my poor attempt at a shaka, I was not doing as well as I had thought.
The Run -
The goal was to take in 1 shot block every mile and a half starting right out of the transition. I took the first one with a glass of water from T2 and right back up it came. I tried again with the same result. I started to run but realized by the amount of people passing me that it was more of a shuffle. All of a sudden I had a horrible pain in my stomach and could barely stay upright. I continued this way for 5 miles. I tried to take in water, gatorade and anything else at the aid stations with no luck. FInally I saw Chris at mile 5 and stopped to talk to him. It just so happened that right by him was one of the medical team drs. She came over and took my blood pressure a few times and told me that it was too low and the machine wasnt able to read it. We started talking about what had been going on and she finally suggested that I pull out. It was the hardest thing I have had to do in a race to date but knowing that it was not an A race and my season is just starting, I thought continuing would do more harm than good. I spoke to my coach after and she thought that I had made the right decision, and from now until May the focus is on training my body to take in more calories.
Here is where things started to get better - the post race drink always helps!
Over Thanksgiving and for 2.5 weeks over Christmas I will be in Houston training mostly on the bike practicing to get in nutrition. I have realized that on the bike I am really only able to take in liquids, so I am trying to add carbo pro to my gatorade and with that, I am getting in about 250 cals an hour. Over thanksgiving I was able to get in everything but was peeing every hour, which is a huge pain in my ass. I am back home friday and will continue testing this out. But if anyone has any suggestions, I am open to try anything!
Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend in HNL!
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