Sharks, Seaweed and Tom

  A month ago our Comcast guy came over to our house to update our basic cable connection. Long story short he had some issues, didn’t have what he needed and ended up leaving without putting the restrictor back in place. This meant that Jamie and I had full cable and we weren’t even paying for it. I found full cable to be too overwhelming. I would spend an hour trying to find something to watch and then all the shows would be coming to an end and I would have to start searching all over. I quickly figured out that there were about 2 or 3 channels that seemed to air the same type of shows. I tended to watch the History Channel or Discovery Channel. It just happened that the couple of weeks we had free full cable it was shark week. Yup, that’s right shark week. I found myself watching shark week anytime I found a little bit of time to sit down. Sharks are fascinating creatures and I learned some interesting facts about them. Like how they attack, how they have been found in brackish water, how they have been sighted off the coast of Maine. The other show that I found myself watching was River Monsters. My husband enjoys this show and I found it to be very interesting. Oh my goodness!! Have any of you watched River Monsters? You will never look at any body of water the same. You will have mental images that will never leave you.

  So where am I going with this? Well, great question. It just happened that the very week I started to watch shark week my triathlon club invited me to swim with them in the ocean.  I hadn’t ever gone swimming in the ocean other than a dip off the beach or something. I haven’t ever jumped in the ocean to swim a mile.

  Let me share with you what my first swim was like. I showed up at Simpson’s Point at 5:30 a.m. with my wetsuit in hand. My crew was there waiting for me and ready to jump in. My crew seemed very happy and excited to swim in the ocean. I didn’t share the same happiness or excitement. I was freaked out. Everyone jumped in the ocean and started swimming toward a little island. I didn’t have any other choice but to hurry up and jump in. I didn’t want to get left behind and I had just worked my butt off to get my wetsuit on so there was no way I was going to chicken out. I dove in the water and got a mouth full of salt water which gave me a friendly reminder that I was swimming in the ocean where sharks live. I immediately started to freak. It was a battle for me to focus on my swimming stroke and to leave all those mental images of shark attacks out of mind. The water was a nice bluish color but you can’t see more than 2 feet in front of you (or at least that is my guess). I kept thinking that at any moment some big ugly, huge, fanged, beastly fish was going to all of a sudden come into view and swim straight toward my face. I still feel like one of these days I am going to come into contact with this terrifing fish. Eventfully I found a way to block this stupid fish out of my head. I started to get into the groove of swimming in the ocean.

  Things started to go well until all of a sudden my hand hit this massive slimy alive beast. The sliminess hit my hand and then my face, my body, my legs, my feet. All of a sudden I felt like my whole body was getting swallowed by some nightmereish ocean beast. I was ‘seeing’ what my brain was ‘seeing’ not what my eyes where seeing. My eyes saw seaweed but my brain saw a beast. Of course the minute I hit the seaweed a high pitch noise came out of my mouth that could be heard from 100 miles away. Any fish that might have been nearby probably fled for their lives. The seaweed seemed to follow me all the way around the island. I never got use to hitting it. Every time I ran into seaweed I freaked out, yelled and started swimming like a drowning dog. Finally after losing several years of my life I made it to the island and you can be sure I climbed out of that water as fast as I possibly could. We stopped and talked for several minutes, all the while I stayed on dry ground and thought I was safe from all ocean life. One of the guys that I was swimming with joined me on dry ground where we spent several very peaceful minutes talking about swimming. Next thing I knew I felt some sort of creature on my foot. Being a bit paranoid I looked down to find a crab on my foot. Normally I wouldn’t be too freaked out by a crab but I was so uptight and paranoid that the little crab brought the worst out of me. The crab can be thankful that it was already dead because I flung that thing so hard and so fast it wouldn’t have stood a chance (actually I am sure it probably would have been fine but just to spruce up the story I need to be dramatic). After the whole incident happened I learned that Tom, my fellow swimmer purposefully flung the crab onto my foot after Dominque, another fellow swimmer, told him too. I owe these two big time!!!!

  After 10 minutes I calmed down enough to somehow jump back into the ocean of freaky life. Everything started to go pretty well until, or course, I hit another pile of seaweed. At least this time I viewed the seaweed as seaweed instead of some monster. Improvement!!! I figured the worst must be over. I was wrong. When I swim I breath on both sides in order to pace myself. Right, three strokes, left, three strokes, right, three strokes, left. I was getting into the rhythm until all of a sudden I took a breath left and saw a gross dead fish too close for comfort. I missed hitting it by feet. All of a sudden my heart rate skyrocketed as I thought about what it would have been like to have actually hit that dead fish with my hand or face. Makes me want to jump out of my skin. I was totally freaking out again and could only think about getting out of this very alive (or dead) ocean. The only way I was going to get out of this ocean was to keep swimming. After scanning the waters ahead for any other dead beasts I stuck my face back in the water and started swimming again. I took a breath to my right and the next thing I knew there was, in fact, a huge, terrify alive creature moving toward me. It was dark green/brown, slimy and very scary. It was hovering above the water and was moving directly toward me. I couldn’t believe how fast it was moving toward me and I started to figure out it was gaining on me. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what this thing was and if it was life threatening. All of a sudden this big freaky thing, that I couldn’t make out behind my very foggy goggles, started to laugh very loud at me. Once again I fell for another Tom prank. Tom, who is a way faster swimmer than me, swam ahead of me all in order to grab a ton of seaweed put it on top of his head and wait for me to come by. He seemed to have stationed himself right by the dead fish for a little extra scare. I will totally admit Tom got be good. Now I have to figure out how to get him back.

  The good news is after swimming through a lot more seaweed I did make it back to shore without any missing limbs, without being attacked by all the sharks, etc, and without drowning from fear of Tom. It was a swim I will NEVER forget. Not only was it horrifying it was also hilarious. It was freaky but very funny. I pulled out from the swim, took my wetsuit off which was warm from peeeee* and I said to myself “well that wasn’t too bad, I can totally do this again”.  I did do it again but not until about a week later. I am about to hit the ocean again this week and hope that I calm down, start to enjoy the very alive ocean and avoid all those sharks that are hunting me down. I swear one of these times I will see some huge fish swim by. When I do you will probably know it.

  *I haven’t actually peed in my wetsuit but if I was going to my first ocean swim would have been the day.

The LP Course

  I have been meaning to fill you all in on my training in Lake Placid. We arrived Thursday evening and I started my training Friday morning. At 7a.m. I met up with some of my “team” members Jill, Mark and Roy at the Arrow Hotel. Our bikes were loaded with fuel, water and electrolytes and we were ready to roll. Jill, Mark and Roy were so helpful and did an awesome job showing me the whole bike course and sharing strategies with me. Thank you so much Jill, Mark and Roy.

  The bike course is a two loop 56 mile course. It starts in town weaving around a couple small streets and then you follow Rt. 73 for awhile. Once on 73 you hit a little climb out of town and then one heck of a downhill. The downhill is fast and furious. At the end of the downhill you take a left on 9N and roll along on flats and little rollers for awhile. The last 17-20 miles of the course is a climb. It’s not bad but doing the 17-20 mile climb twice before a full marathon could be killer. I have some training to do. J There were so many bikers on the course. Most everyone we talked to was volunteering on race day and getting ready to race the course 2012. Some of the bikers were doing the race the following Sunday and wanted to check out different sections of the course. We met up with one group of women that had parked a car at the top of the downhill and at the bottom. They were from Florida and had done the Florida Ironman and admitted to being only use to flats. They were not use to such a downhill and felt the need to practice it.

  On Monday Matt H. and I did a loop of the run course. The run course is also a two loop course. The run starts by running downhill out of town and then it levels out. You have mostly flats and rollers. The last bit of the two loop course is uphill. It’s a nice course that loops you through town several times. I felt great on the course even though it was raining. Matt and I had a map of the course so we knew where to go but all we really needed to do was follow the litter of empty Gu pouches and PowerBar pouches, pretzels, bananas and you name it. Usually you see one too many cigarettes on the side of the road, well, in Lake Placid it’s all different types of fuels.

  On Tuesday Matt H. and I did the bike course. This is was my second time so I knew what to expect. We had full intentions of doing the whole 112 miles but I had some issues with my bike seat and was only able to do one loop. I will have to blog about my bike seat at some point. Let’s just leave it at bruising, swelling and bleeding.

  The only thing I was unable to do was get in Mirror Lake. I wadded into the water but never got to do the course. I got a swim in but it was in Saranac Lake.

  Doing the course well before race day is the way to go. I know what to expect and I have an idea how to train. Let the training begin!!

Smiles, Alicia

20 Miles and Mac and Cheese

Several blogs ago I mentioned how I have been having terrible GI trouble after my long runs. Well, I have figured out what the problem is and I have solved it. I think.

   This past Sunday I had to do a 20 mile run in preparation for my upcoming marathon. The day before my run I decided to do something a bit different.  Usually I try to eat wholesome, healthy food but I am slowly starting to figure out it isn’t always the right thing to do before long endurance training. J The day before my last 18 mile run I ate lots of whole wheat pasta. As you know whole wheat pasta has LOTS of fiber and therefore caused me horrible stomach cramps, pain, and diarrhea for a continuous 4 hours after my 18 mile run. It felt a bit like giardia (which I have experienced once before). To make matters worse this wasn’t the first time it had happened either. I was experiencing this “running giardia” after all my long distance runs. It didn’t stop me but I always dreaded the several hours after the long runs.

  Before any of my long distance runs I have to gear up mentally several days before. As the long distance run day was approaching me I started to rack my brain as to what to do different. I didn’t come up with the answer until I was talking to my brother’s sweet girlfriend Mariah. Mariah and I were planning our Sabbath dinner menu. She mentioned at one point that she wanted to make macaroni and cheese. Her Mac and cheese is to die for so I didn’t refuse. Sabbath lunch arrived and we were all eating our fantastic meal. Typically I would eat a little Mac and cheese but I wouldn’t take too much due to the cheese content. Well, as I sat there eating my small portion it dawned on me that I needed to eat a big portion of Mac and cheese because quite possibly the cheese would bind me up and not cause “running giardia” the next day. So I ate that Mac and cheese like crazy. Sunday morning came; I geared up, went for my run, felt fantastic, came home, took a shower, ate breakfast and continued my day WITHOUT ANY RUNNING GIARDIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a big breakthrough for me. I have finally figured out how to solve an ongoing problem that I originally thought was going to be much harder to solve.

  Mariah’s Mac and cheese is going to be on the menu the day before any of my long distance training days or races. Mac and cheese baby!!!!! I have never been able to enjoy so much mac and cheese before without feeling guilty!!! Thanks Mariah for making my training so much easier!!!! You have no idea how happy you have made me!!!!

Happy training, Alicia

Swim Security and Registartion

It was pitch dark out as I walked down the street. It was 4:50 a.m. and already athletes were on site getting ready for their big race day. I was supposed to meet up with my volunteer group at 5a.m. at Mirror Lake. We were all swim security which included keeping spectators out of the swim chute. We all had our swim security Ironman shirts on ready to roll. At first my job was simple and easy but then it got chaotic. Athletes were streaming through trying to reach the bike and run special needs area or the beach. Next thing I knew family members were trying to enter the chute for various reasons. I was given very strict orders to keep everyone out except athletes. Eventually I had to ask for back-up. It was crazy. Before I knew it things started to quite down and athletes started to crowd the beach area. At 6:50 a.m. the first gun went off and the pro athletes started their Lake Placid 2011 Ironman adventure. Ten minutes later the second gun went off. What a sight. Thousands of athletes were kicking, crawling, and thrusting through the water. It was scary, unnerving and thrilling to watch. Hands-down the swim is what makes me the most nervous about next year. It looks brutal to say the least.

  Thankfully Ironman takes many precautions to make sure the athletes are safe during the swim. First of all below the water is a cord the whole length of the swim. If you are lucky enough to swim close to the cord you can follow it the entire swim. There are also big buoys to watch for. The whole swim course is surrounded by kayaks, canoes and boats watching for any struggling swimmers. Also Ironman has divers watching the swimmers from below. The divers look for struggling swimmers and also for cheaters. There are lifeguards on duty and paramedics ready to move quickly in case of an emergency. Thankfully all the swimmers exited the swim, although some had bruises and bloody faces from being kicked.

Once the swimmers started exiting the water I was moved to the end of the chute where the athletes were entering the transition area. There were several steps they had to take so I had to yell at the athletes to ‘step up’ over and over and over. It was actually a lot of fun. Before my shift was over I was moved to the bike mount area where I had to keep spectators out of the way. The bike mount area got so congested. I was glad I could see it.

  My 5-10a.m. volunteering shift was over before I knew it. As soon as I good I found my family and spent the rest of the day watching the bike and run course. We stayed until after 4pm. By 4 I was totally exhausted and ready for sleep. Jamie, Tuck and I headed back to our campsite to get ready for supper and bed. I had to go to bed at a decent time since I had to get up early to stand in the registration line.

  My friend, Matt and I stood in line from 6:15ish until 10ish to register for 2012 Ironman. The line was so, so long. I was surprised. Many people camped out the night before in order to be near the front of the line. Registration was supposed to open around 9am but thankfully they opened around 7:15ish. It still took us awhile to enter the gym where the registration was taking place. Once we entered the gym I started to get very excited. Next thing I knew I was registering!!! There was a girl about my age, from Maine, registering beside me. We both congratulated one another and wished each other a great year of training. Before I left the gym I took a picture with my friend Matt. We held up our Ironman paperwork and smiled for the camera. Wow, it has begun. And, just like that I am on my way to doing my first Ironman. I am just praying that I can race July 22, 2012 and finish the Ironman feeling strong. So many things can happen in a year.

Smile, Alicia

Volunteer/Training Camp Lake Placid

So we (Jamie, Tuck, my parent's and I) are leaving for Lake Placid. I am not racing, just volunteering this year. I am volunteering in order to register for 2012 and in order to educate myself about race day as much as possible.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. Why am I nervous??? Because I am getting ready to commit to an Ironman that will take place in one year.This coming Monday morning I will be handing over my cash to race Lake Placid July 22, 2012!!!!! Yikes.The count down is about to begin. My race season is about to start. My Ironman is 12 months away. I have so much to do between now and then. I am feeling good about the base I have built thus far and feel it will definitely help me out this coming year but I have so, so far to go.

  The plan for the week-end is to ride the 112 mile bike course this Friday, starting at 7a.m. Then Saturday I might go for a run in the morning followed by my volunteer meeting at 9a.m. (Usually I do not train or go to triathlon related meetings on Sabbath. I might run this time since I will be going with people that know the course and can show me around. Also I  hope to focus more on just relaxing not racing. The volunteer meeting is mandatory and I must be there in order to volunteer Sunday. Saturday I receive my volunteer shirt and bracelet. As soon as my meeting is over I hope to spend the rest of the day with my family enjoying the Sabbath.) Sunday I will be volunteering as swim security from 5a.m. to 10a.m. Then the rest of Sunday I will be cheering on my teammates and I will be soaking up anything and everything related to the race. I hope to check out the transition areas, view part of the bike course and run course and watch as racer's finish. Monday morning I hope to line up early to register for 2012!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe I am about to do this. I can't wait for the new challenge.

   I hope to take lots of pictures of IMLP and to document everything I learned. I will blog about it when I return.

It's about to begin!!!

 

 

Smiles, Alicia

Presidential Traverse

After 5 hours of sleep Jamie's alarm went off and woke us both up. Needless to say we both wanted to throw the alarm clock out the window and keep sleeping, but we couldn't. It was July 16, a day we had been counting down to for many months. Not only was July 16 going to be a mini vacation for Jamie and I it was also going to be the weekend of the Presidential Traverse. My parents generously offered to watch Tuck for the weekend so Jamie and I could stay in a cheap hotel close to the trail head the night before. It worked out great since we were suppose to start our hike between 4:30-5:00a.m.

  Friday afternoon we dropped Tuck off at Grandma and Grandpa's and then we headed to Gorham N.H. Once we arrived in N.H. we unloaded our van at the hotel and then drove the van to the AMC Highland Center where we left it. Jamie's brother drove Jamie back to the hotel. The van would commute us all back to the start after we finished the traverse. Finally it was time to get some sleep. Before we knew it the alarm went off and we were up and going. I made Jamie and I each 3 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to go along with all our other snacks. We then finished packing our backpack's, loaded up in Greg's car and drove to the Appalachia Trail Head. We met up with 2 other friends, Mike H. and Daniel B., at the Appalachia Trail Head.

  We started our hike at 5:06 a.m. Mt. Madison was the first peak we had to conquer. It was a beautiful hike to the top. We then hiked to the Madison Hut where we had breakfast. The Madison hut was remodeled this past winter and is just beautiful. They did a great job. After a quick breakfast we continued on our way to Mt. Adams and then to Mt. Jefferson and then to Mt. Clay and to Mount Washington. We hit every peak, never taking the trails that dodge the peaks. Once on Mount Washington we ate lunch, filled our camleback's, used the bathrooms and then we were on our way to Lake's of the Cloud Hut. By the time we got to Lake's of the Clouds our feet were starting to feel the stress of the day. Daniel and I took our boots off and soaked our feet while we waited for the other's to stroll by. It felt so so good!!! Before we knew it we were off to Mt. Monroe, Mount Eisenhower and then to Mt. Pierce. We ended our hike at the AMC Highland Center.

  By the end of the day we traversed over 8 peaks, hiked 20 miles, and our cumulative elevation gain was 8,500 feet. The weather was perfect, the views were amazing and the temperature was just right. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

  Some of you may wonder how we felt after the hike. Jamie was exhausted, scraped his arm pretty good, and was badly sunburned but he was strong all day and finished without a problem. He did an excellent job. The next morning he found himself a bit sore and stiff but was proud of his accomplishment.

Greg was tired as well, burned his neck and says he might lose a toe nail. Greg also did an excellent job all day and covered the distance without a problem. I heard he was a bit sore the next day.

Daniel moved quick the whole day which might have caused his left knee injury.  But I am happy to report that as of today (three days after the hike) his knee is already feeling better. Daniel was born to hike. He is a crazy hiking machine.

Mike (or Sneaker's the thru-hiker-man) made the hike look like nothing. He wore his sneakers, a small pack and I didn't even see him eat much food. He had lots of energy all day and probably could have run the whole distance. I did hear him say that his knees were bothering him at the end of the hike.

 As for myself, well I felt great the whole day except for the rather painful blisters that I developed on both of my heels. My energy felt great and my legs felt pretty strong. I was exhausted though and really found out how exhausted I was the next day.  Let's just say I might have taken a nap the following day. :-)  I also burned my neck and the back of my legs. I woke up the next morning feeling stiff and ready for more sleep. I was able to get back into my training without too much trouble. 

  We can't wait to do the hike again some day. Who wants to join us????

 

Smiles, Alicia

 

 

  Two years ago Jamie and I attempted to do the Presidential traverse but were discouraged from even starting the hike since the clouds above were throwing inch thick chunks of hail down at us. The weather can change so fast on the Presidentials. It's a great idea to have a couple back-up plans just in case.

Long Bike Rides and Long Runs

  The long bike rides, though far fewer than what I need to be doing this time next year, are going well. In fact I find myself enjoying riding in the saddle for hours on end. It's fun to really cover mileage with your own man(woman)-power. Biking is definitely my favorite of the three tri sports.

 

  So what is a long bike ride? Is it all about mileage, time or both? I use to only watch mileage and keep track of my training using only mileage but now I mostly use time. It's a whole new method for me. The Ironman is one long day in the saddle so the more I train, the more I sit in my saddle, the better off I will be. A long bike ride ranges from 4-7 hours in the saddle.

 

  You may be wondering why I am worrying about long saddle rides a year from Lake Placid. Great question. In less than two weeks my family and I will be going to Lake Placid for the 2011 Ironman. I will be volunteering Sunday during the event in order to register for Lake Placid 2012. Since I will be in Lake Placid and possibly not return again until 2012 race day I have decided to bike the entire 112 mile course. I have not yet ridden 112 miles on my bike and am a bit anxious about it. I hear the course has some good hills and downhills (stating the obvious). I want to ride the entire course and begin to memorize the miles that are ahead of me.

Once I know what kind of a course it is then I will know how to train.

 

  Have I mentioned yet that I absolutely LOVE my Specialized bike?! It's an amazing machine. I have put hundreds of miles on it, each mile better than the one previous. The bike is ready for it's first tune-up but I am having a hard time parting ways with it even for a couple days. I need to do it before we leave for Placid though.

 

 

  Running has been going pretty good. It's definitely not exactly my "cup of tea" but once I am out there doing it I enjoy it. I am starting to figure out that half marathon distance is my favorite (I think). This marathon distance increases risk of injury and exhaustion a bit more. My 6-10 mile runs are quick and short. I do not carry a fuel belt and usually finish the run feeling energized and good. My 11-18 mile runs are a very different story. I definitely use my fuel belt when running anything over 10 miles. My fuel belt carry's 4 small water bottles, fuel and my phone. I love having the belt and wouldn't be able to cover the distance without it unless I planted water bottles and electrolyte drink and fuel along the way (what a pain that would be). My long runs can be daunting when I first start but I remind myself to just put one foot in front of the other. Also, what works for me is to just think about the first half of the run. So if I'm running 18 miles I focus on the first 9 miles only, which isn't a big deal. Once I get the 9 miles covered then all I have to think about is getting home. It works great for me. I usually feel pretty good during my runs and haven't had any problems. The trouble comes after my run is finished though. I have been having terrible GI trouble. After my run I will start to get terrible stomach cramps to the point I feel like I'm going to throw up. Also, I find myself running to the bathroom many times. It feels alot like the stomach flu except with a bit more pain. This lasts for about 4 hours then I feel fine and start thinking about my next long run. :-) You might be wondering what my problem is. I believe it is fuel related. Either the Perform electrolyte drink isn't settling well or my Shot Blocks. Not sure which one yet but I am in the process of figuring it out. I just recently bought different chews to try.  

 

   I have been increasing my run mileage in preparation for Lake Placid as well. My goal is to bike the 112 mile bike course on Monday and to run over half of the marathon on Tuesday. That should give me a good feel for what I have coming in a year. Once I finish my Lake Placid training I will decrease my running mileage for a bit and then start to build again just in time for my marathon in October. 

 

 

  Until next time happy training.

 

Smiles, Alicia