March Training is Over...Just About

   It was early in the morning, probably around 4:45a.m. I had 5 hours of spinning ahead of me, indoors, alone!!!  I hadn’t had my worship yet so I spent the first hour listening to a sermon. The sermon was great and spoke to my heart but once the sermon was over reality hit and I realized I still had 4 hours of spinning left. Immediately thoughts of doubt started to creep into my mind.  I started asking myself if I really needed to do such a long spin, the answer was an emphatic YES. Next I started to think of all the other things I could be doing and should be doing, but then I reminded myself that I had signed up for the Ironman and I better be getting my hours in on the bike. My next struggle was sleepiness!!! I nearly fell asleep, while pedaling, three different times. It wasn’t a good feeling. It was kind of like the feeling you get when driving a car tired. You know you can’t sleep but you would do anything to be in bed. After two hours of spinning I beat the fatigue and was able to keep pushing through. Now I only had 3 hours left. I had done 3 hours many times so I knew I was capable. I had to get my mind in the right place, focused and determined!! Focusing on each set and repetition helped the time go by pretty fast actually. Next thing I knew I only had 2 hours left. Jamie and Tucker came to the spin club to visit me which gave me a boost. It was really helpful to see their wonderful faces and to feel their support. The last hour and a half I spent thinking about race day. I imaged myself experiencing the whole event. I thought about the spectators, the brutal swim, the rolling bike hill course and how I would feel when I first started the marathon run. All of these thoughts got me pumped. I was able to finish my 5 hour spin and do a 30 minute t-run in the pouring rain. I felt great during the run which was an added bonus. The 5 hour spin marked the end of my March training.

  March has been a good training month but has definitely had its challenges. I have done a lot of long spins topping out at 5 hours. I have done two 15 mile high elevation gain runs and some other long runs. I am now swimming 3,500 yards twice a week and doing t-runs 2-3 times per week. On a typical training week I am running every day of the week which is good since my run needs some strengthening. I have been doing long runs, negative split runs, hill runs, etc. Bikes have included long distance, turbo, high cadence, gear grinding hills, etc. My swims all include technique, distance and some speed work. My family and I have gotten sick twice during March which is not good. Lack of sleep is doing it to me, I swear. I have to get up early to get my training in every day of the week except Saturday. Often I can’t get to bed when I want to because of work, grading, cleaning, house work, laundry, sick baby, etc. I feel exhausted more than I should.  My goal has been to do most of my training early morning so that I don’t interrupt my family’s schedule. I have been doing pretty well at it until lately. Now the runs and bikes are getting so long it totally interrupts the family. Either I am gone or I am home but tired. Only because of my fight for sleep do I look forward to the Ironman finish line other than that I don’t want to see it come to an end.

  There is so much preparation that goes into such a long distance race; so much time, energy, and mental prep. I can feel race day approaching so quickly. Before I know it the day will be over; a whole year’s work over in one day. It makes me a bit nervous. I feel like July 22 is going to be such a “high” and when it’s all over I’m not going to know what to do with myself. Several of my training buddies told me to have something to work towards after the Ironman. For the past couple of months I have been thinking about what I would like to do next, something that is challenging and yet won’t take so much time away from the family. So…my next goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. For the first time in 20 years they have shortened qualifying times by 5 minutes in each age category making it a bit harder. I would need to run a marathon in 3:34:59 and not even one second slower.  Running is not my strength so this would be a great accomplishment for me. I am excited to try and keep trying until I run Boston!!!! I was 8 minutes too slow during the Maine marathon this past October so I need to cut at least 8 minutes off my total time.

  The other thing that I am looking forward to after Ironman is baby number 2!! We will be ready to extend our family and add another little munchkin into the family. Once kiddo number 2 comes along my family has asked me not to train for Ironman for awhile since it takes a lot of time away from the family. I will listen to their wishes BUT someday I want to do another ironman and someday, even if it’s when I’m 70, I would love to qualify for Kona!!

  Even after kiddo number two I hope to continue to do half-ironman distances every summer and a several marathons each year. This will help keep me in some kind of shape and will feed my need for exercise.

  April training here I come!!! April, May, June and July!!! Little less than 4 months left and each one needs to count BIG time!!! I will keep you posted.

Happy training, Alicia

Personality: Jamie vs. Alicia

So I was looking up this athlete personality site trying to determine the difference between Jamie and I. We are complete opposites which works out perfect for us. As an athlete I am an introvert. I like training with other people and am getting to the point where I won't train any other way BUT I am still a lone athlete. If I have to swim, bike or run alone I don't have a problem with it.  I am swimming in my own lane or at my pace and relying on no one else to propel me forward, while biking or running I am pacing according to my own abilities, no one else is doing it for me. I am part of a club and I consider them my team. We do most all of our training together and we are a great support to each other but we carry our own weight. On race day it is survival of the fittest, you are own your own!!! I enjoy long bike rides just thinking and working hard. I don't need to be talking to others the whole time and often find that I work harder when I'm not talking. I prefer not to have a team rely on me. I have a great fear of letting other's down. As a triathlete you don't let anyone down but yourself.  Jamie on the other hand is an extrovert. He likes to surround himself with people while working out. He needs people to motivate him. It can be hard for him to get out the door unless someone can accompany him. Team work is important to Jamie and he is a good team player. He plays hard and plays well with other's. He likes having other's around so he can help and be helped. Jamie doesn't have a fear of letting other's down; he has confidence in his team abilities. Jamie likes to talk to people while workout and often prefers it. Jamie would rather compete with a group, as a team, then alone. It is far more rewarding to him. I definitely see the details of exercise and tend to spend alot of time organizing the details. Jamie see's the big picture and doesn't harp on the details. He is out to have fun and do his best but isn't worried about every second of his performance or training. Jamie is a thinker and bases his decisions on facts and logic. He researches things to get the big picture and then does what makes the most sense. I am a feeler. I base my athletic decisions alot on people and emotions. If someone is ahead of me I must try to catch up no matter what. If I'm feeling good I'm going to go for it. I also don't want to disappoint anyone and will often push just to meet expectations. I will often train harder when I'm in a certain mood too. I hate to admit that because women are known for being emotional and part of me hates that. Jamie perceives. He structures his workouts so they are adaptable and fun-oriented. Jamie loves to exercise but prefers to have fun while doing it. He loves volleyball, racket-ball, mountain biking, etc, all of which are fun and not just grueling. I am very much so a judger. My workouts are controlled and work-oriented. I am out there to work hard no matter if it's fun or not. My workouts are planned and structured. If I have to run 18 miles it doesn't matter if it's raining, snowing or freezing cold, I have to do it. It probably won't necessarily be the best time I have ever had but it's rewarding to me. Honestly, I love my work-oriented workouts. They can be intense, long, tedious and sometimes boring but I love to push my body to it's limits. It's hard for people to understand this mind-set but there are more people out there that are like me then you might think. Some are actually 10X more intense then I am. We are all different and enjoy life differently. We see things differently. We experience things differently. I am so thankful for Jamie and his differences. I wouldn't want to live with another "me". Jamie is the best thing for me. We help balance each other. 

Run...Anything is Possible

Several years ago if you told me I was going to run from Rangeley to Oqussoc or that I was going to run from the camp to Saddleback Mountain and back I would have laughed. Both routes are about 15 + miles and have some good climbs. Now, 15 miles on a bike doesn’t sound bad at all; sounds doable, easy in fact, but running 15 miles? Wow!! I would have never dreamed of running either route even 2 years ago. The routes aren’t a huge deal but running 15 + miles was out of the question a couple years ago. Something I never thought I would be able to bike is now something I can run. It just goes to show that anything is possible. We are capable of more than we imagine! God created our bodies to do amazing things. Sometimes when I am running I just look down at my big old feet and my little legs plodding along and am so thankful for the opportunity to run!!! There are a lot of people out there who would do anything to have legs to run; God has blessed me with my short stocky legs and I hope to take advantage of them.

   Long distance running never use to appeal to me but now I love it. Part of me didn’t think I was capable of doing long distance runs. I also thought it sounded like physical and mental torture. With training it’s not that bad. Having said that I must admit, I still cannot fathom running anything longer than a marathon. Maybe 30 miles but that’s it!!  These ultra-marathoner’s blow my mind!! I have no idea how they run so far. To them 15 miles is merely a warm-up. That’s sick (and I say that with respect).

Jan- Feb Training

My intentions are to document each month of training and hopefully add some extra blogs in between my monthly summaries. January was not an actual training month so I do not have a separate blog entry for January. I will just include it in February’s blog. January was an intro training month. I biked and ran and went swimming but I didn't focus on time, distance, or anything. I was doing it to get daily exercise not really to train. I tweaked my training schedule in January to fit around my family and work. After switching several things, adding things, deleting things I pretty much got my training schedule figured out and ready to go for February. February was when the real training started!!! And boy did it ever start. Wow, the first week was a push for me but I have since gotten use to it and love the challenge. I developed my schedule by using the book Start to Finish Ironman. The book has been a big help but several of my Ironman training buddies have also shared their past training plans with me which I have used as well. Every plan has helped me develop my own personal plan. Now it’s going to be interesting to see if my plan works or not. I have posted some blogs in the past of my training plans but I will share with you my up-to-date plan. It’s all I can do with the time I have.  It looks something like the following:

Sunday: Long run (which will switch to Monday once the sun shines a little earlier)

Monday: Long bike (which will switch to Sunday once the sun shines a little earlier)

Tuesday: Run, swim, core training

Wednesday: bike followed by a t-run, and a long swim

Thursday: Run hills or threshold run, core training

Friday: Bike followed by a t-run

Saturday: OFF

In a month or two the above plan will change yet again due to longer distances, longer t-runs, earlier sun rise, later sunset, warmer weather, etc.

 February training went really well. I am starting off doing 2 weeks on and 1 week off. Soon it will change to 3 weeks on and 1 week off. I also take 1 day off per week. I am documenting each day of training on TrainingPeaks.com. The site has been very helpful. There is a free package and then upgrades for a fee. I am only using the free package right now.

February Gear Update: I finally bought a GPS unit and LOVE it!!! I need to return it because we don’t have the money for it but it is SO nice!!! Just with a quick glance I can tell how far I have gone, how fast, what my current pace is, what my heart rate is, max heart rate, average heart rate, calories burned, lap times, and so much more.

February Swim Update: Swimming is always going to be my weakness. I have been working on technique and distance this month. I don’t like technique days because they are so slow and I don’t feel like I’m accomplishing much. Goodness, I am in need of better technique though. It would be helpful to find someone to video my swim so I can actually see what I look like. It would be an eye opener for sure. Distance days are more fun. Currently I have built up to 3, 500 yards in the pool.  

February Bike Update: Since taking a break from training I have once again built back up to a 3 hour ride on the bike. It feels good but is boring on the spinner. I am using my old bike on the spinner so I really miss my tri bike!!! I am trying a new saddle right now. I like it but am not completely sold on it yet.

February Run Update: I started out doing my long distance runs on Monday evening. What a mistake!!! I hate running at night. I am such a morning person. I quickly re-schedule my long runs for Sunday mornings; so much better!!! Slowly I have built back up to 16 miles on my distance days. Tuesday and Thursday mornings I am running 7-8 miles. My focus on Tuesday and Thursday changes but includes threshold runs, hill runs, easy runs, etc. My t-runs feel great!!! I love t-runs for some reason. My longest t-run so far is 3 miles. Soon I will be focusing more on time then distance.

February Fuel Update: Well, I have failed in this section. I haven’t thought about fueling yet. I am watching what I eat the day before a long run and I only eat dessert on the week-end but that’s about it. I haven’t been using anything other than water during any of my workouts. I will have to start practicing my fueling soon.

February Rest Update: Somehow I am surviving. Except during recovery days I am awake before 4a.m. or at 4a.m. every morning. I have been trying to go to bed by 8 or 9pm. One good sign is I usually get up in the morning before my alarm goes off. If I wake up before my alarm usually I am getting enough rest. Once a week and if I’m lucky twice a week I take a nap while Tucker naps. These naps give me a much needed boost.

February Worship Update: Thanks to the good Lord’s help I have been doing better than ever on my personal worships. Usually I have my worship first thing in the morning; sometimes mid-day. Worships are a must for me. God gives me my daily bread, talks to me, answers prayers, loves me and gives me strength to be a mommy, wife, worker and athlete. We are so blessed!!! I am so thankful. None of the above would be possible without God helping me. He alone deserves all the credit for any of my accomplishments.

February has been a good training month. Currently I am in recovery. My next training block starts February 27. Yahooo!!!!

Ironman Year

This is the year that I am supposed to do an Ironman. Yahoo!!! I say ‘supposed to’ because so many things could happen between now and July 22 but I have full intentions of racing!! My training schedule is made up, I have training buddies lined up and it all begins tomorrow!!! Today, the first day of the year, is my last day of recovery!!! Currently I am fighting a cold so feel as though this coming week will be a little slower than anticipated but that’s okay.

  When I think about the Ironman I get excited and super nervous. During the coming year of training I want to work on calming my nerves.  I also have to work on making running my comfort zone. Currently, biking is my strong point. My goal is to become so comfortable with running that when I start that portion during the race I feel ‘at home’. I am including running in my schedule more than ever before. Hopefully, running will become second nature!!

  Ironman is going to take so much of my time but it will only be 7 months until it’s all over with. I hope to make the most of the next 7 months. It’s my understanding that I will have ups and downs but I hope to stay positive and do my best.   I am going to have to go to bed early, get up early, eat according to my training, take some naps, and put in hours and hours of training. This is what it all comes down too…the effort I put into training.  A real motivator is the cost of the race. Jamie and I really don’t have the money for me to be doing this but I have gotten extra jobs and am paying it all off.  Another motivator is that this is my last chance for awhile. We cannot afford doing an ironman yearly AND when I finish the ironman this year we are planning on baby number 2!! Kiddo number 2 is going to change a lot of things including our financial situation. It will be unfair to my family of 2 children to train so much so I will stick with half ironman distance for awhile. So this is my time and my chance to accomplish something I have dreamed about for years!!!

  Because of the magnitude of the race so much of my thoughts and energy is devoted to training. My goal is train hard when it’s time but to keep my eyes on God and to keep my relationship with Jesus first and for most. My pastor once said that one way to find idols in your life is to pay attention to what you dwell upon most, what you constantly think about, what your financial focus is, etc. To be completely honest with you I find myself thinking about ironman too much. Ironman is not our financial focus but it certainly does take a chunk of change to do it. So, even though Ironman is going to take more time then I like out of each day I want my primary focus (and my families focus) to be on Jesus!! We need hope in this world. I cannot imagine not having hope in a better future. There is so much loss, so much suffering, so much pain in this world. Early today I was watching a segment on morning news about this past year. It’s so sad; so much death, so much sorrow, so much grief. My ironman training matters little compared to what is really going on in this world. Being able to train and do the Ironman is a privilege. I thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity but may my focus be on what really matters: God.

  Happy New Year to you all!!! Best wishes toward your goals and aspirations for this coming year. Let’s make 2012 count in more ways than one!!!!

It Has Begun!!!!

 This past Sunday I went for my first run since the marathon. Some how I decided 5 miles was a great starter. It felt good but goodness I felt wicked out of shape. Usually when I run past someone I can easily say hi or good morning but this past Sunday it was a little different story. I saw a lady coming and as I approached I prepared to greet her. Finally I approached the lady and began to speak. But it wasn't so easy. I gasped for air first and then I said "Good (followed by a gasp) Morning (followed by a gasp). I couldn't believe the "ease" of speaking while running was gone. Long story short I have my work cut out for me. Feeling a bit out of shape makes me all the more determined though. Tomorrow morning I will be doing my first spin. I am excited about starting in but not excited about putting on my biking gear. It's going to be nice and tight. Haha!!! Oh well, just a friendly remind to pedal hard. 

  It's been 5 weeks since I have gone swimming, biking or running. The break has been wonderful in so many ways which I will write about in a future blog. My recovery is over but I won't start fully training until January. The month of December will  be just an intro back into swimming, biking and running. I hope to do one or two of each per week but that's it. My goal is to work only on cardio not speed or intensity. When January comes the training will be like none other I have ever experienced. So, it has begun. Let the training lead to a great first Ironman. Goodness I can feel my nerves a little bit right now!!! Can't believe that my next training season is for an Ironman. It has always been a dream of mine but something I didn't think we would ever be able to do. I say "we" because it's not a one-man sport like so many think. Jamie, Tucker, my dad and mom, and the whole family are all part of the team. We all are working together to make this happen. Can't believe the support I have felt for doing something so crazy. To God be the glory though. He is the only reason we are capable of doing anything. 

Let the training begin, Alicia  

Rest, Periodization and Future Training Plans

So, how is the rest period going? Great question and I will share. This is the first time I have actually totally set aside my swimsuit, bike and running shoes and haven't touched any of them for 2 weeks now. Mentally I was very ready for a break. And to this day I'm not exactly ready to jump on my bike for a long ride. I have been enjoying just looking at my bike and that's about it. The Specialized is sitting in my temporary kitchen (we are re-modeling our kitchen) so I can glance at it several times a day. Just looking at the Specialized gets me excited about the upcoming race season.

  My goal right now is to continue resting for about 3 more weeks. I am exercising, just not training. What does exercise consist of? Well, right now it consists of lots of walking, P90X, push-ups, lots of sit-ups, and hiking. That's it!!! On a day-to-day basis I am mostly doing a P90X DVD in the morning and an hour+ walk later in the day. It feels good to be active and yet not training.

  I haven't ever taken such a break but feel as though it is going to be very beneficial going into my first ever ironman training. What I am practicing is periodization. I am sure many of you have heard of it but for those who are not familiar let me explain what it is. Periodization is a year-long training plan that includes rest, recovery, foundation building, pre-race training leading to peak performance during race season. Basically, the idea behind periodization is to keep the athlete injury free, fit and in top condition during race season. Rest and recovery are necessary in order to reduce the risks of injuries, burn out, and overtraining. The plan breaks the year up into cycles. There are three cycles: macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles. A macrocycle consist of the entire year of training; mesocycle consists of each month of training; microcycle consists of weekly training and/or daily training. During my off season I have been spending part of it designing and organizing my upcoming macrocycle, mesocycles and microcycles. I have my training mapped out from January to July. Each month is planned, each week, each day. Each month will vary in intensity and volume. I will be training fairly hard for 3 weeks and then take every forth week to recover a bit. During each week I plan on training everyday but one. I will be taking every Saturday completely off for several reasons. First of all because it’s the day I go to church and I firmly believe in keeping the Sabbath day holy as the Bible says. I, personally, cannot train on the Sabbath without getting too much into the sport leading my mind to dwell on other things rather than on God. I find that God blesses me beyond my wildest dreams when I listen, obey and follow Him. Second of all I love spending the day with family and friends. Also it gives my body a physical and mental break. Taking Saturday off prepares my body and mind to tackle another week of training.

 My weekly training will look something like the following starting in January: long bike ride every Sunday. I will be starting the season out doing only 2 hour rides and then build from there. Monday’s I will be doing a long run and an easy spin. Tuesdays I will be swimming in the morning and doing a run late morning. Wednesday I will be biking followed by a short t-run in the morning and doing hill runs in the evening. Thursday I will be swimming in the morning. Friday I will be biking and doing a t-run in the morning. Saturday I will have off and then Sunday I will start all over again. I will also be throwing some strength training into the above schedule here and there, especially core training. This schedule will continue to change during the year but it gives you the basic idea for now. I hope to be able to keep the above schedule up but it’s going to be tough to do while raising a 1 and a half year old, working 4 part-time jobs and taking care of the home, laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, and so much more. I will be blogging about it so you all can read whether it works out or not. My fingers are crossed and I am already feeling slightly exhausted thinking about it. 

  Once my above training schedule starts I will be going to bed when Tuck does and raising several hours before my boys do in order to train mostly before Tuck wakes up and before Jamie goes to work. There will be hardly any leisure time, every minute will matter. First of all I want to start each day with God in prayer and worship, once my early morning training is done then my goal is to focus on Tuck during the day and Jamie during the evening when he gets back from work. So, as you can see I will be squeezing in lots of training around my most important relationships then every other moment will be filled with other daily responsibilities. It’s going to be a roller coaster ride from January until July 22, 2012. I am ready for the challenge; feeling like exhaustion is going to be beating down my back door, but this is my one chance so I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. Here’s to hoping that periodization works!!!!!!!!

Smiles, Alicia