Sunday, October 12, 2008

Double Brick....D-O-N-E

Recovery: feet up, and Julian apple pie that we bought yesterday in Julian =0, oh yeah and some ice cream....in a bowl propped up with a pillow to make it easier to shove in my mouth =0


First of all a HUGE congrats to the people I was obsessively watching on and off all day online who were doing the Ironman World Championships....Paul---you rocked, Mr. S---a 63-year-old hero (amazing!!! way to go!!) and definitely NOT last and definitely NOT least, my coach's husband, Michael Lovato....he came from behind and like everyone said "ran like he stole something," he kicked some serious ass, dug deep and was only two Americans in the top ten finish! Way to go Michael!!!!

My first paragraph is a lot more entertaining then the rest of my day =0. Weekend recap:
Saturday: 5,000 meter swim. Uneventful, and not as bad or as long as I thought it would be. I absolutely loved being home by 9:30 a.m., showered, dressed and eating lunch at a normal people hour. Dave and I drove out to Julian, a small town about 45 minutes away. It's in the mountains so it gets colder and I was really craving "fall." So, we put on fleece's and it was only abou 50 degrees there, but cold enough for me to get my fix! We capped off the evening at a bbq for my friend Jen and her new husband Tim! Congrats guys!!

Today: Ohhhh, today. A double brick on my schedule. Run/Bike/Run/Bike. I calculated up the time...it would be another seven hour training day. I was thinking that it wouldn't be as bad as a straight seven hour ride and it wasn't. I would much rather hurt physically as I did in my double brick then just ride for seven hours straight...BORING (as much fun as Juls is, I don't like riding for that long!).

I was testing out some new "nutrition," ..ie, Carbo Pro 1200. Picture some pedialyte looking stuff in a bottle all marked on the bottle in 250 calorie increments. I was apprehensive at first to try it, but i'm so sick of counting shot bloks, blah blah. I want to have ONE bottle with nutrition and then water. As I learned my stomach and my acid reflux responds REALLY well to the Carbo Pro 1200. Absolutely NO GI issues and let me tell you, if my stomach didn't bother me today during a seven hour ordeal, I may be good to go! I will say though, as a PSA: do not accidentally leave the top open on water bottle filled with CP1200, it is the stickiest stuff I have EVER felt and doesn't mix well with sweat and dirt =0.

First Run: 90 minutes: 11.17 miles (8:06 mile)--I had to run the first 15 minutes at Level 1 and the remainder at Level 2/3. Legs felt 100% fresh with the exception of my hamstrings, still tight, but I can't wait to talk to Amanda....if i'm super fresh for Ironman, I seriously think I could have a great run. Wah. I want to run well =0.

First Ride: 3.5 hours: 60 miles-I had to insert 2x60 minute hard efforts with 30 minute easy in between. Ooooh, SO excited there was the WORST headwind ever. My bike was swaying a bit during this ride. Not a great feeling. However, Arizona can be windy. Seriously, riding next to the ocean is awesome because you can always guarantee some wind and today didn't disappoint. Back and forth up the silver strand. I would cruise at 23-24 mph on my way out and then boom a nice pathetically slow 14-15 miles on the way back. Hence, low, slow mileage. Whatever, good wind practice right?

The carbo pro was great..I took swigs on :10, :30, and :50 (during each hour) and it worked really well..no acid reflux. My problem last year in Ironman with my "gatorade only/shot bloks" method was I was taking in so much liquid I was constantly having issues with reflux. By limiting my loaded calories, I can stick to taking in plenty of water with the Carbo Pro instead of forcing myself to chug calories. Sorry this sounds confusing! I also have to supplement one salt tablet every hour since Carbo Pro doesn't have enough salt, so I was doing well with practicing all that =0

Second Run: 45minutes: 5 miles. I was supposed to insert 5x3 minutes at Level 3, and I got through three of them and then.....this is where it got interesting. I hopped off my bike, no problem, hit the bathroom and started running. My kneecaps were *not* happy, but I knew the ache would go away they were just sore from the....oh wait, the OTHER hours of training =0. My stomach felt great and all of a sudden out of nowhere I bonked. Big time, like all of a sudden I was running a 9:00 minute mile and I was only 15 minutes into my 45 minute run. Ugh. What went wrong? Immediately I shoved four shot bloks in my mouth and chugged my gatorade. By the time 35 minutes rolled around, I was feeling better, but it took a while to get it going. I think what happened is, I hopped off the bike super charged and I think my body was like "Um, wait, where is the carbo pro, where are our calories?" So, I need to figure that out.

The last thing I want is to begin the Ironman run portion and bonk!! Especially if I have a great swim/bike and my wish for this year is that I run well. My ultimate goal for the run is a sub 4 hour marathon. We'll see.

Second Bike: 23.63 miles (supposed to insert 10x2' at high cadence but I was delirious from my run and forgot to look at my sheet ....so, I just tried to keep up high cadence which is what I remembered) =0. SLOW. SO SLOW. I was SO done......going against the headwind again and just like "ok, done with seven hour days," tired.

I was really happy with today, I learned more about my nutrition and realizing I need to be really really consistent in my transition from bike-run. Even if I do primarily liquid on the bike, before I finish the bike leg, I should take in some shot bloks or additional calories to help me start the run strong and then continue on the run.

Last year in Ironman on the run, after mile 13, I got so sick of my shot bloks (since everything I ate or drank that day was fruit punch flavored..ugh), I stopped eating shot bloks. This year, i'm mixing things up enough so I don't get sick of flavors or what i'm eating and it seems to be working well!!

This was a total "tri geek," post, but.....that's why I blog =0. I am going to eat pizza now and possibly frozen yogurt =0

1 comment:

Mara Rae said...

okay, so i just realized what a horribly crappy friend i am! i haven't looked at your blog since probably the first week you started it. i had no idea it was so detailed, and i am so freaking impressed with your training that i want to shoot myself for whining about running a few miles a day. i don't know how you do it! you are such an inspiration to me - even though i have no desire to be a real athlete like you, i just feel so blessed to have such a smart, sweet, funny, strong, motivated and motivating friend! i miss you :(