5 Months until IRONMAN!

19 days. Yup that is it. That is the number of days I have 'officially' been training for my first Ironman. Of those 19 days, I have had 2 days off (tomorrow will be number 3) and covering over 250 miles between the three disciplines. Only 5 more months to go.
 

training plan

I have liked the training plan I've picked so far. It is from Matt Fitzgerald's book, Essential Week by Week Training Guide. It is pretty intense compared to what I am use to, but the Ironman race is more an intense race than I am use to.  It gives me one day complete rest, swim 3 days, run and bike 4 days. This equates to doing multiple disciplines almost everyday except one.  My goal is to just finish in the time allotted so I feel this plan will get me there. Since I opted not to get a coach, the workouts are detailed enough in that every time I finish one, I always feel like I accomplish something helping me  reach closer to my goal. For example the swim spells out the length of warm-ups, cool-downs, drill sets, fartleks, etc. The bike has the intensity of the ride, length of the ride, and what type of ride: foundation, power intervals, speed intervals etc. The run is similar to the bike with having length of run, type of run, and intensity. I have adjusted quickly to running and biking to time versus distance. It is nice to know exactly how early I need to get up in the morning to get my workout completed.

 Each week I look at my workouts and what is schedule for everyone so I know how I can fit them in. Each day my goals are to finish my workouts, hang out (play, homework etc) with the kids, and get dinner on the table. After that I find myself pretty tired and ready for bed. While the kids are in school, I have been getting my workouts completed early. Typically getting up before 6am to either have my bike or run completed before my husband leaves for work. By then, my oldest is also at school and I get my younger kids ready for the day. Depending on the day, the other two go to preschool and I get my second workout completed. Once summer comes around, I will have to figure out the best way to get my workouts completed without the kids feeling they are spending all day at the YMCA.

first crash bruise

One of the hills that defeated me today.

I have had time to update occasionally on facebook which you probably saw I survived my first group ride and wreck. It was good to get out of my comfortzone on the bike to ride with others I did not know. I rode my longest distance to date - 40miles. It was mostly flat, so I felt pretty good.  I am hoping to connect up with the other riders soon.  Today I did my first solo long bike ride since training started. Two hills beat me up. I only made it about 1/3-1/2 way up - meaning I had to walk the rest of the way up.  I am hoping each time I get a little bit farther. I biked out Mayo Lane looking onward to 42 where the course takes us and I am pretty sure those hills got a lot bigger.  I know hills are my weakness, so this just confirmed it. I will need to practice hills and prepare myself mentally for them as well.  I can't let this get to me. Fortunately these hills were not on the course. I will be visiting them again soon. 

Feeling like a superhero in the wetsuit

My dad supporting me in open water swims

On Mother's Day, I had my first open water swim in my wetsuit. I was so nervous. It was the first time ever swimming in a wetsuit. Fortunately, I was able to try it out with my dad in a kayak (his first time in a kayak, haha) at my friend's parents' house. The water was so quiet and peaceful. The water was warmer than I expected so my feet, hands, and head felt fine swimming. The test swim in the wetstuit went well. I still need to practice sighting as training goes along. I feel like my swimming has come a long way, but still have a ways to go. I look forward to doing some more open swims soon. My dad is training for his first Olympic distance triathlon this summer so I know we have some more training sessions together in the future. We trained together for our first marathons over 15 years ago, so I am excited to go through this training with him as well.

Pedestrian bridge run to Indiana

My running continues to go well. It is the one discipline I am most comfort and look forward to those workouts.I find myself ready for bed shortly after I put my kids to bed, so there is always laundry, grass to be cut among other things to do, but they get done eventually.

Overall, I continue to enjoy the training and thankful for all the support from my husband and friends. I know the next 5 months will continue to test my endurance, strength, and mental toughness.

Until next update....

Race Report: Mission Lite 2015

Looking for a different type of racing? Something that involves canoeing, mountain biking, running, and orienteering? This is what the  Mission Lite is all about - geared toward the beginner. It seemed this year there were about a third of the participants were new to this type of racing.

 

This was my second adventure race - having done this race last year. This year, it was held at Whitewater Memorial State Park in east central Indiana. It is in the middle of nowhere really.
Mission Lite is a 4 hour race. There was also an 18 hour race going that had started 2 hours prior to ours. You can race solo or in 2 or 3-person teams. My husband (Ryan) and I were a team calling ourselves "The D Team". Our last name begins with D and I am also a fan of the old TV show, "The A Team" so it fit us.

gear list

This year we decided last minute (as in 2:30pm on Friday as we were packing up to leave) to camp at the park since it was quite a drive and getting up at 4am to arrive there by 6:30am did not sound like a fun time. I was glad we did. We ended up camping by 2 other teams that were competing in the lite, so we were able to make some new friends who enjoy doing these races.

some of the gear

With adventure racing, there is certain gear you have to carry with you at all times, some just when on a bike, and some when canoeing. Fortunately, my camelpack is smaller than Ryan's, so he carried most of the loot. Everyone had to carry food, water, and a whistle. One person on each team had to carry a pen, knife, compass, first aid kit, map, passport (paper that you stamp at the checkpoints). When riding bikes, everyone had to have a helmet and bike tire. One person on each team had to carry a bike pump and multi-tools. For the canoe, just the life jacket and paddle which were pretty obvious why everyone had to have one. 

 

Map for the race

As for what to wear for adventure races, it is a personal choice. Since you often cut through woods, I wear tights to avoid the stinging nettles and sticker bushes.Typically just a dry wicking shirt and trail shoes round out the rest of the clothes. I also spray myself with bug spray to prevent ticks and mosquitoes. I like wearing gloves when I mountain bike, but again it is just a personal preference.

When we arrived to the race area, we checked in and were given a map. There is only one map per team. We marked our points from the Master map which had about 9 check points on it. The race started at 8am so about 7:50am, Brian (the race director), gave instructions on the race. He handed out a piece a paper with our first couple of checkpoints which was the same for everyone. We had to do these checkpoints in order. The first segment we started on the bike. We were at the back of the pack starting off. The first check point was only a few minutes away and it was clogged up. The next checkpoint was down a horse trail and was still congested with all the competitors. Fortunately on the way back it was uphill and everyone was starting to space out. The next stop was the canoe where there were 2 checkpoints. We had to paddle across the lake, get out, find the checkpoint and get back into the canoe. Fortunately, this year I did not see any canoes tip over. The lake was fairly calm. 

After the canoe we had one more bike checkpoint before heading back to the transition area to drop off the bike and start the run portion. On the run portion we met up with some of our camping neighbors which was fun to see some people we knew out there. We decided to not try to get the very last checkpoint as I had run out of gas because I had poorly fueled and hydrated. I still had over half of my hydration left in my pack which is not a good thing.

 

All cleaned up - post race

 We finished finding 10 of the 11 checkpoints in 3 hours 17 minutes. We ended up 3rd overall and first in 2 person co-ed. The last point was a good run from the last checkpoint and the finish line. You get penalized for arriving after the 4 hour cutoff time so there is a bit of a strategy and need to play to your strengths. Having grown up stomping through woods, it was fun to get to do that again while hunting down the checkpoints. I also liked the strategy aspect of how are you going to get from one checkpoint to another. 

 

The Dino race was well run. Everyone was friendly and encouraging. The race even provided a bbq sandwich, fruit, and veggie tray after the race for lunch. This gave us time to talk with the other racers about the course and hear their strategies.  

 

 If you are interested in orienteering or adventure racing check out OLOU or Flying Squirrel Adventure for more information.

Tennessee Waterfall Springbreak - 2015

April has quickly led us into May without blogging any monthly updates on the ironman training. That will have to wait for another day, even though this week is my first 'official' week of my 24 week training plan for my first ironman..... As will the race recap of the Kentucky Derby half marathon that was last week have to wait.....
This post is about our recent family springbreak trip - exploring waterfalls in Tennessee and doing exactly what Barefit Adventures promotes - "The world as your playground." I am always on the look out for some fun, family friendly places to hike, so thought I would share our trip to inspire more families to get out into the great outdoors.

Over fall break, we visited Cumberland Falls area, so I was excited to have another opportunity to see even more waterfalls in a reasonable driving distance. Hiking is a favorite pasttime for our family of 5. Our kids (2-7 year olds) prefer hiking the rugged trails and get bored with paved paths, so I was looking forward to see what the trails had in store for us.

Burgess Falls

Our first stop was Burgess Falls State Park in Tennessee. This is about 4 hours from Louisville, KY, so an easy drive with kids. The hike was about 1.5 miles roundtrip seeing 4 waterfalls along the way. There is a playground and bathhouse at the trailhead along with some picnic tables. It was misty and windy the day we were there. The hike past the overlook down to the Burgess Falls was rugged, but my 7 and 5 year olds had no issues climbing down or up. At the bottom of the falls we were able to have our snack and climb on some rocks. A nice break from being in the car for 4 hours.

Fall Creek Falls

Suspension bridge

After a few hours playing here, we drove about 50 minutes to Fall Creek  Falls State Park where we would be staying for a few nights. It is home to the tallest free falling waterfall this side of the Mississippi - 256 feet - along with 4 other waterfalls. There were 2 suspension bridges that we crossed that the kids loved. We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights and had plenty of time to enjoy all the waterfalls.  Our cabin along the lake had a paved trail nearby that you could bike/run/hike to the waterfalls. It worked out great. We had picnic lunches by the waterfalls and then had the naptime in the cabin for our 2 year old while the older ones played on the playground or went by the lake.

Our cabin: 2 bedroom, 1 bath

Stairs to Greeter Falls

After our stay here, we ventured on to Georgia to visit Legoland Discovery Center for the boys (couldn't stay out in nature the whole time, I suppose), but along the way we stopped at 2 more waterfalls: Greeter Falls and Foster Falls.

Greeter Falls

Greeter Falls has two falls with one having a spiral staircase (one of the main reasons I wanted to check it out too) leading down to the falls. This hike was a bit rugged with less guard rails so we kept our kids close.  The Broadtree Falls trail was the most rugged that we encountered and harder to follow - mainly climbing on rocks. My husband saw a copperhead snake along this hike that was still sleeping. Fortunately, that was the only wildlife we encountered. I am not a fan of snakes to say the least.

Broadtree Falls

Foster Falls seems to be a swimming hole during the warmer months and a place for some rock climbing. It had a beautiful overlook,  an easy hike to the waterfall,
and a nice way to finish our waterfall adventure vacation.

Foster Falls from the overlook

 Tennessee has lots more waterfalls I hope to explore such as the Virgin Falls. The waterfalls comes out of one cave into another. It is about an 8 mile hike, so looking forward to it when the kids are a bit older and we can practice some backpacking too.

You don't have to travel far for vacations or spend lots of money to make memories with your family. Hiking, climbing rocks, playing in the water is fun for kids of all ages. Where are your favorite places to hike within a half a day's drive?