14 Days! Ironman Louisville 2015

Hard to believe only 14 days! Taper has officially started now that I have my training done this weekend.

 

My bib number - follow me on raceday - ironman.com

The last few weeks have been tough and exhausting. I have completed my first ever over 100 mile rides, an 18 mile run (which I haven't done since my last marathon in 2002!), 14 miles on a treadmill, swam 2 miles multiple times, and completed a 2.4 mile swim in a 25 yard pool (80 some laps). These trainings not only helped physically, but helped strengthen me up mentally. For an ironman, you need to be strong both physically and mentally. During these trainings, I was able to adapt as needed, practice nutrition, work through stomach cramps, and think alot and alot.



My dad and I after finishing the first 50miles

About a week ago was one of the toughest weeks. My husband's grandmother passed away and his dad was back in the hospital getting stints even though he had quadruple bypass surgery back in April. I had my second century ride scheduled the day before the funeral viewing and my 18 mile run the morning of. The century ride ended up being the hardest ride. It didn't help that I had very little sleep since my youngest kiddo had a tough time sleeping. (We just found out this week that she will be having her tonsils and adenoids out to help with her sleep apnea and a few other issues the tonsils are causing her.)  It was part of the Hope Ride in Hope, Indiana. The weather had called for some rain here and there just for a bit. My dad had agreed to ride the first 50 miles with me which would be his longest ride to date. As soon as we checked in, it had started to rain. After about 5 minutes, it stopped so we took off. According to the weather app, it should have cleared up. However it continued to rain off and on the next few hours, plus some thunder and lightening. We did not have any place for cover so we just focused on biking to the next sag in which case all the thunder and lightening had quit. We also had to cross over 4 metal bridges. The third bridge, we saw two bicyclists that had wrecked on the metal bridge, so helped them a little bit. Fortunately one of the bicyclist was carry a first aid kit that had pretty much everything. On this ride, my right knee started to give me some pain. It would come and go, but I still continued on to the second 50 after dropping dad off at the lunch sag. The second 50 was pretty quiet in the country. The crosswind and headwind were terrible, the roads were bumpy all over. Then at the very end, I was exhausted, knee in pain, took a wrong turn and added another 9 miles. I got out my phone and figured it out. To top it off, when I got back to my dad's truck to go home. I could not get it started! And the thought of running after biking this far seemed impossible.

second 50 on the Hope Ride

Not every workout goes as plan, but during all this ordeal, I learned how I adapt to the conditions to get through. This bad experience, has made me stronger, wiser, and more prepared. I do not need to worry about things I cannot control like the weather - just adapt. If my knee hurts, just ease up and focus on other things and not the pain. The next day, I woke up and my knee was stiff and hurt pretty bad. It was tough to move it forward and back. However, the more I walked around the better it felt,- not great, but better. I decided to go ahead and try to run a slow few miles to see how it would go. After the first 2 miles, I was pain free and ended up running the rest of the 18 miles.

I share the struggles to let you know that everyone has ups and downs. Excuses are easy, ignoring them is the hard part.  Training for the Ironman is tough, but you just focus on the task at hand and break it up into smaller pieces. My training plan started me at 1600 yards swimming back in April. I just swam 4300 yards (2.4miles). I have never biked more than 25-30miles, I have biked over 100 - twice!  I have been a runner most of my life, but I haven't run these distances since having 3 kids and never ran more than 5-6 miles on a treadmill - let alone the 14 miles I did a few weeks back because that was the lesser of the two evils (hot, hot weather was the other evil). I did not know much about nutrition, calories, electrolytes, but have learned how many calories I need, how often I need to drink, what foods works for me. It has been a learning experience. I have swam over 57 miles, biked 1992 miles, and ran 333 miles for over 2300 miles covered throughout the 22 weeks. Fortunately, I was able to surround myself with great family and friends that has supported me during this journey. I have found a great mentor who continues to give great tips and advice. A good group from Ironwilled - Women who Tri who are racing Louisville too. So if you have a crazy goal - go for it! There will be ups and downs, but just focus on your goal and work hard towards achieving it.

my last run before taper on my favorite country road to run on

I still have yet to swim in the Ohio with my wetsuit which I hope to do if the algae leaves, plan out race week where we have 2 days to check in, a day to drop off the bike, plan all the nutrition and finalize the clothes for the race. It is going to be an exciting two weeks!

4 Weeks Left!

 

 

 It just seems like yesterday I was blogging about my first month of training for the ironman! I am so glad to be at this end now. It has been a tough, but fun; challenging, but doable experience. It is exciting to start receiving the athlete's guide and your race day number. This will be my first race with my name on my bib. I maybe a little too excited about this.

 

You know you are close to race day when you know your number!

It has been over a month since I have given an update and there are been ups and downs with the training. A week after my 70.3 race, I competed in an Olympic distance in my hometown. I had just started to come down with a cold and sore throat- just like last year. However, I still PR'd and had a fun race cheering on my family and friends that were racing. The week after the Olympic distance I ended up getting a virus with a fever along with the cold/sinus infection. I was down for a few days - just completely wiped out. Fortunately it was a recovery week. Once I started feeling better I gradually started back by to my training. It probably took another full week to feel fully recovered. That was really tough to get back in the groove again after resting so much!

I was finally able to start building my bike endurance back up. I was able to ride with my mentor with whom gave great tips on the bike. The Louisville course is hilly and somewhat technical. It would be easy to break a chain or get a flat on the course and wear yourself out before you get to the run. I have completed my first century ride on the Ironman course which was a huge confidence booster. I have met some super great people on these group rides lately. They are all looking out for each other on the course even though we just met at the start of the ride. We all have similar insecurities about getting through the race, but trusting all our hard work to get us there.

Rice cakes and boiled potatoes

I think I know my nutrition plan - making sure I get all the right calories, carbs, electrolytes, hydration. That is a great feeling since that was one thing I knew I needed to work out and will need to nail during race day in order to enjoy the day and finish. I am using water, SWORD, and Tailwind for my bottles and honey stinger chews and waffles along with boiled potatoes and rice cakes for my nutrition. At least one bottle and one food item is needed per hour on the bike. It will help pass the time, right?  It is an all day event so lunch and dinner are on the bike and run! I may pack a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the bike for the special needs bag.

I still have race day planning to do - race clothes, special needs bags, making sure I have all the nutrition for the day etc. I need more open water swim practice with the wet suit, but I am gaining more confidence as race day approaches. I am hoping all my early morning workouts, double day workouts, and just plain hard work allows me to really enjoy race day and soak it all in this once in a lifetime experience. I still have 2 weeks of hard work and 2 weeks of taper to get through.

Be sure and let me know if you'll be coming out on the course race day so I can look for you! Or if you are racing hopefully we'll pass each other sometime throughout the day!

Again just want to thank everyone that asked about training, ran, biked, or swam with me. Or texts me while I am biking long to make sure I am okay and drinking enough during the hot training days. It is all greatly appreciated and means so much. I hope I can return the favor someday.

My tiny, but mighty daughter and I heading out for a training run.