Training Theory Debunked!

Whew! I know it has been a long time since I have posted.  But I guess that is how things go when you are working 40 hours and training and still trying to keep a decent social life.  In all seriousness...  I was a little worried about the Honolulu Marathon that was coming up too!  I mean, I have been running, but the longest run that I had done was a nice 10 mile run on Thanksgiving day.  However, I guess everything just came together on that particular day and I have a few theories why!

First, let's start with the pre-marathon hype.  I definitely bought a new pair of shoes a week out.  I went into the store looking for the same ones that I have always run with.  And well, they didn't have them in my size.  The young gentleman tried convincing me that another brand was very similiar.  I didn't buy that gig.  I decided to size up a 1/2 size in the exact same shoe instead... and get my exact same inserts which I haven't gotten in 2 years.

At marathon expo I found the next 2 things that were my saviors!
I know, I know! They look so plain and simple.  But the Nuun is actually Kona Coke!  It tastes like heaven in a bottle.  A little zip of coke flavored sports drink (and a taste that I actually like that is NOT a fruity flavor) is exactly what I have been looking for in sports drinks for years!  And the socks.... compression.. not regular. :-).


And then... what goes better with coke than vanilla!?  This amazingness arrived the night before! Everything was coming in perfect timing!

Sooo... I went to bed at 8 PM, set the alarm for 2 AM and headed out.  Apparently the cone crew over slept because as Rick and I were driving down to the start we managed to just barely beat them to coning off the left turn that we needed to take to get to our secret parking spot :-).  Everything was going great!  We had decorated trash bags the night before- and honestly, we didn't need them as much for rain as we did for warmth!  However, even better... we ran into our good friend at the bus line and we ended up not only on the one custom bus, but also at PF Changs with water and bathrooms and a place to sit-down about 500m from the start line!

I couldn't have asked for a better pre-race!  At 4:35 AM we headed out to the race start and all is history.  I started running as the fireworks in front of me went off and couldn't have felt better!  I kept telling myself "no walls today!" and singing something like, "Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no river wide enough... " you know the rest :-)


I felt so happy and grateful at mile 21 that I was still sub 4:00 hour pace that I was pretty giddy.

I finished the race in exactly 3:51:00.  That ended up being a 15 minute PR from any marathon that I have previously run.  We are 8 weeks into our Ironman training.

The Crazy Begins...

Whew.  It hasn't even been a week since I clicked on the "Pay Now" button for Ironman Coeur d'Alene and I already feel like I am in full swing for training and I see 8 months flying by!

Luckily, I am not in this alone.  I refused to click on that button until my boyfriend Rick clicked on it too. Heck, I wasn't going to get $1200 deep without a co-partner in crime!  I definitely need someone there to help remind me why I am still out training until 8 PM rather than at that bbq that started 2 hours ago!  Or maybe it's vice versa.  Maybe I need to be telling someone else that they need to be along with me until 8 PM so that I can justify my crazy training schedule and not feel badly about showing up a bit late.  Either way, having a training partner is definitely worth it.

Okay, anyway so back to week one.  I found myself increasingly TIRED (and cursing my legs for sitting on the couch for 4 months straight rather than running once a week), WAY more hungry, and CALLING more pools than I knew existed on this side of oahu to find out their pool hours at night time.

So on a Friday night Rick finds out that Manoa Pool is open from 6:30PM-8:30PM for lap swim.  Perfect.   Enough time for us to get in that bike ride after work, pick up food for the bbq, and still get to lap swim.

Now let me tell you a bit about my swimming background.  I have been swimming since I was 4 years old (competitively).  I have been to A LOT of public pools.  Yes, I have been to a pool in Australia where there is a lane 0 (actually quite common), to infiniti pools for lap swim, to pools in barbados, puerto rico, st. croix, and all over the united states.  However, I have to say Hawaii can have some interesting pool rules.

So when the lifeguard asked me if I knew the pool rules, I jokingly said.. "umm.. No, why don't you let me know because they are all different out here in Hawaii".  And no kidding, I have been to a public pool in hawaii where they fill in all the black lanes before they even allow you to swim in between the lines even if you come there with a friend who you willingly want to share a lane with.  However, here are the Manoa Pool Rules:
1) Swim down the pool in One Lane and Back in the Other Lane
2) If you are not completely confused by Rule #1... let us add... that it is in reverse circle swim direction!

Needless to say, it looks kinda like this crazy snake game that I laid out below :-)

After the workout... Rick and I were quite proud that we made it through without any major head on collisions and even got a decent workout in!  However, we were a bit taken aback by this craziness and it has been moved to the "last resort" pool option.

A Fresh Start

I have always talked about doing an Ironman.  I got hooked into triathlons when I was babysitting for a family in the summer of 2005 in Michigan and both of the parents were training for Ironman Lake Placid. Let me be a little more specific, I was only the baby sitter when they needed to go out for their 4-6 hour bike rides at 5 AM in the morning.  At the time I was the swim coach for their 8 year old daughter and they knew that getting up that early in the morning was natural for me... so I was a perfect fit for being the early AM sitter for their 3 active kids.  After going on their family vacation to help out at Ironman Lake Placid and I saw their mom qualify for Kona World Championships, I was hooked and competed in my first olympic distance triathlon later in the summer in Michigan.  For that race I bought this bike: 

                                                                  Quintana Roo Kilo

Ever since then I have been riding that bike.  And I have to say, that bike did me quite well.  It's amazing how over time the technology has developed... yet my QR was an aluminum machine that NEVER broke and I never had any major issues with.  However, even though it didn't break, my body has broken down.  My stipulation to doing a full Ironman has always been that I would need a new bike.  I can't sit in the aero bar position on my bike anymore for an extended period of time without my neck getting major pain and my arm going numb.  I have tried PT, massage, docs, etc. and it comes back to the bike.  Seems easy enough right?  Well, as of this past Sunday I met with a bike fitting specialist who takes measurements, health assessments, and tests you on a mock bike that can change to all different sizes with a power meter.  Dr. Mike McMahon  (http://tricoachonline.com/72/126.html) will be able to give me a list of bikes that can fit my dimensions.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't come back with "CUSTOM bike only."  That will be a kick in the financial end! 

Anyway, here's to a fresh start with a new bike... soon!